"It's Gettin' Hot In Heere…"

The recent wildfires in Canada – and the choking effects felt downwind –put the climate change issue back on the front pages in a big way. For several days, New York held the dubious honor of having the Worst Air Quality In The World. News footage and photos made the city look like a dystopian hellscape out of Dune. People were back to wearing masks, and area residents were told to stay indoors (much to the chagrin of their dogs). The air smelled like the Mother Of All Campfires – minus the S’mores.

In Texas, thousands of fish washed ashore on the beaches, dead from a warming Gulf. In south Florida, a miles-long blob of seaweed also washed ashore. Besides the nasty smell, it has the added bonus of bearing a flesh-eating disease (as if the beaches needed more nastiness than what drunk college kids provide each spring).

These seemingly isolated incidents are grim reminders of the changes our planet is undergoing, at a rapidly increasing rate. Earth.org has noted the biggest challenges we face in 2023. While many of us have been doing our bit by recycling and such, let’s up our game, shall we? 

Plastic pollution is a major issue, choking our landfills, oceans, you name it. One sobering fact?  There’s over 150 million tons of plastic floating in the sea; a single plastic straw takes 200 years (you read that right) to degrade. Use cloth shopping bags, opt for glass over plastic – whether it’s bottles or storage containers. Here are some other tips.

Agriculture and our global food system are responsible for an astonishing THIRD of greenhouse emissions. Much of that comes from the livestock industry, which requires deforestation to create grazing land and the fertilizers that pollute the waterways. You don’t have to become a full-on vegetarian but reducing your meat consumption can have an impact. A single “meatless day” can save almost 220 pounds of CO2 a year.

Of course, one can only do so much on their own. It’s critical to have federal help to create robust legislation that will mitigate some of the practices hurting our planet. The most comprehensive way is to monitor the EPA website; it provides contacts for regional offices and initiatives. This group is another way to keep tabs on legislators who are working on key environmental issues in the country.

Vote with your wallet. Here’s a list of some top companies with sustainable practices; support them and let them know you’re supporting them. Encourage them to share their best practices with other corporate entities, because it’s a win for both the companies and their customers.

Climate change is hitting us, not in the dramatic way presented by some big blockbuster movie (like the 2004 movie The Day After Tomorrow). On a small, daily basis we experience it, whether coughing from wildfire smoke hundreds of miles away, smelling rotting fish on a formerly pristine beach, or experiencing wild weather swings. We need to act both individually and push the Powers That Be (government and corporate) to do more. Step up!

What’s your most pressing issue regarding climate? How do your legislators perform in this area? Any successful initiatives you’ve started in your community? Share it all via our Community Soapbox!

Cindy Grogan is a writer, lover of history and "Star Trek" (TOS), and hardcore politics junkie. There was that one time she campaigned for Gerald Ford (yikes), but ever since, she's been devoted to Democratic and progressive policies.