Seeing climate change differently when jumping from one pot of boiling water to another
How traveling offers useful perspective on our warming world
Like a frog in a boiling pot of water. That’s a popular simile used to represent how humans too often psychologically process global warming. The story goes that if you put a frog in a vat of water and you increase the heat gradually, it doesn’t realize it’s boiling until it’s too late.
Many of us are starting to finally realize we’re boiling after years of rising temperatures. From record heat and unprecedented wildfires to ferocious floods, climate change is hitting too many communities in tragic ways. First and foremost, we should focus on the people affected by those catastrophic events. But for those who have yet to fully experience the widespread impacts of the climate crisis, it helps to get out of your metaphorical pot of water and jump in elsewhere.
I did this recently on a family trip to Europe. Often, at home, we shrug off the increasingly hotter days and muddle through with a resilient spirit. But in an unfamiliar setting, far from the adaptations we’ve developed in our everyday life, the climate crisis becomes a little clearer.
On my trip, I saw obvious examples. The streets of Italy’s great cities, which, in years past, would have been clogged with summer tourists — and locals — were eerily easy to navigate. The most obvious reason was the COVID-19 pandemic. While climate change may not have been directly responsible for this scourge, scientists have made it clear that a warming Earth makes this sort of novel pathogen more likely.
However, along with COVID-19, scorching temperatures limited the number of people willing to go anywhere on foot during the middle of the day. Whether we were in Rome or Turin, the streets emptied out as temperatures soared into the high 90s. In the car-centric United States, as we rely on our air-conditioned vehicles and limit our outdoor time, that type of heat is more of a nuisance than oppressive. But, as a tourist, looking to soak up the ambiance of the cobblestoned streets and breathtaking architecture, this environment was stifling.
Beyond those obvious impacts, others were more subtle. On a gondola ride in Venice, our gondolier pointed out how climate change-induced rising waters are putting his majestic city in peril. While Venice has always been sinking, he pointed to how the water lines on buildings are now rising at a much faster rate.
Outside of Assisi, we went truffle hunting with an adorable Lagotto Romagnolo dog named Barto. This amazing pooch sniffed out truffles throughout our adventure. His handler pointed out that Barto’s breed was originally bred to retrieve ducks in the marshlands of Ravenna. But, when those lands dried up years ago, they shifted their talents to digging up truffles in lushly wooded areas.
That said, as I looked around, I couldn’t help but think that Barto may be in for another job change. The forest areas seemed limited, and, at one point, Barto’s handler had to drive us from one location to another to find a space cool and moist enough to incubate the truffles. This climate-induced transformation is a problem for truffle hunters throughout Italy.
While these changes in Italy do not compare in any way to the devastation in such places as China, they should remind those of us yet to fully feel global warming’s wrath that it’s creeping along steadily everywhere. By jumping from one pot to another, it becomes clear that simply hoping we can adapt is not enough.
As such, we must continue to push for systemic change in our approach to global warming and pay careful attention to the dangers we face. We want to ensure a habitable world for every human — and, of course, for Barto.
