LYRICS
Accelerate
What’s the debate?
At any rate
It’s too, too late
Wishless
Into the abyss
Like this….
Can’t regulate
Out-of-control
Look at our state
What is your role?
Wishless
Into the abyss
Like this….
Can’t slow
Can’t wait
Got to make haste
All show
Post-date
Got to make waste
Wishless
Into the abyss
Like this….
Accelerate
What’s the debate?
At any rate
It’s not too late
It’s too, too late
At what rate is climate change accelerating?
A: Rapidly
As described above, we do not know the rate of acceleration other than to say it is more rapid than previously thought. In the summer of 2023, the extreme temperatures left most climate scientists shocked. The average earth surface temperature recorded record highs for months reaching over 3 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The Paris Agreement calls for keeping temperatures below 1.5 degrees. Scientists concur that a rise of 2 degrees will trigger feedback loops and tipping points. Triggering these tipping points results in the CO2 stored in nature to be released. Though we do not know how much carbon is stored in nature, it would be reasonable to assume that the temperature could be pushed from 3 degrees to 6 degrees above pre-industrial levels. Humans can not thrive above a rise of 1.5 degrees. Humans can not survive if the temperature rises 6 degrees.
About the 2023 wildfires in Hawaii, Governor Josh Green said, “For perspective, we’ve had six fire emergencies this August, we had six fire emergencies between 1953 and 2003. That’s how- how fast things are changing. I know that there is debate out there whether we should be talking about climate change or not. Well, let’s be real world, climate change is here we are in the midst of it with a hotter planet, and fiercer storms.”
About the catastrophic die-off of 10,000 emperor penguin chicks in the Antarctic, Dr. Caroline Holmes of the British Antarctic Survey (an expert on Antarctic sea-ice) said, “What we’re seeing right now is so far outside what we’ve observed previously. We expected change but I don’t think we expected so much change so rapidly.” — from “Climate Change: Rate of Acceleration” / Brouse and Mukherjee (2023)
Chords: Am G#m Gm F#m / D# F#m / F F#; Part II at 122 Beats Per Minute
Instrumentation: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Bass, Keyboards (Korg PS60, Casio WK-500, Korg N364, MiniNova, MicroKorg)