Changing climate?

Temperatures and snowfall amounts in the mountains where I live haven’t really changed during the past 15 or 20 years. Those who have been around longer than that, however, can remember much colder temperatures during the winter and much deeper snowfall. Summers are not necessarily warmer, but they are tending to be drier, with a concurrent uptick in wildland fires. The lightning that arrives with pop-up thunderstorms often causes fires. On many summer days the temperatures vary from the upper 30s overnight to the upper 80s during the day. Such a steep 50-degree temperature gradient leads to late afternoon winds and scattered thunderstorms as the sun drops behind the mountains and the temperature falls, and fog in the morning as the sun comes up and the temperature begins to rise.

On the other hand, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (www.noaa.gov) ranks January 2020 as Earth’s hottest January on record. When temperatures fluctuate broadly over a given period of time, the gradient is considered steep. A steep temperature gradient produces wind. Wind blows moisture. Hotter temperatures somewhere else may well have been responsible for causing the prevailing winds to blow in the 100+ inches of snow we’ve received in our mountains over the past few weeks.

There’s no doubt that weather and climate are subject to change. Day-to-day temperature and precipitation changes constitute weather. Climate relates to weather patterns observed over long periods of time. Meteorologists and climate scientists study both direct and indirect records of weather to describe climate patterns. The various databases that contain 24-hour temperature and precipitation recordings contain direct information. Indirect sources of weather and climate information include observable patterns seen in polar and glacial ice, growth rings and core samples of trees, and ocean characteristics.

So what does the above discussion have to do with Mundane to Insane? Directly, not much. My art goes on, changing only because I supposedly have more time to spend on it. The progress of my work isn’t affected at all by weather or climate. Cooking? It will very likely be changed over the long term. The lives my grandchildren and their children will be able to lead will be greatly affected. Why?

According to The Pollinators documentary (www.thepollinators.net), several factors are involved in the ongoing decline of honeybee populations. One of the major factors is climate change, along with other biggies like habitat loss, pesticide use, and mite infestation. Research gathered by The Pollinators team claims that “one out of every three bites we eat, the growth of almost all our fruits, nuts and vegetables, would be impossible without pollination from bees.”(thehoneybeeconservancy.org) Quite a problem for those who cook, and those caring for families, let alone for anyone who cares that the Earth survives.

The Earth, climate and all, has survived myriad changes in its 4.543-billion-year history. Probably the most profound change was the evolution of human-like creatures some 7 million years ago - just 15% of Earth’s history - who began to alter the Earth to benefit themselves. Fire controlled by such human-like creatures only began about a million years ago. Since then, the magnificent human brain has continued to develop and discover. The human heart, though, has not really kept up. Too many people forget to take care of the Earth and the living organisms that make it their home. During the first 85% of Earth’s history, nothing attempted control of its development. Evolution, organic and inorganic, progressed of its own accord. Humans now need to exert control over what THEY do for the Earth, instead of focusing on what the Earth can do or give to them.