BEATING THE HEAT

For us humans, shedding our clothes when we feel hot is natural; for our animal companions, however, it is a different story.

While it may seem that shaving their fur is a good idea to relieve them from extreme heat, experts advise against doing so. According to an article from Fetch by WEBMD, our companion animals’ coat “is designed by nature to keep it cool during the summer and warm in the winter.” If anything, shaving their fur off will only disturb their body’s natural thermoregulation.

For cats, a massage using a moist cloth (as they would when they groom themselves) is a good way to keep them.

In a release called “Planet at risk of heading towards ‘Hothouse Earth’”, the Stockholm Resilience Centre referenced a 2018 study by a group of international scientists which stated that even if our carbon emission reductions were met, “There is still a risk of Earth entering what the scientists call ‘Hothouse Earth’ conditions.”

The study said, “A ‘Hothouse Earth’ climate will, in the long term, stabilize at a global average of 4-5C higher than pre-industrial temperatures with sea level 10-60m higher than today.”

Lead author Will Steffen said, “Our study suggests that human-induced global warming of 2°C may trigger other Earth system processes, often called “feedbacks,” that can drive further warming - even if we stop emitting greenhouse gases.” It creates a domino effect, so to speak, which includes: permafrost thaw, loss of methane hydrates from the ocean floor, weakening land and ocean carbon sinks, increasing bacterial respiration in the oceans, Amazon rainforest dieback, boreal forest dieback, reduction of northern hemisphere snow cover, loss of Arctic summer sea ice, and reduction of Antarctic sea ice and polar ice sheets.

“Avoiding this scenario requires a redirection of human actions from exploitation to stewardship of the Earth system,” Steffen said. And we need to act with urgency.

Here are a few steps that we can follow to help slow the effects of climate change.