WITHOUT A doubt, I have never felt as hot as I have this summer. My little informal poll revealed that even the young and thin are finding the heat almost unbearable. Many believe that this is the hottest summer ever. The walls and furniture are hot to the touch in the evenings. People complain that they feel as if they are going to explode because of the oppressive heat. Some of those lucky enough to have regular water supply are taking several showers each day in order to cool off. Fans are blowing hot air and the air conditioners are working overtime.

Obviously, global warming (the increase in the average temperature of Earth) is partially to blame. A few scientists suggest that this is a natural cyclical process, but most now agree that the current warming is man-made and rapidly approaching a critical stage - a point of no return. Modernisation has come with a terrible price - greenhouse emissions. We once feared that the world would end with a bang (nuclear war), then we feared that it would end with a whimper (disease) now we are fearing that it will end with starvation (saltwater-flooded flat lands, economic collapse, dead oceans, drought and extreme weather phenomena - all from global warming).

Doomed by modern progress

Here in Jamaica, we have contributed significantly to our own misery. Urbanisation, housing solutions and transportation needs have largely been planned with scant regard for the all-important deleterious environmental repercussions. Tree-laden lots are cleared and lush hillsides are denuded wantonly when housing developers set their sights on a profit. Hundreds of thousands of acres of vegetation are sacrificed annually to our ever-expanding roadways. Asphalt and concrete - the signs of modern progress and the harbingers of our doom - are replacing soil and life-giving, air-cleaning, rain-producing, atmosphere-cooling plants at every turn.

Heat-absorbing and heat-radiating materials, emissions and pollutants are producing local and worldwide heat. Over the last century, the average temperature of the air near the Earth's surface has risen by about one degree Celsius - enough to make the world hotter now than it has been in one thousand years! Our highest worldwide average temperatures have almost all occurred over the past 30 years.

Here in Jamaica, we have created many 'heat islands' within our little island. Heat islands are as a direct result of urbanisation - the removal of plants, constructing numerous concrete structures and surfaces and asphalted roads. Such (developed) cities are often one to three degrees Celcius warmer than their (less developed) surroun-dings. This difference can increase significantly in the evenings. All this adds up to greater energy demand and (consequently) more harmful emissions - our economy and environment suffer.

Trying to survive

Making concrete structures whiter and asphalt surfaces shinier, thereby increasing their albedo (reflective properties), will ameliorate the heat predicament, but the resultant glare may be problematic. Green roofs - rooftop gardens - will help somewhat. However, if we are to survive, we must plant anything everywhere that we can (for cooling effect and carbon offset). Leaves are easy on the eyes and remove pollutants (especially carbon dioxide - carbon sequestration), produce oxygen and shelter us from the sun. Through evapo-transpi-ration, they release gallons of water into their surroundings annually - thus cooling us down and helping to produce atmospheric moisture.

We must reduce (time-wasting, congesting, fuel-consuming, air-polluting) traffic with better planning and superior public transport. We also need to look into providing more assigned school busses. Our building codes need to reflect our need to utilise natural, rather than artificial, means of cooling. Continued inaction is suicidal.

Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice. Feedback may be sent to garthrattray@gmail.com and columns@gleanerjm.com.