There is a global event coming up tomorrow with the intent to bring worldwide focus to what is being called the "climate crisis."
Recent severe weather phenomena are bringing increased attention to what used to be called global warming - and is now referred to as a climate crisis. The Climate Reality Project will feature 24 speakers through 24 time zones to address the issue.
"The 24 hours of Reality is an event that is sort of a follow on to Al Gore's work in educating the globe about the climate crisis," said Maxine Burkett of the Blue Planet Foundation.
Attorney Maxine Burkett told us Wednesday should be an exciting day.
"We have only seen a sliver of it because we're just one of the time zones, but even here, we are doing a really excellent event - I am presenting from the Hilo office of the Mauna Loa observatory and actually at the APEC event on clean energy there will be a live broadcast of that," she says.
There have been severe weather occurences of late - but is that a reason to be concerned about a "climate crisis?"
"It matters to everyone because it is happening now. We see that there are amazing climate impacts that are happening throughout the world and the actual purpose of the climate reality event is to link some of the extreme events that we're seeing with the causes of climate change," Burkett says.
Burkett and her colleagues believe the severe weather events are not just mere coincidence, that there is a correlation with a climate crisis.
"We're seeing sharp increases in storms and floods and droughts and events that do happen but are on steroids if you will. And one analogy that I like to use is - what we're seeing is there's more energy in the system, there's more heat trapped by green house gasses," she says.
Burkett is among an elite group of 24 people who begin their presentations in Mexico City and then watch as their message is relayed around the world.
"It's happening now. And it's forecast to get even worse as time goes on and so for all of us that have family, children, our children's children - that concern should really motivate us all to do something about this," she says.
