
Two days ago I exited my dorm in Boston in shorts, happy to have a break from the frigid winter cold. Granted, I enjoy chilly temperatures, but this was not the case- it was legitimately warm. Would I really walk a mile to track practice in shorts and a t-shirt otherwise? No. I'm not that strange. Keep in mind, the day was February 27th, a time when snow usually dominates the forecast.

March 1st and here I sit, bundled in blankets next to my laptop, ready to spend a long day inside avoiding the dreaded weather. What is it I'm bracing myself for? Fourteen inches of snow. Now the pleasant memory of walking through Boston in spring-like warmth is shattered and the fear of winter treachery sets in. How unlucky it is that this is the weekend I came home from school to relax... It looks like I might have to cut this vacation short and head back to Beantown via bus this evening. Otherwise, this wonderful Nor'easter will spell nothing but disaster for traveling in the morning.

The south is getting snow too.

Right now, states like Georgia and Alabama are enjoying (or hating) the rare sight of snow.
Yes, this is just one minor example of an opposite change in climate change, but it's time people recognize the truth of our altering world. While the ocean temperatures are rising and poles suffer retreating glaciers, other sections of the globe are actually getting colder. North-West Europe is actually forecasted to experience its coldest winters on record in the next ten years.
Okay, okay. I'm trying to stress a fact that isn't really important. Let's just get one thing straight: the climate is undergoing dramatic change and we need to do something to stop it. That is what is important- we need to change our lifestyles to try and prevent the destruction of our planet. The way we are treating the Earth now is atrocious and many people are unaware of the impact we are having. Did you know that an estimated 137 animals go extinct each day and that almost 50,000 are predicted to be wiped from existence each year? And that's only including the species we know of...
If you find youself among the group of people who don't care about animals, I hate to be the one to tell you this but we too are a species susceptible to the dangers of a changing globe. As the polar sheets of ice melt, they are adding huge amounts of cold water into the ocean, disrupting the thermohaline circulation of water across the planet. Getting a little more specific, let's look at the Gulf Stream, the natural conveyorbelt that flows along the east coast of the United States and swings over to Europe, circling all of the Northern Atlantic.


Sigh.
The planet is changing. Whether or not you believe it is the fault of man is your own decision, but to sit back and pretend everything is okay is absolute insanity. I'll sit here and enjoy the unexpected snowfall that I've come to love as a New Englander, but I guarantee you the people of Georgia are less that enthusiastic about their day's forecast.
People say that freak weather like snow in the south happens once every blue moon. I'm glad my favorite color is blue.
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