Climate Change

If you’re looked outside lately, it seems like the world is changing – and not just the stock market. When you think about how warm it’s been outside or how many storms you’ve been seeing lately, you might notice that things are a lot different from when you were a child (oh so long ago). That’s because the climate is changing, Chicken Little. Yes, it seems those high hippies from the 1960s were onto something. They were looking at the signs of the times and realizing that change was actually blowing in the wind, along with the answers.

Isn’t Climate Change Normal?

Let’s face it, humans are messy creatures and we tend to metaphorically knock over everything that we touch. We use something and then we throw it out. So if this is the cause of the climate change, doesn’t it make sense to say that climate change is actually a natural event? Well, yes and no. Climate changes do happen on planets, but they generally don’t happen as quickly they have been lately. The temperature is rising, the coastlines are changing, and the overall weather patterns are becoming altered. It doesn’t sound like that bad of a combination, especially if you’re from Minnesota (eh?), but this can add up to big trouble in the future.

How are We at Fault?

How are we changing the climate? Humans are more impactful than we might think. Each time we don’t take the time to recycle something or watch where we’re putting our trash, we begin to change the world. For example, if you drop a piece of paper on the ground, an animal might take that paper and use it for their home and then that paper might have toxic inks on it. These inks get into the ground water, into the animal, and the ecosystem can change as a result. Sounds farfetched? Well, that example is, but each action we take that changes something in the environment reaches far beyond just where we are and what we experience.

Can We Stop the Changes?

Climate change sounds scary and it is. But this doesn’t mean that things can’t be done in order to stop this process. You need to start looking at the ways you are changing the environment and then stop what you are doing. This might mean that you begin to recycle, that you don’t waste water, and that you begin to look up to the hippies instead of berating them and stealing their pot anyway. Change begins with realizing that everything you do does have an impact. Even the toilet paper you use is changing the way the world operates. And that means you have the opportunity to create positive change – for once.

Climate change might not be reversible overnight, but the more that you begin to change the way that you look at your effect, you will begin to see smaller changes adding up to big shifts in the climate – and not in a bad way.