I am torn. My heart and my head know that this ridiculously warm weather in the middle of March is not right, but my body is so happy! It’s always exciting for Spring to arrive. We are wired to love it. The birds comes back, the flowers and trees start to bud, and we can walk outside without a jacket for the first time in months. Feeling the glowing sun on our faces, we smile and soak it all in, ready for warmer weather and more daylight.
But what happens when it comes too soon? It is so tempting to just say “Hooray! Summer comes in March now!’ and enjoy what is traditionally referred to as “good weather.” But actually, stuff like this is a huge problem, and that fact should be obvious to everyone. Take a quick step back from the endorphins flowing through your warm selves and think about the consequences of extreme climate change.
Now, on days like today, when the high is 80 here in Vermont (and the normal temperature in mid March is around 40), it would be easy to call this Global Warming, and yes, that’s a part of it, but I think one of the biggest problems with climate change awareness is the fact that it got dubbed Global Warming in the first place. Yes, on the whole our planet’s average temperatures are going up. That is measurable and true. But it doesn’t mean every day will be warm.
Climate change is about weather extremes. Day that are way hotter than they should be, as well as much colder. “Global Warming” doesn’t mean no more cold days. We are also seeing an increase in extreme storms. Hurricanes that are showing up in places that they shouldn’t, and stronger than they should be. Tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, I mean, how long until the volcanoes start?
Amazingly, some people still refuse to recognize that climate change is real. And by some people I mean my father. And other people recognize that it is real, but don’t really care. I mean, on a day like today, when everyone is in shorts and eating creemees, how could we possibly complain?! And don’t get me wrong. I WILL be wearing shorts and eating creemees today. But if it is 80 when it is supposed to be 40, what happens next? Will it be 120 degrees this summer in Vermont? Or worse, will all the plants start to emerge from their winter’s sleep, only to be brutally killed by a frost in May, when it should be 70, but it is 30 instead? Nature has a balance and a progression, and this is not it.
Something is wrong here people. I wish the warning signs were not so pleasant and lovely, but here they are. And maybe there’s nothing we can do about it. Maybe it is a natural progression of nature and the Earth. Maybe humans do not affect the climate as much as some people think. But holy cow people, we have to at least try something! If it’s a choice between saving jobs and making money, and the salvation of the human race, well, we can’t keep thinking in the short term forever. Sure it’s nice now, but it’s not going to last.