Apodaca: Let 2024 be the year we take seriously the world’s most perilous threat

The dawn of a new year is traditionally a time of reflection, stock-taking and goal-setting. This year I suggest we all focus on one big objective:

Let 2024 be the year that we finally treat climate change with the heart-attack urgency that is desperately needed.

Let’s be clear about a few points. The first is that there should no longer be any doubt by anyone that human-caused climate change is happening, and that it is already changing the world we inhabit. In many ways, the pace of that change is matching, or even outstripping, the most dire projections made in years passed.

This year was the hottest ever recorded. That’s just a fact. And 2024 will likely be hotter because we’re also burning fossil fuels at record levels.

That means that at this very moment, we are perilously close to the 1.5 degrees Celsius global warming threshold that scientists have long warned us about. The planet will keep heating, causing extreme weather events, like the ones we’ve seen during the past few years, to continue getting worse.

Hurricanes, droughts, floods and wildfires will grow ever more intense and destructive. Homes will be destroyed. Businesses will suffer. Some parts of Earth will become uninhabitable. Famine and disease will spread. And many, many people will die.

So the second-guessing, excuse-making and shade-throwing must stop now. The denigration of climate science and ridiculing of those who have devoted themselves to protecting and restoring the environment must no longer be tolerated. This is real, folks, and we need to go all in on finding solutions.

The second point is that we should understand and appreciate that the impact of climate change will be felt differently depending on who you are and where you live.

Here in Orange County, one of the most visible manifestations of the changing climate is that our spectacular coastline, the source of so much pride and enjoyment among county residents, is crumbling.

Coastal erosion has disrupted rail service in San Clemente and destroyed Capistrano Beach’s boardwalk. Sandy beaches are being clawed back into the sea. Ocean acidification is harming fish and shellfish, threatening the livelihood of local businesses.

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There’s worse to come. According to the research group First Street Foundation, the number of Orange County’s extreme heat days is expected to rise by 214.3% by 2053 — the biggest increase in the state. The number of days that temperatures will reach or exceed 90 degrees Fahrenheit will go from seven in 2023 to 22.

Like most of the state, Orange County also has a high risk of drought, wildfires and flooding. People will lose their homes. The air will more frequently be unhealthy to breath. Those with underlying health conditions or unstable housing situations will face growing danger.

Some local elected officials and business executives — even those who acknowledge that climate change is real — tend to focus on criticizing any and all efforts to end our reliance on climate-warming fossil fuels as too expensive, impractical and rushed. Rarely do these naysayers offer any constructive suggestions of their own; rather, they seem more interested in taking down their rivals, which only adds to the crisis.

I would apologize for the somber tone of this column at a time of year when it is customary to celebrate. But there’s no time for that.

What I will do, however, is end on a hopeful note. Consider this my third point.

We can still forestall the worst outcome. It’s possible if we work together — each and every one of us — to act immediately and aggressively. There won’t be one solution. There will be many. None will be perfect, and there will be costs and trade offs.

But there will also be opportunities, along with the knowledge that we are doing what we can, not just for ourselves but for our children and our children’s children. They deserve nothing less than our best efforts to prevent climate change’s most catastrophic consequences.

I’ll mention just one initiative that’s underway, and which could be realized in 2024: Orange County might finally have a long-overdue climate action plan.

A climate action plan is a blueprint for collecting data on greenhouse gas emissions, setting targets for reducing those emissions and adopting measures to reduce those emissions. It is also a plan for helping communities mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change.

Last August Orange County Supervisors Katrina Foley and Vicente Sarmiento spearheaded a hearing to address climate change and to create a comprehensive countywide climate action plan, similar to those which some other jurisdictions — including a handful of cities within the county — have already formed.

The committee charged with developing Orange County’s plan is currently seeking federal funding. Hopefully, I’ll have more to report on this in the coming months.

While the climate action plan would be a welcome development, there’s so much more that is required of us, and we will all have a part to play, whether it’s researching steps we can take as individuals, joining in collective efforts that include fighting for robust policy prescriptions or supporting leaders who understand the importance of immediate action.

We need to throw everything we’ve got at this. Let 2024 be the year that we resolve to do just that.