LYRICS
Is the first thing that comes to you
Necessarily the best thing to do?
Maybe I’d better think it through
In our presence
Time’s of the essence
To ensure future
As time increases pressure
Are we sure?
Is the next thing tat comes to view
Necessarily the best way for you?
Maybe I’d better think it through
In our presence
Time’s of the essence
To ensure future
As time increases pressure
Are we sure?
Think it through
What I’ll do
Is the first thing that comes to mind
How to find beings being kind
Maybe we’d better think it through
In our presence
Time’s of the essence
To ensure future
As time increases pressure
Are we sure?
Think it through
What to do
- The First Thing Part I.mp3 (unplugged)
- The First Thing Part II.mp3
- The First Thing Part III.mp3
- The First Thing Part III Instrumental.mp3
- The First Thing Part II.MID (Casio WK-3500 with miniNOVA vocorder patch)
- The First Thing Part III.MID
Chords: E G A B7 / B7 C D E / C A / C D E; Part II and III 148 Beats Per Minute
Instrumentation: Vocals, Ibanez Acoustic Guitar, Fender Squire Mini Electric Guitar, Fender Jazz Bass, Keyboards (Korg PS60, Casio WK-3500, Yamaha PSR-740, MiniNova, MicroKorg)
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 at an exponential growth rate. How extreme the acceleration will be depends on tipping points toppling other tipping points in what is known as The Domino Effect. Toppled tipping points will continue to shrink the doubling time and exponentially increase the rate of global warming. 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.”
Some areas of the world are now warming so fast, it is becoming more difficult to measure the change from “normal” or average. Jeff Boyne, National Weather Service meteorologist and climatologist, said, “There are climate normals that are updated every 10 to 15 years, because the planet is warming so fast. The ENSO (El Nino-Southern Oscillation) regions are warming so fast that those normals are being updated every 5 years.”
“It’s so far outside anything we’ve seen, it’s almost mind-blowing,” says Walter Meier, who monitors sea-ice with the National Snow and Ice Data Center. “September was, in my professional opinion as a climate scientist, absolutely gobsmackingly bananas,” said Zeke Hausfather, at the Berkeley Earth climate data project.”
What’s the First Thing I Can Do?
There are plenty of things you can do to help save the planet. Stop using fossil fuels. Consume less. Love more. Here is a list of additional actions you can take.
Climate Change: How Long Is “Ever”?
A song about The Human Induced Climate Change Experiment
From the Christmas album of music Merry Christmas!