“What do you mean, ‘why am I working in this heat?’ If I do not work, we will starve to death.”
Shiv Kumar Mandal, a Delhi rickshaw driver, explained why he continues to transport passengers during the long and shocking heat that experts say is caused by global warming.
Mandal, one thinks, does not view global warming as a matter of particular concern for the rich.
However, after the Australian general election, we heard repeated versions of that claim.
Consider how Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes, one of the Coalition’s top spokespersons for the climate, has recently called warming “almost a matter of luxury.”
Similarly, Quillette editor Claire Lehmann states that those who represent renewable energy do so primarily to show off their wealth, while Viewer Rebecca Weisser judges by winning the election of “green and green rents” (which they describe as “former nobles.” children and adolescents, from kindergarten to university, to the belief in climate catastrophe, which allows climate ‘strikes’ during school hours, publicly rated by the Greens and the Socialist Alliance. “).
Meanwhile, Lillian Andrews has even said that the election shows that the Liberals “are becoming a new group of ordinary people,” with their climate correcting “formerly the basic working conditions for workers’ protection and protection of their rights.”
Well, it’s good to have an idea.
In the real world, anyone who is concerned about the real working class is aware that global warming is a severe problem for the oppressed and the poor.
The dreaded Indian heatwave means that temperatures in Delhi have exceeded 42C in 25 days from the start of summer. Yet millions of workers work hard outside simply because, like Mandal, they cannot live without the Sun.
In the unbearable conditions, all suffer – and some of them die.
“This is not just fatigue or discomfort,” said Avikal Somvanshi of Urban Lab at the Science and Environmental Center. “It actually kills people.”
The differences between the rich, the defenseless, and the poor, who are less fortunate, can be seen in the developed world.
As the United States faces extreme heat, authorities have urged 100 million Americans to stay indoors.
Alexia Gonzales works for Instacart. Her employers may live in a comfortable, air-conditioned environment, but she certainly will not.
“It’s too hot to work,” he told the Guardian, “but that’s where people want to deliver.”
Across the planet, rising temperatures mean that densely populated areas become “urban hot islands,” as the concrete dwellings of working-class families absorb the Sun and warm the air.
By combining satellite measurements with census data, University of North Carolina researcher Angel Hsu has shown how heat is related to poverty and race. Shockingly, almost everywhere in America, colored communities tolerate average temperatures higher than those faced by non-Hispanic whites.
Similar factors dominate population exposure to a climate crisis in Australia. For example, western Sydney receives an astonishing temperature of 8-10 degrees Celsius during temperatures than in the eastern parts of the city.
It’s not just a question of temperatures, either.
We know that carbon emissions mean more fires and floods and who will be responsible for unpredictable disasters.
