Welcome to HECC, or Is it Hell?

Are we in HECC?

My beloved Lahaina, Maui is in cinders.

Welcome to HECC.

We could call it HECC, for Human Emitted Climate Chaos. Or, the “C” could be Catastrophe, or Crash, Calamity, Cataclysm. Actually we could just keep adding “Cs” to the HECC.

The phrase “climate change” was invented to stall or distract from alarm. “Change” is geologically correct, but also misleadingly “normal.” It is also rather bland, and says nothing of emergency.

Originally, and perhaps more correctly, climate change, decades ago, was called global warming. Stronger than “change” but not hot enough to describe where we have arrived with thousands dead, drowned, or burned.

Most importantly, calling our Anthropocene woes, “climate change” ignores the most important aspect of all: it is human emissions. It is induced by our behaviors. It is we, who geoengineered the world to accommodate our addiction to a toxic source of fuel, and our willingness to accept covering it up that got us here. It is we, and only we who can stop fossil fuels, reduce a bit of the damage, mitigate, and adapt to what ever degree (pun intended) that we can manage.

Maybe we are in Hell

Or, as some have suggested, we could say welcome to HELL. The Human Emissions Life Loss is also a real aspect, but for a few that doesn’t effectively mention our emissions.

And, perhaps “Hell” is too harsh, and offends some people?

This much we know, Human Emitted Climate Chaos, HECC, is a shorthand that is more reflective of where we are, and dreadfully, where we are going.

Record shattering temperatures, storms, floods, famines, and concerns linked to ocean temperatures, jet streams, oscillation, and El Nino are being studied as never before.

The general public was kept in the dark for far too long.

When they hear simple, straightforward, and descriptive words that help the people understand that “HECC” or “HELL” is a negative, they can use their own sense of will and determination to demand better policy, change daily behavior, and most of all own their belonging to whatever difference we can make together.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.

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