I have no excuse for missing last weekend… I just didn’t prep a post. Life was life’ing and I was out here trying to survive mid-season softball with my girls.
I’m not sure where you’re reading this right now, but I’m in Florida. The ongoing weather custody battle that has Spring and Summer seeing one another as foes has most of us financially bound to antihistamines and mucus removing nasal remedies. It’s about to May and I feel like it JUST got hot today, but the nights are still a bit cool. What is happening with the environment? Let’s have a look at what we’re seeing out here.
Train Derailments
The number of train derailments that have happened in 2023 is just flabbergasting. However, of note, the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio has a bit of a deeper scare to it. Not only did the train derail, but it’s cargo has also released carcinogenic materials and fumes into the atmosphere that are still being assessed for their potential damage to the environment and population. In case you missed that word, it is CARCINOGENIC. Carcinogens cause cxncer (yes, I typed that with an x on purpose). They do not MAYBE cause it; THEY LITERALLY cause it. In case you didn’t know, there is another place in the United States that wears the worst scars of carcinogenic fumes: St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana. This is where DuPont erected its neoprene plant, and the EPA has since rated St. John the Baptist Parish’s air quality with a risk of cxncer 700 times that of the national average.
That may not seem like a huge deal unless you’re in Ohio… But what does air do without ANYONE asking it to do so? It MOVES. In and of itself, that may not be alarming. Tag teaming with a cancer-causing agent, I don’t want that air moving anywhere. Who has a vacuum we can borrow?
Is it the Chicken or the Egg?
We’ve all had our go-rounds with the prices of eggs being higher than a giraffe’s boogers. Who would’ve thought we’d be in a time where a dozen eggs cost more than two or three dollars. Yet here we are! Why? Bird flu. Yes. The same one from the 90’s and 2000’s. It’s been a particularly deadly according to a couple of things I’ve seen on ye olde Google.
Couple this with chickens recently experiencing a decline in egg laying, many not laying eggs at all, and it makes you wonder what is happening. There is no conspiracy theory to be confirmed that I am aware of, but it sure does make you wonder what the heck is happening. Someone, somewhere tried to tie a knot between “big chicken” farms getting upset that people were getting eggs from local farms instead of paying inflated prices, so they began to poison the bird feed. That is a bit of a stretch for me, but in 2023, I can’t put anything completely out of the realm of possibility.
CO2 Emissions Are Up
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions hit a record high last year. However, the use of cleaner technologies, such as solar power and electric vehicles, has reduced the impact of increased consumption of coal and oil.
An IEA analysis showed global energy emissions in 2022 would rise by 0.9% to reach a record high of 36.8 billion tons. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sparked an energy crisis, CO2 emissions from coal increased by 1.6% as many countries turned to more polluting fuels. Carbon emissions from oil increased by 2.5%, but remain below pre-pandemic levels, the report said. About half of the increase in oil-related emissions was due to a surge in air travel that has recovered since the pandemic.
LISTEN!!! This is the stuff that’s busting the ozone layer to pieces. Now that I think about it, I don’t even hear anyone talking about that anymore. Is it still there? Wasn’t there a hole in it or something?
La Niña is Afoot
Do y’all remember El Niño? Well, his little sister is out here ready to cut UP! Last year was the third consecutive year of La Niña events. This is a highly unusual trend that has occurred only three times since records began in the 1950s. These climate scientists say changes in La Niña and El Niño are making future prospects uncertain. Winter in the northern hemisphere is characterized by unusual temperature fluctuations. These weather patterns are attributed to the climate crisis. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy have developed a new heating and cooling method that is more climate-friendly than existing methods. This innovation could help countries meet their climate goals.Â
It is difficult to predict how climate change will affect El Niño and La Niña. Although the mean sea surface temperature of the Pacific Ocean will rise, it is the difference in sea surface temperature between the western and eastern Pacific that is important in producing these weather patterns. The eastern Pacific is becoming increasingly buoyant and is subject to deeper cold waters).
What Now…
I mean… It’s pretty obvious… The world is changing. There are a lot of changes happening outside and we’re not sure how things are going to be looking in the near future. One thing is for sure, we must make a few changes. Not just for ourselves, but for our children. The population of the world is growing exponentially, and we have to be sure we leave something for our children to live on. Not food… I mean, ACTUALLY live on. Like a planet with an ecosystem that works. I’m no one’s climate change protester, but it IS important that I have something other than life insurance to give my children in the event of my demise.
Who The Kel? 