Getting off of addiction to fossil fuels is the best weapon to fight the war in Ukraine but it can also be a weapon in the other vital war in which we are engaged—i.e. the war against climate change. 2 days after the war against Ukraine was launched by Russia, the International Panel on Climate Change issued their latest report on Climate Change  which the Secretary-General of the UN Antonio Guterres said was the single most dire study he had ever seen on climate change. And he has seen a lot.

First according to UN Secretary-General our current course, even if all promises countries have made are kept, which on the basis of past performance is highly unlikely, we are “firmly on track toward an unliveable world.”   The latest studies show that temperatures on earth will shoot past a key danger point unless greenhouse gas emissions fall faster than countries so far have committed.

The UN predicted that we could see a billion refugees from climate change over the next decades. Imagine the havoc a billion  refugees can inflict on our societies.

Right now the world is having a hard time trying to absorb the 4 plus million refugees coming out of Ukraine. Multiply that by 200 times! 2 &1/2 million refugees from Ukraine in Poland right now. More are coming. Middle East refugees and South American refugees are still looking for sanctuary. Where are all these people going to go?  Where will an additional billion go? Our world is headed for some serious problems but most of us are looking the other way. We don’t want to see what is in front of us, but blind eyes are seldom very helpful at avoiding problems.

We have been paying a lot of attention to the Ukraine, as we should. But our problems do not end there. Not by a long shot. We need to get off fossil fuel addiction or all of us are in trouble, not just Ukrainian refugees.