Will the NYC Red Haze Be Our Future?
Imagine the Great Smog of London from 1952 every single day.
Walking the streets of New York City this past week and looking at pictures on social media gave me the feeling of a post-apocalyptic movie. Red haze swept the city. At times it looked like an orange filter had shrouded NYC from all angles.
It led me to ask: could this one day be our future?
Our everyday future?
The Great Smog of London was caused by unusually cold weather. There were anticyclone and windless conditions, and the cold weather incentivized Londoners to burn more coal. A thick layer of smog was produced that sat atop the city for days.
During that time, the smog disrupted daily life and commerce. It even penetrated indoor areas, something the NYC Red Haze didn’t fully accomplish.
There were thousands of deaths in London as a direct result of the smog, and many more thousands fell ill from the smog’s effects.
I haven’t seen similar numbers from the NYC Red Haze, but there were certainly numerous warnings about the effects of breathing dense wildfire smoke. Which, if you’re unfamiliar, was the cause of the smog in NYC this past week. Multiple wildfires burned across Canada simultaneously and - like the Great Smog of London - weather played a crucial role.
After the Great Smog, the U.K. took four years to pass the Clean Air Act. Among other things, it restricted burning coal in residential homes and incentivized the switch to electricity, natural gas, and other energy sources. But it took four years for the U.K. to act.
How long will it take the world to act on climate change? Or will we simply forget about the NYC Red Haze until the next natural disaster?
It’s easy to blame climate change, but whatever the cause, it’s scary to consider the reality of the NYC Red Haze or the Great Smog of London happening on a daily basis. The implications on daily life from commerce, property values, and transportation to the mass migration of people seeking cleaner spaces is a Mad Max state of affairs.
It’s a reminder that we must do better to reduce carbon emissions and take care of our planet. It’s also a reminder that many natural disasters have no borders. Effects on Canada’s weather and climate do not immediately stop at America’s border control. The Earth’s biosphere has no boundaries.
Which is why it’s all the more imperative to collaborate on this issue globally. With major players like China and the United States continuing to sit on the climate sidelines, however, it’s impossible to affect any real change or progress.
Major economies must be incentivized to develop products and technologies that are environmentally friendly. Green energy. Solar. Wind. Even nuclear!
Nothing should be off the table in reducing global carbon emissions. As a consumer, you play an instrumental role in how society approaches these problems. You vote with your wallet.
Support companies and politicians who advocate for environmentally-friendly strategies. That doesn’t mean window-dressed ESG programs or greenwashing. They must be substantive, with actionable strategies to reduce carbon emissions and generate energy in a clean and cost-effective way.
We must incentivize behavior that makes our world a cleaner and safer place.
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