Close to Nowhere

Just about everyone I know is sick with the flu, allergies, colds, sniffles, etc. And it seems to be getting worse. One of the things I like to blame is the weather. Like this week — Monday, it was 70 degrees. Tuesday, 81 degrees. Wednesday (I write this on Tuesday) the temperature is supposed to be 67. And maybe go down into the 30s?

My opinion is that global warming has driven Mother Nature insane.

Did you know...

• The concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2)​​​​​​​ in our atmosphere, as of 2016, is the highest in three million years — 400 parts per million.

• 2016 ​was the warmest year on record. NASA and NOAA data show that global averages were 1.78 degrees F (0.99 degrees C) warmer than the mid-20th century average, making 2016 the third year in a row with record-setting surface temperatures.

Climate change is happening! Our Earth is warming. Earth’s average temperature has risen by 1.5°F over the past century, and is projected to rise another 0.5 to 8.6°F over the next hundred years.

Small changes in the average temperature of the planet can translate to large and potentially dangerous shifts in climate and weather.

How do summertime temperatures of 110 degrees sound? That’s what our children and grandchildren will be facing.

Rising global temperatures have been accompanied by changes in weather and climate. Many places have seen changes in rainfall, resulting in more floods, droughts, or intense rain, as well as more frequent and severe heat waves.

Doesn’t that sound like what’s happening in the South?

Our oceans and glaciers have also experienced some big changes – oceans are warming and becoming more acidic, ice caps are melting, and sea levels are rising.

In the Montana Glacier Park, there used to be 150 glaciers. Now, there are 25.

It doesn’t seem like we can do much about the weather, but we need to start trying — recycle, tune your vehicle regularly.

If we could all travel to the Amazon and protest the destruction of the rain forests that would help more than anything.

It’s amazing how much the rain forests have to do with the entire planet’s air.

Mother Nature is mad. We need to start helping her!