Climate Change in Southern California
Personally, I am terrified of
climate change. I feel like I hear about how the world is ending due to climate
change every day, but I rarely hear about any changes being made. I honestly
worry we are too set in our ways to make necessary changes. Sometimes I think it’s
pointless to try if no one else does. How am I individually supposed to change our
public transportation issues? Or how am I supposed to fix sprawling and promote
walking? Despite my pessimism about climate change, I do recognize the people
working hard to make amends. I will give credit where credit is due. Their
efforts are not going unnoticed. Unfortunately, the people that really need to
notice them, policymakers, seem to turn a blind eye.
I have definitely seen the effects of
climate change where I live. I am from Los Angeles which is in Southern
California. Southern California is known for its year-round warm weather and
sunny skies, especially in the summer. I can only remember a handful of times growing
up when it wasn’t sunny the entire day from June to September. A few clouds in
the morning were normal from the marine layer, but it was an anomaly if it
rained. This year it has been cloudy every single day since I have been home. The
temperatures have also been way cooler than usual around somewhere in the mid
to upper sixties. Everyone here has noticed the bad weather, and no one is happy.
It’s all anyone can talk about because it makes everyone depressed. We have
been spoiled too long so no one was ready mentally or physically for the lack
of vitamin D. I guess June gloom is normal, but we joke that it isn’t what we
pay such high taxes for!
My dog Mahoney in front of the gloomy sky, midafternoon.
Talking about climate change
inspired me to do a deep dive into its effects on where I live. Apparently, what
I have been experiencing is different than what experts say is happening.
Research has shown that climate change has increased the temperature in Southern
California. Since the beginning of the 20th century, California’s overall temperature
has increased by three degrees Fahrenheit (2). It is losing the Mediterranean
climate it used to have and becoming dryer. I guess I have noticed the lack of
rain as we are in a constant drought, but this year El Nino hit which caused downpours
(1).
I think the most important thing I
have learned from this course is how humans have created most of the ecological
issues. There are so many things we are causing directly and indirectly that I
have never thought about. For instance, I had no idea the algal overgrowth in
the Yahara lakes is from both agricultural and urban runoff encouraged by
humans. I also didn’t know part of the reason the deer population is thriving
is because we created great habitat conditions for them. Learning about our
implications has made me introspective on what I do to instigate ecological
issues. For example, there are many places I have driven to that are very walkable.
This course has taught me to be more reflective and given me many ideas about
how I can individually mitigate ecological problems.
Chenney, Alex. “NOAA
Predicts Summer in SoCal Will Be Much Hotter.” ABC7 Los Angeles, 25 May
2023, abc7.com/heat-summer-2023-southern-california-heatwave/13296471/.
Kunkel, K.E. “State Climate
Summaries 2022.” National Centers for Environmental Information, 1 Jan.
1970, statesummaries.ncics.org/chapter/ca/.
Oakley, Nina. “California
Climate Data Archive.” CalClim, calclim.dri.edu/. Accessed 18 June 2023.
Hi Aidan,
ReplyDeleteIt was great to learn about your experience with climate in California as it is such a different one from my experience year round in Wisconsin. It was sad to learn about the differences in weather happening and I agree it is so interesting to learn about the ways humans affect their environment and how much we need to make changes if we are going to fix these problems. It is great to reflect on everything we do and how we can encourage positive change!
It's understandable to feel terrified about climate change, especially when it feels like the necessary changes are not being made or noticed by policymakers. It's also interesting to hear about the climate change effects you have observed in your hometown of Los Angeles. Climate change can have diverse impacts in different regions, and it's essential to understand the local manifestations of climate change.
ReplyDeleteI am often frustrated by constantly being told to take individual actions like recycling and reducing my use of plastic straws when in reality the scale of changes needed to keep the planet under the 2 degrees C warming threshold is way beyond any one choice that I make, and the people in power who can actually make a difference are choosing otherwise. I agree that it is important to evaluate our own lifestyles and make necessary changes, and to demand more of those who can make large-scale change happen -- both things can be true!
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