Extreme Weather in Spain and Extreme Reactions on X

Devastating floods in Spain's Valencia region claim at least 95 lives

Flooding in Valencia, Spain (Photo on X ChristinaBirro)

Spain's eastern Valencia region has been struck by the deadliest flooding in three decades, resulting in at least 95 fatalities. Meteorologists describe yesterday's disaster as a year's worth of rain falling in some places in just eight hours.

The torrential downpour swept away bridges and buildings and left a trail of devastation in its wake. Residents report seeing people desperately climbing onto car roofs as a tide of muddy water surged through streets. Emergency services footage shows the extent of the destruction, showing collapsed bridges and vehicles piled atop one another.

Climate Change Connection

This catastrophe marks the most severe flooding-related death toll in Europe since the 2021 German floods, which claimed at least 185 lives. Readers of this newsletter won't need a reminder that scientists keep warning us that climate change increases the frequency of extreme weather events across Europe. The warming of the Mediterranean Sea intensifies water evaporation and exacerbates torrential rains' severity.

The M25 Case: Activists Behind Bars

Two months ago, five environmental activists associated with Just Stop Oil received severe sentences for their involvement in planning protests that disrupted traffic on the M25, London's orbital motorway. Roger Hallam, a co-founder of the group, received a five-year prison term, while his four co-defendants each received four-year sentences. These punishments are likely the longest ever imposed in the UK for non-violent protest.

The activists' actions, which involved climbing motorway gantries and displaying informative signs, caused significant disruption over four days in November 2022. The severity of these sentences has drawn criticism from Michel Forst, the UN's special rapporteur on environmental defenders. He described the UK as "a nightmare for climate activists," noting that such lengthy imprisonments were "shockingly disproportionate."

The defendants themselves maintained that their actions were necessary to draw attention to the government and corporations' role in accelerating climate change.

The Spanish Floods

In a cruel irony, as these activists begin their prison terms for attempting to raise awareness about climate risks, Spain grapples with the catastrophic consequences of extreme weather events linked to climate change.

The economic and infrastructural damage from these floods dwarfs that of the M25 protests. Thousands of vehicles have been damaged or destroyed, and entire road networks have been rendered impassable. The human cost, in terms of lives lost and communities disrupted, is immeasurable.

The Real Culprits?

While activists face years in prison for their attempts to sound the alarm on climate change, the entities most responsible for greenhouse gas emissions continue their operations largely unimpeded. A 2017 report by CDP revealed that just 100 companies have been the source of over 70% of industrial greenhouse gas emissions since 1988. These include major fossil fuel producers such as ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, and Chevron.

Furthermore, despite international agreements and pledges to reduce fossil fuel dependence, governments worldwide continue to plan for increased production. The 2023 Production Gap Report indicates that countries intend to produce around 110% more fossil fuels in 2030 than would be consistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C.

The harsh sentences handed down to these individuals seem increasingly incompatible with the gravity of the climate crisis they sought to highlight.

Social media

All this information and these considerations are hard to summarize in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. I stopped using that name since the platform has changed so much that it is better to use "Twitter" when referring to the good old days of a far less toxic social media platform. 

So instead of summarizing, I posted a photo of a street in Spain blocked by dozens of cars. They had been washed away and piled up on each other. This is my tweet:

It went viral. In nine hours, 174,000 people saw it, and 1,400 people retweeted it.

More interesting are the reactions I received, which showcase the strange post-truth and aggressive society we live in.

“The image must be AI-generated”

Several X-users claim the image is surely AI-generated. One mentioned, for instance, the giant 'wallet' thing on the left, which is the size of a car. Others write back in some of the 179 comments with convincing arguments why it is not AI, for instance, by referring to the news or by showing photos of the street before the flood. The writer was convinced and wrote back that he realized now that it must indeed have been a flood.

Rude language:

Still, someone got angry about his AI remark and called the man who wrote it "a moron"; another one advised him to "Take your head out of your ass, idiot."

Irony:

Of course, my remark was ironic and critical of the lack of climate action. Others joined in, for instance, referring to Trump by writing, "Call climate change a hoax and drill, baby drill." In the following hours, when I got a better picture of the scale of the devastation, I added a more serious tweet with background information on what happened.

Serious responses:

There were many reactions, including shock, sadness, and sympathy. Others were angry: "As long as corporations rule, it's profit over people."

American presidential elections:

Like: "OMG!  We desperately need leaders and legislators around the world who support rapid climate action. In the US, that means voting 💙 up and down the ballot."

Referring to arrested or prosecuted climate activists

"I gather you're following the locking up of the Jaques Cartier bridge activists in Montreal."

Some didn't get the irony:

"Isn't this a car that was washed away by a flash flood?"

And then there are, of course, the climate deniers; it is X, after all.

"Flash floods happened even before humans were around."

Or: "There was a flood in 1957, was that caused by CO2?"

Oh, and hatred, how could I forget? And, yes, addressed against me:

"Maybe we should lock you up for spreading hatred and false statements."

Reported to X.

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