The Catholic Peace Weekly's Science and Faith column gives us another look at the serious problem with the climate crisis that is experienced in the world.
South Korea and other countries are experiencing difficult times due to extreme heat and heavy rainfall. In July, South Korea had 22 tropical nights, surpassing the previous record of 21 set in 1994. Additionally, from the night of July 30 to the early morning of July 31, the lowest temperature in Seoul was 29.3 degrees Celsius, marking the hottest night temperature in 117 years since weather observations began.
In Europe, deaths from heatstroke have been on the rise since late June, and Greece, which recorded a high temperature of 42 degrees Celsius, has banned tourism to the Acropolis. In France, excessive heat caused abnormalities in underground power lines, leading to power outages and wildfires. The heat dome phenomenon that formed over the eastern United States caused a deadly heatwave, raising the perceived temperature in Washington, D.C., to 49 degrees Celsius—the highest in 150 years—while heavy rains in Texas resulted in over 100 deaths.
What on earth is happening to our planet Earth? In 2024, average global temperatures exceeded the 1.5°C limit agreed upon in the 2015 Paris Agreement, rising 1.55°C above pre-industrial levels. As global warming accelerates, the number of days with average temperatures exceeding 32°C is increasing, and more than half of the year is now considered summer worldwide. Glaciers are melting faster, sea levels are rising, and seawater is becoming warmer.
In 1979, James Lovelock of the United Kingdom presented a new theory on the Earth's environment in his book Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth. With a background in chemistry, biophysics, and medicine, and having participated in the Mars life exploration project at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, he argued that the planet Earth, where we live, has the ability to self-regulate, much like a living organism. In other words, Earth is akin to a living organism that maintains an appropriate environmental state.
His theory, named Gaia after the goddess of the earth in Greek mythology, presented a new paradigm for global environmental issues. He argued that humanity's reckless destruction of nature and excessive use of fossil fuels act like cancer cells on the living Earth, causing it to lose its self-regulating ability.
In 2023, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that if global warming continues, natural disasters such as heat waves, wildfires, floods, and droughts will become more frequent, and 14% of land-dwelling animals and plants could become extinct.
Efforts to raise awareness and address the Earth's environmental and climate crises to prevent such a tragic outcome are not the sole responsibility of ecological activists. It is the responsibility of everyone involved in politics, economics, science, and technology, as well as all members of society. Because for humanity, the climate crisis is now a matter of survival.
If we view the Earth as a living organism, as in the Gaia theory, the Earth is now a seriously ill patient. The situation is so dire that immediate major surgery is necessary. The Earth is sick.
