Tag: weather

An Environmental Thought

Although I often write about entertainment and books, I have always been keen to discuss environmental issues on my blog. There is no doubt that our seasons are changing due to global warming. This is an issue that needs not only highlighting, but urgently acting upon. Please consider my environmental thought and comment your own take on the subject.

Cleaner sources of energy are making a difference but we need so many more.

What is the latest?

Today they changed the definition of a heatwave in parts of England. This is a fairly big deal. Where it used to take three consecutive days of temperatures higher than 27 degrees C to constitute a heatwave, it is now going to need to be 28 degrees C. Why is that significant? It is all down to climate change.

Our average temperatures are going up year on year and so what used to be considered an unusual heatwave is now looking much more common. This is a really disturbing fact, given that we all have the power to do something about it. It has life-changing impacts on ecosystems and millions of people.

Just saying…

This is just a short post to highlight this change in definition and keep climate change in your thoughts. I believe that if we all put pressure on big businesses and governments, then we can really make a difference.

On a smaller scale we need to make good choices regarding travel, such as avoiding planes and opting for public transport more. Similarly, take up any opportunities we have to make changes to our home heating and insulation.

Simply choosing ecofriendly products can also make a difference. When we shop, we can decide to buy food that hasn’t flown half way around the world in order to reach our supermarket shelves.

There are so many things that we can do but it is really important that our politicians are persuaded to make drastic changes to the way we fuel our economies. Perhaps the recent energy price hike will help to spur them on with funding energy that doesn’t come from fossil fuels.

For another article about climate change, check out 3 Small Ecofriendly Changes. If you enjoyed this post, please consider following my blog for future similar articles.

Thought for the Day

I wanted to make sure that I got an environmental post in this week as, let’s face it, climate change is not backtracking any time soon. I am a member of groups that look into global warming initiatives and have had lots of updates recently, which I hope to drip-feed into my blog in the coming months.

This rainy day in Bern, Switzerland is a vision of the future for temperate countries like the UK.

Today I want to reflect on a poem that I wrote about warmer winters. In England, the weather has – without a doubt – been changing more rapidly than before. It is almost the end of February and we have not had a single day of snow (apart from some light dusting up north). The UK average temperature in January was 4.7 degrees C, compared to 3.3 degrees C in 2021 (source – statista.com)

Please remember…

This is not normal. Climate changes subtly over time but this is a marked change. Alongside increased temperatures, there have been more horrendous storms, like the one that has deprived thousands of houses of power yesterday (Storm Dudley) which is being closely followed today and tomorrow by another dramatic storm Eustace.

Quick Change

Without me being all bossy about this, let me suggest how important making a change to your lifestyle can be. Forget about plastics for one moment (as this is talked about a lot) and let’s focus on a change that will help reduce actual global warming.

Take my challenge and try and change one of these things if you can:

1) Walk to the shops or school or work once a week. It you already walk once a week, then try twice. What I am suggesting is to cut one local car journey and replace this with walking or cycling. I just walked to town this morning and it felt GOOD.

2) Take a train ride when going away. Ditch the car or plane for your next getaway. Don’t rush straight to booking a flight. Try a holiday that you can access by rail instead of burning fossil fuels so explicitly. Although trains depend on electricity, the balance of sources of that power is now tilted towards renewables (in the UK at least).

Ok. These are just suggestions for manageable changes but trying one of these out and making an effort to seek this option repeatedly will make a difference, especially as more people start to make such alterations to their lifestyles.

For additional ideas related to being more ecofriendly, check out my previous Small Ecofriendly Changes article. Thank you for reading my blog and please consider following me for future similar content.

A Few Environmental Notes

I always try and make sure that I write plenty of posts about the environment. Right now, I feel as though climate change has taken a bit of a back seat whilst crazy politics takes over the news streams. As climate problems are – in my view – the most important issues in the world currently, I think we need to ensure that we are constantly drawing attention to pollution, wastage and energy.

Energy Crisis

In the UK and globally there is an increasing lack of gas and oil supplies. This is forcing prices to go sky high and causing some people to be unable to properly heat their homes this winter. At times like these, we have to be able to see the benefits of using power sources that do not come from fossils.

My house is completely electric and I want to keep it that way. I hope that very soon all of our electricity will stem from renewable sources such as wind, solar and via hydroelectric generation. Norway has made great strides in this direction and countries with plenty of hills and coastline should easily be able to convert to one hundred percent renewable electric.

What is currently happening?

The Thwaites glacier in the Antarctic is larger than the UK and has been seen to be fracturing quite dramatically. If it melts completely it will add at least 65cm to global sea levels. Here is a link to a Guardian article about it.

Warmer winters across the globe are showing real signs of upsetting ecosystems. From Polar Bears struggling to hunt on the depleted ice sheets to less snowfall, problems are apparent all over. Reduced amounts of snow cover means less melting runoff in early spring. This can make the land dryer and more prone to forest fires over a more extended period than usual.

I have no intention of telling people what to do but I will keep the conversation moving forward. Global warming is real and impactful so we have to start making changes that will help to keep it at bay. One thing that needs dealing with urgently is our over reliance on fossil fuels. Perhaps if we sort that out, our lives will be a little easier and energy prices can come down.

The government are taking tiny steps towards sustainable living but we also need to be proactive about this. Making changes and pushing for policy making to be environmentally considerate is the way forward.

For another article about climate change and some good ideas for becoming more eco-friendly, click here. Please drop your comments underneath and let me know how global warming is affecting your part of the world.

If you enjoyed this blog post please consider following my blog for future similar content.