Climate Watch: Should We Worry about Heat Deaths?

I hope you are staying well-hydrated and protecting your skin from excess sun exposure. There are real dangers from heat exhaustion and skin cancer.

A graph published in the Lancet warned of the dangers of heat waves—but distorted the comparison between hot and cold temperatures by changing the units on the axis. There’s not unprecedented heat, so why the fearmongering?

If you are not able to sweat normally, there is an increased risk of heat exhaustion. Causes include skin or nervous system disorders, connective-tissue disease, and certain drugs, such as antidepressants and opioids.

Of course, you should wear protective clothing or use sunscreen if you will be heavily exposed to sunlight to reduce the risk of skin cancer. But some exposure is needed to make vitamin D.

Achieving “climate goals” such as increasing electric vehicles will not help. If every country in the world did this, the predicted decrease in average global temperature would be 0.0002 °F.

The calculation may not include increased carbon dioxide emissions from fires, such as the huge cargo ship fire in the North Sea caused by an EV. Some apartment buildings won’t allow you to park your EV in an underground garage. Such fires are extremely hard to control.

Pay attention to the other side of the graph: deaths from cold. Winter is coming!

If you are in an area where electrical outages may occur, do you have a generator? Note that new Biden regulations may make portable generators unaffordable or impossible to obtain. Do you have emergency blankets or sleeping bags, at home and in your car?

Preparations need to be made in advance. Remember that weather-dependent electrical generators don’t work in bad weather.

Additional information:

Improvised Clothing and Protective Gear. Chapter 15 in Nuclear War Survival Skills.

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