Braving the Storms: What Can We Do About Climate Change?

Image Credit: George Etheredge/New York Times

Discussing climate change is never a fun thing to do, but given the state of the world as it is right now, it is sometimes necessary. I was prompted to write this post after learning that Ireland may experience even more snow over the Easter weekend, having already been hit by the Beast from the East and another, smaller, episode of snowfall last weekend. The news struck me as completely bizarre, given that the country has not witnessed any significant amount of snow for eight years prior to this. I think this freakishly unusual weather pattern is indicative of climate change really ramping up and preparing to do its worst in the months and years to come. I felt the need to do something that would help raise awareness of the issue, so here we are.

Over the past couple of months, countries throughout the Northern Hemisphere have witnessed unusually cold weather conditions, far exceeding what would be considered normal. For example, the East Coast of the U.S. has been hit by a seemingly endless series of winter storms. Up to 26 inches of snow were recorded in parts of New York in early March, with storms depositing up to three inches of snow per hour in certain places. Widespread flight cancellations, school closures and general disruption have been reported across the East Coast ... and tragically, a higher death toll than usual has been attributed to the storms.

Europe has also been hit by a number of severe winter storms in recent weeks, including the infamous Beast From the East, which brought freezing temperatures and dense snowfall to areas that had not experienced snow in years. Rome, for example, had not witnessed snow for over six years before the Beast from the East struck. The Beast caused Naples to experience its heaviest snowfall in decades. At one point, the British Army had to be deployed in an effort to rescue hundreds of stranded motorway drivers across Britain.

What is the Cause of All This Madness? 😱
A new study published in the Nature Communications journal has offered evidence to confirm a popular theory behind these extreme weather events. They believe that cold winds have been propelled in the direction of countries just below the Arctic Circle because of the rapid thawing of the Arctic: a phenomenon that has itself been driven by global warming. This study is entitled Warm Arctic Episodes Linked With Increased Frequency of Extreme Winter Weather in the United States. Analysing weather data collected from 1950, and using a model called the accumulated winter season severity index, the authors found that the increased severity of winter weather across the United States (particularly the eastern U.S.) was linked to a raising of temperatures in the Arctic Circle.

The authors noted: “Increasing greenhouse gases are contributing to a general warming of the atmosphere and oceans globally. Over recent decades, warming has dominated global temperature trends during three of the seasons. In winter, however, cooling trends have been observed across Eurasia and the eastern US, along with rapid warming in the Arctic. This seesaw winter temperature pattern is known as the “warm-Arctic/cold-continents pattern.”

Global warming is a phenomenon caused by the accelerated rate of human-generated greenhouse gas emissions in recent decades.
Image Credit: Brian Altmeyer/Flickr
Since the industrial revolution, anthropogenic (human-generated) greenhouse gas emissions have steadily climbed upwards. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated that 10,000 million metric tons of carbon were released into Earth’s atmosphere in 2014. The sheer amount of gases we now produce exceeds the ability of our planet’s natural “carbon sinks” (such as rainforests) to absorb it. This – coupled with the fact that rainforests around the world have been felled at a rapid rate – has led to the escalating environmental crisis that we face today.

I have always hesitated to come across as "preachy" on the particular issue I'm about to discuss. I have yet to write a #vegan tagged post on Steemit (this is my very first one), because I've been reflecting very carefully on how I can do that without making people angry or upset. Still, in the context of addressing the climate change issue, I just have to say it: the animal agriculture industry is one of the most resource-intensive industries on our planet. It occupies about half of the world’s total land area, and is estimated to be responsible for at least 14.5 percent of human-generated greenhouse gas emissions. Intensive factory farming methods currently dominate the meat and dairy production industries, but switching to the much-touted alternative of small-scale farming does not present a viable answer to the problem.

Animal advocacy group Free From Harm says:
If we attempted to pasture all 100 million cows in the United States on grass, as humane/sustainable farming advocates suggest, cattle would require (using the conservative estimate of 10 acres per cow) almost half the country’s land — which doesn’t include all the land we would need to raise all of the pigs, chickens, sheep and goats free range. It is also estimated that pasture-raised cows produce 4 times more greenhouse gases than cows raised in confinement. This is because cows eating grass, as nature intended, grow much slower than cows fed on grain, and thus require significantly more time to reach slaughter weight. The longer it takes cows to grow, the more methane and nitrous-oxide they emit. Farmed animals in the U.S., 98% of whom are factory farmed, already generate a billion tons of manure per year, contributing a whopping 65 percent of the planet’s total human-caused nitrous oxide emissions.

Fortunately, many individuals and groups across the world are taking action to limit environmental destruction and seek out planet-friendly alternatives. The extraordinary growth of the market for plant-based products is one example of this trend. To cite just one example, U.S. household penetration of dairy-free beverages has doubled in five years to over 30 percent, with almond milk now accounting for almost 70 percent of sales. Newer nut-based milks such as cashew milk are also gaining great momentum. Overall dairy-free milk sales now represent a $2 billion category … and this growth is not predicted to end any time soon. I believe that if more people continue to choose plant-based products whenever they can, this would make a real difference to the state of our planet. I am very much aware of the barriers that many people face when it comes to going fully vegan, but every step in a positive direction is one to be celebrated. ❤️

Sadly, much of the damage we have caused is irreversible, and we are now seeing the evidence of this in events such as the extreme winter storms that have battered the Northern Hemisphere recently. I believe that climate change cannot be prevented at this point. We passed the point of no return quite a while ago. But we can still exercise some form of damage control and do our best – wherever we can in our everyday lives – to turn the tide. I have listed a few resources below, for anyone who is interested in learning more. 🙂

Things You Can Do to Reduce Global Warming (ThoughtCo)

What Should be Done Against Climate Change? (Green Balance)

Scientists Say Climate Change Has Reached the 'Point of No Return' – 5 Things You Can Do Today (One Green Planet)

Thank you for reading.

This fabulous community on Discord, #TeamGirlPowa, is fast becoming a corner of the Internet with a special place in my heart. 😊

I also recently joined a great community called #ecotrain – an amazing place to talk about life, sustainability, nature and related issues! The Discord link is here.