Turning Points

What we call the beginning is often the end

And to make an end is to make a beginning

The end is where we start from.

– T.S. Eliot

In November of 2024, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released its State of the Climate 2024 Update for COP29, issuing a "Red Alert" at the current, single-generation pace of climate change. According to the report, there is much cause for concern. Greenhouse gases, which had already reached record high levels in 2023, continued to rise in 2024. The global mean surface air temperature between January and September of 2024 was 1.54±0.13º C above the pre-industrial average, setting 2024 on track to be the warmest year on record. With temperatures rising, Antarctic and Arctic sea-ice extents have remained below average, while glaciers continued to melt and ocean heat content and sea levels continued to rise. Extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods, tropical cyclones, hurricanes, heatwaves and cold waves have caused damage, hindered development, and triggered migration and displacement in various parts of the world (WMO, 2024). Add to this the political disruptions and economic instability brought on by geopolitical rivalries, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Israeli-Hamas war, the rise of nationalism and protectionism across the globe, as well as the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it certainly feels like the end of the world is nigh. I don't mean to be fatalistic, nor do I believe that we're doomed. It does, however, feel like we're at a turning point, an end of sorts. Perhaps the end of a way of life that is no longer sustainable. But the end of one thing is always the beginning of another. To put it in the words of T.S. Eliot, "The end is where we start from."

My name is Laura Mc Leod, and For Climate Out Loud is where I start from. I've spent much of my adult life studying society and the world, but I've never before felt the necessity or the urge to inject my personal commentary into a world that is already oversaturated with opinions and information. I have, so far, remained on the sidelines, watching others wrestle with the ever-increasing complexity of society, the tsunami of misinformation, and the onslaught of vitriol brought upon even the most factual of observations and the most thoughtful of commentaries. But the time has come for me to get to work and do my part. I launched For Climate Out Loud because, while the media has rightfully been busy talking about all the other issues that threaten to tear us apart, climate change, the biggest issue of them all, has fallen somewhat to the wayside. The goal of For Climate Out Loud is thus to pick up where others have left off and bring the environment back to center stage. With a brand new podcast and YouTube channel, For Climate Out Loud will provide regular updates on news related to environmental politics. I believe that now, more than ever, it's essential to not lose focus, to bear in mind the bigger picture, and dare I say it, to look for hope. Because despite what it may seem like, the news is not all bad and hope is never lost.

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