Frog Soup

In the movie about climate crisis, An Inconvenient Truth, (see last month's blog), Al Gore lives up to his name and illustrates the threat of increasing temperature failing to cause the alarm in should in populations and governments. He uses a frog. It happily abides in a beaker full of water even when the heat is raised to the extent it will kill it. If the heat is raised quickly, the frog jumps out and escapes; if slowly, well ... you get the idea - Gorey frog soup.

We are that frog, says Al Gore. We are in the beaker. The heat is being raised, but so slowly that we are oblivious to the danger, only conscious of discomfort. The thing about crises is that we expect to have time to jump out of danger. And doubtless some people will relocate to better climes or adjust with air-conditioning or otherwise climate controlled homes.

The equator will see the least rise in temperature, 1 degree Celsius, in the next 50 years, but the polar regions will see up to 12 degrees rise. The average rise will be about 5 degrees. But, if you are thinking of jumping to equatorial safety bear in mind that many islands and coasts will be flooded beneath the sea or lakes and other land will be scorched to desert.

So, does groggy froggy disintegrate into an amphibious soup in An Inconvenient Truth? Or is it rescued? If so, how?

You know how to find out.