Is the end in sight?
Is the end in sight?
No not the end of the word but just an end to life as we experienced it and our weather in 2020.
And what a year it has been.
Probably the biggest story was the coronavirus as it ravaged the entire country bringing death and suffering to every community and many families. Along with this was the economic devastation of lost jobs, income, opportunity and the big question of could it have been different? Did that many need to die, did that many need to suffer? Hope has arrived in the form of the vaccines and now the struggle to get this out to every corner of our country and the world and have people believe in the safety of this approach.
Not to be undone was climate change. It made its presence known, on top of all this misery and suffering; nature was on the cruel side this year.
First we had the fires in the west consuming over 4 million acres, killing hundreds and destroying thousands of homes. Fires also raged in Australia and even Siberia and the Arctic. Along with the fires were the heat and the drought that dried up needed crops and pasture land. The heat was relentless. Phoenix had 141 days over 100 degrees, and 90-degree weather lasted until Nov. 15. Las Vegas just got rain last week after 239 rainless days in a row.
In a few days we will know if 2020 was the hottest year ever for the entire planet. As the planet warms, the ice continues to melt and the seas continue to rise and the prospects for more misery continue to mount. The past year was also the worst for hurricanes with 30 named storms, six of which brought death and destruction to our shores.
Closer to home we also had a hot year with 29 days of 90-degree-plus weather and very little rain during the critical growing season.
Like the virus, must we continue to deny the reality of what is happening to our climate until it is out of control or can we begin work on the vaccine for climate? When science is allowed to perform, it can continue to work wonders and bring about solutions to the worst of our problems just as it is poised to do with COVID-19.
We all know that politics will not bring an end to a virus or change our weather; however, leadership must take a role in dealing with these enemies of life. There is much we can do bring an end to the virus and begin to make some efforts to get a handle on the climate problem.
As we head into a new year I am hopeful that we are beginning to see the climate discussion emerging, and from the discussion action can begin to take place that will save lives in the future and bring down the amount of misery and destruction that will occur if we do nothing.
Wishes for sunny days and gentle rains in the chapters ahead.