Have you heard people making comments about Mother Nature being drunk, because of bitter cold being followed by unseasonably warm weather? Inside Climate News has a good article with some graphics that explains it.
The basic reasons is the polar jet stream is becoming weaker and more unstable. When the jet stream is strong, it’s like a fence keeping all the cold air in the arctic. When the jet stream is weaker, it makes big kinks like a winding river, and we get alternating extreme cold and warm weather. That’s why we had low temperatures in the teens followed by a few days later it’s in the 60s and 70s during the day.
The reason the jet stream is weaker is because the arctic region is warming faster than the equator. So there is less temperature difference between the arctic and the equator, and this helps make the jet stream weaker. And the last 75+ years of people burning lots of fossil and other fuels have added lots of greenhouse gases to the air making the climate change, bringing “drunk” weather patterns from an unstable jet stream.
Please read the article in Inside Climate News, it explains it well and has a lot of really good graphics to help visualize it.
If you want to know what you can do, the answer is there’s a lot, and it’s a mix of individual actions and policy/group actions.
* For yourself, you can do everything you can to reduce energy use (caulk, insulation, use LEDs, etc.). You can also reduce use of fossil fuels – take advantage of IRA funds/credits/rebates to switch from a gas furnace to a heat pump, get an induction stove, etc. If you can’t afford a whole stove or have a landlord who won’t install one, then you could buy a single induction burner ($70-$200). Use your gas stove as little as possible, and instead use a microwave, electric teakettle, or freestanding electric or induction burner to do much of your cooking. Other things you can do include eating food that is mostly plant-based, carpooling to work or school, walking or biking when you can, and planting a backyard garden. If you are considering buying a car, look at electric or plug-in hybrid cars. There are rebates or credits for both used and new electric cars.
* One of the most important thing is to talk to friends, family, and neighbors about what you’re doing and why you care. Joining together with friends or family or a group like Mothers & Others For Clean Air to take action, can help make a difference, and it brings a feeling of being connected about doing something.
* For policy work, contact your elected officials at all levels often – city/county, state, and federal. Let them know that you care about climate, air pollution, and health. Whether you just say you care, or whether you’re commenting on a specific issue, they need to hear from us often.
Remember, Mother Nature isn’t drunk, it’s we humans who are drunk on fossil fuels, and that we have the technology and tools we need. We need to just do it and stop stalling!
01/26/2024
