Those of you over 50 might remember the Time Life science series of large hardcover books that covered earth’s biospheres with titles like The Oceans, The Seas, Tropical Forests, The Plains, The Solar System, The Continents, The Mountains, etc. I devoured books like these as a kid. When I first found out that the sun was a ball of gas th…
Those of you over 50 might remember the Time Life science series of large hardcover books that covered earth’s biospheres with titles like The Oceans, The Seas, Tropical Forests, The Plains, The Solar System, The Continents, The Mountains, etc. I devoured books like these as a kid. When I first found out that the sun was a ball of gas that would eventually burn itself out it upset me greatly. I was 9. I went crying to my dad, who was coincidentally reading the now defunct Omni magazine at the time, to ask when it would happen. That was my first memory of caring about the earth, its inhabitants and animals, how littering would affect seas, etc.
I still think about all those things and the dire consequences of our actions today. How does it affect my daily life? I know I can’t save the world but I try to do things on a personal level that I know will help. We started using stainless steel straws and reusable grocery bags years ago. We stopped buying plastic water bottles. Four years ago my husband and I had a huge 50th birthday party and many of my guests were asking about were the water bottles were located. I had a huge a refillable water jug. I cut any large plastics into smaller pieces so sea creatures don’t get tangled. We use a sea friendly lotion type sunscreens at the beach. The last two years we started using old face cloths to wipe down counters and surfaces to cut down on paper use. We recently moved and downsized our home. I put so much of our no longer needed items on a neighborhood website advertising them for free or for sale. I did not want to contribute to landfills. We brought our outdated electronics to stores advertising proper disposal. In general we try to consume less so we throw away less. Our new home has low maintenance grass and plantings to reduce water usage.
On a larger scale, we were planning a vacation to Northwest this September (though the Delta variant might pause it). We had to factor in the wildfire months. When we kayak and paddle board, I always think about the manatees, dolphins, and all the sea creatures that are affected by algae blooms, oil spills, and fertilizer dumps in our Florida waterways. It may sound alarmist but we don’t want to stay in Florida for our retirement years. At some point the Florida peninsula may be underwater. On a very personal level, our married, grown daughter is much like us. She has already informed us that she and our son-in-law aren’t fully decided on children. At times she doesn’t want to bring a child into this chaos and we fully understand this.
It makes me sad to think we humans are our greatest enemies. It makes me upset that climate change has become politicized. Talk to any insurance company specializing in natural disasters. They will tell you it costs us more to keep rebuilding than it will cost us to start making changes now. Data doesn’t care about politics.
But do I hold out hope that the younger generation realizes the dire consequences of ignoring climate change.
Those of you over 50 might remember the Time Life science series of large hardcover books that covered earth’s biospheres with titles like The Oceans, The Seas, Tropical Forests, The Plains, The Solar System, The Continents, The Mountains, etc. I devoured books like these as a kid. When I first found out that the sun was a ball of gas that would eventually burn itself out it upset me greatly. I was 9. I went crying to my dad, who was coincidentally reading the now defunct Omni magazine at the time, to ask when it would happen. That was my first memory of caring about the earth, its inhabitants and animals, how littering would affect seas, etc.
I still think about all those things and the dire consequences of our actions today. How does it affect my daily life? I know I can’t save the world but I try to do things on a personal level that I know will help. We started using stainless steel straws and reusable grocery bags years ago. We stopped buying plastic water bottles. Four years ago my husband and I had a huge 50th birthday party and many of my guests were asking about were the water bottles were located. I had a huge a refillable water jug. I cut any large plastics into smaller pieces so sea creatures don’t get tangled. We use a sea friendly lotion type sunscreens at the beach. The last two years we started using old face cloths to wipe down counters and surfaces to cut down on paper use. We recently moved and downsized our home. I put so much of our no longer needed items on a neighborhood website advertising them for free or for sale. I did not want to contribute to landfills. We brought our outdated electronics to stores advertising proper disposal. In general we try to consume less so we throw away less. Our new home has low maintenance grass and plantings to reduce water usage.
On a larger scale, we were planning a vacation to Northwest this September (though the Delta variant might pause it). We had to factor in the wildfire months. When we kayak and paddle board, I always think about the manatees, dolphins, and all the sea creatures that are affected by algae blooms, oil spills, and fertilizer dumps in our Florida waterways. It may sound alarmist but we don’t want to stay in Florida for our retirement years. At some point the Florida peninsula may be underwater. On a very personal level, our married, grown daughter is much like us. She has already informed us that she and our son-in-law aren’t fully decided on children. At times she doesn’t want to bring a child into this chaos and we fully understand this.
It makes me sad to think we humans are our greatest enemies. It makes me upset that climate change has become politicized. Talk to any insurance company specializing in natural disasters. They will tell you it costs us more to keep rebuilding than it will cost us to start making changes now. Data doesn’t care about politics.
But do I hold out hope that the younger generation realizes the dire consequences of ignoring climate change.