Coffee & Writing

Actually I don’t hold global warming or more accurately, global climate change, as a laughing matter at all.

According to the United Nations, global climate change “refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Such shifts can be natural, due to changes in the sun’s activity or large volcanic eruptions. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.”

Where I am located, we were supposed to have above normal temperatures, yet, it snowed all day yesterday. Sherlock loves watching the snow.

What happened? Who knows? While the temperatures are mainly going to stay low, there is one day during the ten-day forecast where the high is 60 degrees Farenheit or 15.5 in Celcius or 288.7 in Kelvin (we must be inclusive).

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the first three months of 2025 in my area is supposed to have above average temperatures. Now, this is not surprising, but what will actually happen?

“The Crystal Ball” by John William Waterhouse Waterhouse, 1902.

While it was nice and nostalgic to have hot cocoa out of my tall Wicked coffee mug and watch the snow, something in me knew it wasn’t right.

Wicked mugs from the play on the official website, $25 (totally worth it!)

When I was a kid in the early 1980s I remember lots of snow in December, the pond freezing over, and ice skating on the pond. Something about that seemed right and not because I was a little kid who liked snow, but just because it seemed like we got enough snow over the months of December and it faded away in January.

Then, in April of 2007 when the terrifying Virginia Tech massacre that killed 33 people was happening, I remember watching the news in real time and seeing the police running in light snow. It was strange but somehow appropriate.

One more note, while this was a very deadly school shooting, it is actually not the worst on record. The deadliest actually happened by an angry school board member in 1927 who set off a bomb which killed 45 people, including 38 children. The Washington Post reported on this story in 2022 and it is well worth a read.

Back to global climate change. This is not something we can turn our minds and hearts away from. It is deadly and it is killing people. The smog is so bad in India that on average 464 children die daily due to smog related illnesses. That is DAILY.

The smog is so bad that children cannot play outside and people have to go out to go to work or else they cannot survive.

One of the worst things is that children’s play time is restricted and schools are being closed more and more, which means they will not do well on exams.

So, why is this happening? India depends on coal for its electricity, cars for the country of 1.4 billion people emit dangerous fumes, plus the construction industry adds to it tremendously and they are not regulated.

The reason why nothing has been done about it is the oldest, most ignorant, reason in the world, a political blame game. Suggestions like artificial rain have come up, but, basically, bureaucracy is getting in the way.

Do not harm the environment, do not harm the water and the flora, earth is my mother, I am her son, may the waters remain fresh, do not harm the waters—-. Tranquility be to the atmosphere, to the waters, to the crops and vegetation.

Vedic Prayer

All is not lost, here is what you can do in the meantime to reduce your carbon footprint…

What will be done to protect global climate change under the Donald Trump administration?

Unfortunately, President-Elect Trump, does not plan to do much for the environment. According to an article by NPR, “Trump’s goal in a second term will be to boost fossil-fuel production, his campaign has said.”

According to the same article, “Trump, however, has long cast doubt on the scientific consensus that the Earth is getting hotter primarily because of human-caused emissions. In recent months, Trump railed against wind turbines and electric vehicles, which experts say would help curb climate pollution, and he threatened to claw back unspent climate funding.”

To put it more bluntly, “During his campaign, Trump said he wants to get rid of virtually all Biden administration regulations intended to cut carbon emissions and move away from fossil fuels. He’s also called for the repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act, Biden’s signature climate law.”

In my personal opinion, I have no idea what the president-elect has against the environment. Perhaps a tree was mean to him as a child. I don’t know. He seems hell bent on destroying the environment. Fortunately, he will only be in office four years; hopefully his successor will change whatever he puts into place and recognize the dangers of fossil fuels and the importance of global cimate change.

Well, it was nice to see snow, especially since I think the days of dreaming of a white Christmas are over, but that won’t stop me from believing Santa lives in a snowy North Pole.

Instead of it being one of the places that is warming the fastest.

Miriam Kavanagh