Heat Wave/Climate Change Rant

Do I have your attention?

Great. Here's the thing, if you know me, you know that I LOVE swimming. Be it in a pool, the ocean, a lake, you name it, I love it. Only problem is...I should not still be sweating wearing a bathing suit in my home.

I'm sure that last winter we all heard someone say or said ourselves, "if global warming is real, why is it so cold?" A short answer would be that while Arctic temperatures warm, North American temperatures get colder, creating longer-lasting, more drastic winters.

I know most of the people who will read this post have seen 100 degree days before and agree they were hot back then. The difference now is evenings aren't cooling down. These 100+ degree days are lasting into the evening and heat waves are lasting longer. The term global warming may often confuse people so let me say that global warming causes EXTREME WEATHER. Cold days get colder, hot days get hotter. The hotter the air, the more moisture that can be held and we've all been feeling the humidity. This moisture falls as rain which has been directly linked to the extreme rain we've all had this year.

Who's CURRENTLY more at risk? Elderly, kids, people who are already sick, and folks living in more dense areas, such as cities. We've all heard people down south freaking out over a snow storm that we're so used to. This is what's happening up north as we realize that there are many people not prepped to handle extreme heat.

How can YOU make a difference?

1. Reduce your meat intake
2. Put pressure on your local government to take action regarding climate change
3. Reduce your car usage
4. Reduce your fast fashion purchases 
5. Reduce your plastic usage

These are all small but EASY things that we can do collectively to give our future a fighting chance. Are you going to join me?!

- jamie

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Information for this post was taken from NPR, BBC, and National Geographic.