I don’t mean stop with climate change, just the phrase “global warming”. I swear the next person who tries to argue the fact that we are doing irreparable damage to the earth by saying that it was cold last week is gonna get smacked. I formally suggest that we now refer to human caused global warming as climate change to alleviate this problem.

The facts are that we are warming the planet as a result of increased carbon monoxide, forest decimation, and greenhouse gasses. This however, does not mean that we will not have cold days anymore. There are varying effects of global warming in many different areas of the world. Major drought in Africa and South America is cruely offset by major flooding in Europe. The year of 2005 was the hottest year ever recorded since reliable instruments were introduced. Skeptics (which thankfully are finally starting to see their bleak existence come to an end) would argue that varying temperatures are part of the earth’s cycle and cannot be influenced by human activity. Consider this:

“The record heat of 2005 is part of a longer-term warming trend exacerbated by the rise of heat-trapping gases in our atmosphere that is due primarily to our burning fossil fuels and clearing forests. Nineteen of the hottest 20 years on record have occurred since 1980.”
-www.ucsusa.org

The era of human influence being too small or inconsequential has come and gone. With the increase in technology and the rise in population we are now bigger and more powerful then ever.

This does not have to be bad thing if we were to turn the tables, imagine if we were to start contributing to the solutions as quickly as we currently embrace the problems. (ie. The newest SUV, the latest technology while throwing out our 1-2 year old “outdated” technology..etc.) There are solutions and there are everyday changes we can all make, it’s not going to be easy, but it will be worth it.

P.S. “If you don’t want to get smacked, then start calling it Climate change and not Global Warming.”

-Jeff Radecki