By Anne van Oorschot, AWC The Hague
Summer is behind us, and the regular rhythms of school and work are humming along as if there had never been a break (amazing how that works!) My AWC is planning more activities, and all are hopeful that the restrictive coronavirus regulations will continue to relax. Things seem normal, but when I look back on my summer, I realize it was actually abnormal in many ways:
- I arrived in northern Minnesota in early June to find temperatures in the high 90s for almost 2 weeks. It never used to get that hot in early June!
- Everything was very dry, as there had been little rain in the spring. While it was nice to have sunny summer days while at our lake cabin,
the continuing lack of rain meant that the lake level kept dropping. It was about 1.5 feet lower than normal by the end of the summer – a problem for boaters and many who use the lake. (photo on right) - Then there were the mornings I looked out to see hazy and foggy weather. It was actually smoke from the forest fires in Canada,
blown to Minnesota by northern winds. The result was that northern Minnesota – full of forests, lakes and very few people – had the worst air quality in America for several days. (photo on left)
How was your summer? Did you have “unusual” weather where you were? It seems like one only has to open the paper or turn on the news to hear stories from around the world of abnormal rainfall, unusual flooding and severe storm fronts moving in. Words like “abnormal,” “record breaking” and “once in a century” have become the norm when talking about the weather. What is going on?? What we commonly refer to as climate change is changing the climate – and while there has long been discussion as to the causes of these changes, the cause now seems clear.
UN-IPCC
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. According to the IPCC Working Group I report, Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis, the changing weather conditions are a direct result of emissions of greenhouse gases from human activity. The report, published on August 9, 2021, was approved by 195 member governments – who go through it line by line before approval – and leaves no doubt that the climate is changing due to human behavior.
How can FAWCO’s Environment Team help?
While those of us on the Environment Team are not surprised by the confirmation of man-made causes for climate change, it is unsettling to experience the drastic changes that are already occurring. Fortunately, there is much that each of us can do to increase our awareness of the problems and work in the right direction. The actions may seem small, but together we can help move society in the right direction. That is where the Environment Team comes in. We publish monthly articles with information to increase your understanding of environmental problems as well as giving action tips to change your behaviors for the better. This information can in turn be passed on to your club members by anyone – including, but not restricted to, the FAWCO Rep. It can also be forwarded to your family and friends. In addition, we have a section on the website with Recommended Books, all of which have been personally read and reviewed by members of our Team. Next time you are looking for a good book, check out the variety of adult and children’s titles.
The Environment articles can be found on the FAWCO website and are published in the Global issues Digest, which is sent to subscribers on the last Tuesday of each month. (It’s easy to subscribe on the website: click on the Subscribe Page link under Publications at the bottom of the home page.)
Sources:
There are several different formats of the IPCC report:
• Climate change widespread, rapid and intensifying – IPCC
• Headline Statements from the Summary for Policymakers
• AR6 Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis – IPCC
Photos: Anne van Oorschot
