If I wanted to live in the Carolinas, I would. I have chosen not to, but the heat of the last several weeks sure makes it feel like the Carolinas have come to me. Climate change models have predicted for years that the climate of the Northeast would become more like the mid-Atlantic. It certainly feels like the models were right. Added to the heat is the severe drought we have been experiencing. Combined, the heat and drought have made it hard on people, on plants and animals. We are seeing lower water levels in ponds and streams across the Cape.
The shift in climate is real, and while the weather will remain variable, it is indisputable that the climate is now the warmest it has ever been in recorded human history. Climate and weather are related, but they are not the same. “Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get.” Remember that the next time that the remaining climate deniers use a cold day to make the argument that the climate isn’t warming.
Amid the bad news of weeks of oppressive heat, there are bright spots. A national legislative response to the climate changes we are experiencing appears ready to become law, perhaps as soon as this week. Is it perfect? No. But it doesn’t need to be perfect to be progress. National legislative action on climate is long overdue, and this pending federal act is the much needed first step. Progress is something to be celebrated, and it will serve as the foundation for needed further legislation. Also of note is significant climate legislation awaiting the signature of Governor Baker. Massachusetts has a long tradition of passing incremental improvements to climate laws and the bill before Governor Baker is another step forward and we are hopeful that the Governor signs the bill into law.
None of what is on the table now prevents the further changes to the climate prompted by the historic release of greenhouse gasses from occurring. It is my expectation that summers for the rest of my life will be more like this one than the summers of my youth. I do have reason to believe that my children and their kids (rhetorical–not public pressuring!) will be able to enjoy a climate that will be more like what Cape Cods’ has historically been and not what it is becoming. For the first time, there is now a legitimate basis for that hope to be justified. That feels good and it’s a reminder of why who we vote for, and why we vote for them, matters.
