Happy #TrendingTuesday!! I wanted to hold off on posting this article until later in the evening, so that it would be more relevant as we approach April 22—Earth Day!
People are already talking, tweeting and posting about saving the planet and while I could overwhelm you with facts about pollution, global warming, “global cooling,” littering, etc., I want to talk a little bit about my personal experiences over the past few years first.
As I have mentioned before, I grew up in Lafayette, Indiana, a city about an hour outside of Indiana’s capital. I attended college two hours south in Bloomington, Indiana (Go Hoosiers!) and in the past year made the move to Jacksonville, Florida.
It was not until middle school that I experienced a non-white Christmas. No snow, no ice, just cold weather. It was completely unheard of for Indiana to not have snow on the ground during that time of year. Granted, we chalked it up to weird weather patterns and exchanged our gifts and sang our carols, per usual.
As life goes on though, I think it is important we stop and observe the patterns we are seeing in our states’ climates. Now, Midwesterners don’t even bat an eye if there is snow on the ground in December; in fact, it’s very possible there will be snow on Halloween in October, or even Easter in April. Meanwhile, I know people in Tennessee completely shutting down roads over an inch of snow they had never seen before.
The point is not to judge the weather based on well-known holidays, but rather, to stop and think about what you once knew to be the “norm” during a certain season, and compare it to where we are now.
According to climate.gov, 2020 was the second-warmest year on record based on temperature and land data. What this means is that even though we may not directly see or feel the impacts of the planet warming up—it definitely is.
The extra heat is driving regional and seasonal temperature extremes, reducing snow cover and sea ice, intensifying heavy rainfall and changing habitat ranges for plants and animals—expanding some and shrinking others, they said.
Interestingly enough, the Arctic is warming faster than most other regions, with land and ocean growing warmer simultaneously.
Now, I am not here to shove global warming down your throat—the evidence is there if you want it. What I think is relevant to talk about, though, is the scientific evidence we have gathered about what we as humans are doing to expedite global warming (i.e., cars that run off gas, burning Styrofoam and other O-zone destroying substances, using outdated lightbulbs) as well as acknowledging the science we have confirmed about our sun being an ever-burning star, combustion and movement/gravitational pull of the planets.
What you will see this #TrendingTuesday is only a precursor of what is to come Friday, April 22. As you see people advocating to save the planet, be sure that you are educated enough on your opinions and the things you are doing to contribute (either negatively or positively) to the preservation of our planet.
Quick facts & links:
1. The NOAA stands for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
This government agency is often cited for statistics about climate and climate change. Their job is to understand and predict changes on the Earth based solely off data.
2. There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to the solution. While some people may firmly believe in the elimination of plastic straws, you can rest easily that if you use one it won’t be the end of the world.
There are other long-lasting alternatives such as switching lightbulbs, converting to solar energy and supporting local businesses who use sustainable energy
LINK HERE to more ways to help
3. The sun is expanding, but (as of current science) the Earth is moving further away from the sun.
The argument that global warming is being caused by our planet moving closer to the sun is null and void, however, the chemical changes in the atmosphere are contributing to the changes in weather patterns. This is why we must be proactive, simply because there are outside factors that we cannot control and are directly impacting our planet.
All stars burn and expand, the sun is no different. Our sun is burning and will continue burning. Also, don’t freak out, it is nowhere close to exploding.
LINK HERE for more info about our planet and the solar system
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