Writer Jeff Goodell has covered climate change for more than two decades at Rolling Stone. In the first half, he discussed an explosive new understanding of heat and the impact that rising temperatures will have on our lives and planet. The extreme heat that we've had this summer was predicted by the modeling proposed by climate scientists, as we continue to warm up the planet by burning fossil fuels and putting more CO2 into the atmosphere, plus the current El Nino cycle increases the heat. "What is something of a surprise," he remarked, is the extremity and length of some of the heat waves this year. Where he lives in Austin, Texas, they've had 59 days over 100 degrees. For those in humid climates, the heat can be especially trying, as it's harder for sweat to evaporate and for us to cool off.
Heat is by far the most deadly of all weather events, Goodell reported. "Hurricanes are dramatic, but the number of people who actually die during a hurricane are relatively small," he said, whereas in the summer heat wave in Europe last year, for instance, some 60,000 people died. One of the reasons that fires are getting bigger and more intense is because as the atmosphere heats up, more moisture gets sucked out of the soil, trees, and grasses. They become more like kindling, and when they do catch fire, they burn faster, he explained. "Climate change means that we're going to see more and more extreme events. And that can include extreme cold," Goodell added, "but that doesn't invalidate...[the] larger truth that adding CO2 to the atmosphere is warming our world, and that warming world is changing the climate in very profound way."
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In the latter half, author and afterlife expert Susanne Wilson talked about current trends in after-death communications (ADC) in which the dead communicate with the living, directly without utilizing the services of a psychic medium. According to Wilson, research supports the idea that we can understand how our beloved departed ones have a way of letting us know they continue to be with us. ADC often occurs in a spontaneous manner, such as when you're thinking of a departed loved one, and suddenly the song that reminds you of them starts to play, she detailed. One can recognize these moments by certain brief bodily sensations, she revealed, like the hair standing up on the back of the neck, or a sudden temperature change.
To increase the chance of receiving an ADC, one should stay open and observant to different ways spirits might choose to reach out to us, she suggested. And for those grieving over a loss, just by imagining and playing out a conversation in your head with that person, we can get the benefit and sensation of an actual communication, she added. Wilson reported that she is assisting on the Soul Phone project run by Dr. Gary Schwartz, in which a team is attempting to develop a communication device that spirits can use to relay messages. She also noted that some AI companies are developing ways to simulate communications with the deceased based on their text messages and related material from when they were alive. For more on spirit communication, check out Wilson's YouTube channel.
News segment guests: Jeff Nelken, Kevin Randle