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Barry Lewis

Enjoying Earth Day

Barry Lewis
Posted 4/29/22

It was nice to see folks enjoying Earth Day last week.

Many of you took part in some Earth Day activities. Plant flowers. Play golf. Go for a walk.

I hope you got to appreciate Earth …

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Barry Lewis

Enjoying Earth Day

Posted

It was nice to see folks enjoying Earth Day last week.

Many of you took part in some Earth Day activities. Plant flowers. Play golf. Go for a walk.

I hope you got to appreciate Earth Day.

Better yet, I hope you appreciate Earth.

Because the truth is, we don’t know how many more days this planet has left.

I’m not suggesting you start packing or cancel the Fourth of July barbecue.

But … the way things are going, eventually you won’t need to light up the grill. Just leave the steak outside and watch it cook. But be careful - it’ll burn in no time.

You see, Earth’s on somewhat of a hot streak. Pun intended.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (that’s the group of real scientists that a certain group of politicians refuse to believe) said last month was Earth’s fifth-warmest March since global record-keeping began in 1880. The global temperature for the first four months of 2022 was the fifth warmest start to a year on record and according to the NOAA it is virtually certain that 2022 will rank among the 10 warmest years on record.

These climate scientists – not lawmakers so worried about risking their contributions from energy groups that they say it’s all a liberal hoax – warn that humans have contributed about 1.25 degrees or more of global warming since pre-industrial times.

Let me share some scientific facts:

  • Global sea level rose about 6.7 inches in the last century. The rate in the last decade, however, is nearly double that of the last century.
  • The 20 warmest years have come since 1981 and with all 10 of the warmest years occurring in the past 12 years.
  • Glaciers are retreating almost everywhere around the world, including in the Alps, Himalayas, Andes, Rockies, Alaska and Africa.
  • The number of record high temperature days in the United States has been increasing, while the number of record low temperature days has been decreasing, since 1950. The U.S. has also witnessed increasing numbers of intense rainfalls.

It’s getting more difficult for Americans to capture a clean breath of air. Nearly 9 million more people were impacted by potentially deadly particle pollution than just a few years earlier. The American Lung Association says in its “State of the Air” report that there will be more days with “very unhealthy” and “hazardous” air quality than ever before in the two-decade history of this report.

On the positive side, the air report findings continue to show long-term improvement in the nation’s air quality, which the American Lung Association credits to “decades of work to reduce emissions.”

That progress, however, is offset in part by the negative impacts of hotter, drier conditions caused by climate change, the group said.

Wildfires in the western U.S. were responsible for a sharp rise in particle pollution spikes in several states. Overall, the report finds that 2.1 million more Americans live in counties with unhealthy air compared to last year’s report, and exposure to deadly particle pollution has gotten worse.

Other health groups have heightened their concerns for climate change as well. More than 200 U.S. and international journals last year said global warming packs the “greatest threat” to public health – and that was issued during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Look, I’m the last guy to complain that it’s ever too hot. I turn on the heated car seats in July. Pre-heat the bed an hour before getting in. I live to shvitz. This weather is fine with me. And it’ll be fine for my kids and hopefully my grand kids. But after that?

Earth Day weekend is good reminder how precious this planet is.

Let’s not waste it.

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