According to a National Park Service news release, the 42-year-old Belgian tourist was taking a short walk Saturday in the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in 123-degree heat when he either broke or lost his flip-flops, putting his feet into direct contact with the desert ground. The result: third-degree burns.

“The skin was melted off his foot,” said Death Valley National Park Service Ranger Gia Ponce. “The ground can be much hotter — 170, 180 [degrees]. Sometimes up into the 200 range.”

Unable to get out on his own and in extreme pain, the man and his family recruited other park visitors to help; together, the group carried him to the sand dunes parking lot, where park rangers assessed his injuries.

Though they wanted a helicopter to fly him out, helicopters can’t generate enough lift to fly in the heat-thinned air over the hottest parts of Death Valley, officials said. So park rangers summoned an ambulance that took him to higher ground, where it was a cooler 109 degrees and he could then be flown out.

  • Duamerthrax@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    The first 2 or 3 months of the covid lock down was the most optimistic I’ve ever been. The air cleaned up immediately and you could almost see the temperatures start to plateau. We will never achieve something like that again.

    • Todd Bonzalez@lemm.ee
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      4 months ago

      Cool anecdote about how reducing needless traffic between homes and offices, to satisfy micromanaging executives and the real estate investors who own their office buildings, reduced pollution superficially in populated areas.

      Not sure what this has to do with planes, which have a negligible effect on pollution compared to personal automobiles, but I do advocate for going car-free (and still being able to get around), and work from home for the growing population of employees whose jobs don’t require a physical presence.

      • ripcord@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Or, like the beef thing I mentioned, which for many people is a worse contributor than cars. Or a number of other high-prioritt things.

        I do believe that we all have a role in greenhouse gas reduction, but it’d really help if they were focused on the things that really actually matter. And not being a condescending, unrealistic jackass would probably have helped them make a point too.

      • Duamerthrax@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        I never mentioned food. I mentioned the needless conveniences that were created in the recent 100 years. Sure, we should be eating less meat.

        I’m just sick of all the people in my life who role play as progressives without thinking about their own actions. There’s a friend group that I pretty much dropped contact with because they’re too boomer to figure out Discord and I’m too climate anxietied to drive an hour just to watch youtube videos and have the same dozen or so conversations again. I’ve dropped hollywood movies, partly because of the drive as well, but also the carbon foot print from its production. I literally can not travel for myself without some form of guilt.

        I’ve had climate anxiety for the past 30 fucking years. Been sabotaged by my guidance counselor when I wanted to pursue a college that would be interested in that rather then just producing more consumers. FFS, is that all college is for? Sounds like the highest achievement anyone wants for us is to be good little consumers and make their lines go up.

        Should I feel vindicated when my crops fail because of the heat?

        Also, not everyone works on the same schedule. I have more important things to do than reply to you on your timetable.

        • ripcord@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          You didn’t mention food, no.

          I asked you a specific question, brought in a relevant point, explained why it was relevent, and you’re still ignoring it with some random streams off consciousness.

          Also, not everyone works on the same schedule. I have more important things to do than reply to you on your timetable.

          What? But…you did reply. That was the point. I wasn’t complaining about the timing, just that you blathered some reply that ignored what it was replying to.

          You clearly just want to talk at people, I won’t be getting your reply.