So, I guess we just can’t take a hint, can we? The ozone layer is thinning frighteningly fast, thousands of polar bears are dying, the polar ice caps are melting at an alarming rate, but no, there’s no such thing as global warming, right?
Well, ladies and gentlemen, if none of that information directly affected you, how about the sweltering summer we’ve been having not just in the United States, but around the world?
Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed the sizzling temperatures this month. No matter where you are in the country, or the world for that matter, the heat is affecting everyone. California’s suffered from yet another wildfire, this time near the San Bernardino National Park. Officials say it was caused by a combination of heat and high winds. The National Weather Service predicted in the Santa Ana Mountains and inland, the temperature will top 100 degrees.
And it certainly isn’t just our beautiful state that’s beginning to feel the heat. In Phoenix, north Texas and parts of Oklahoma, the temperatures reached triple digits. North Dakota was issued a red flag warning from the weather services in case of wildfires due to the heat.
But, thankfully, we Americans are helping one another. The city of Chicago has graciously opened six cooling facilities for those unfortunate souls without air conditioning. Oh, the agony!
Detroit opened the doors of 11 air-conditioned libraries for the sticky public. In Kentucky, officials offered free fans and air conditioners for those in need. Good job, America! Finally, we’re coming together to help one another. Does it really take a life-threatening heat wave to bring us closer as a nation?
Oh, wait ’til you hear the best news of all: The federal government reported just a few weeks ago that the first half of 2006 was the hottest in the United States since record keeping began in 1895.
Oh, but don’t think it’s just us, poor little Americans suffering. Just last week, London temperatures reached an all-time high at 97.3 degrees near Gatwick Airport, which is the hottest temperature ever recorded in Britain in the month of July. The average temperature in July is usually 70 degrees, which has been the night time figure for the past few weeks. And, the worst part is, London’s subway system has no air conditioning. According to the Evening Standard, temperatures were around 117 degrees in there. Meanwhile, Paris, Berlin and Brussels have all suffered from temperatures in the mid 90s.
Utterly depressing, isn’t it? But what can we do, you ask. We can’t magically change the weather. Oh, but you can.
To learn more about global warming, I urge you all to see “An Inconvenient Truth.” After the movie, go on the Web site and it will give you a list of simple things you can do. Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent. Move your thermostat down 2 degrees in the winter and up 2 degrees in the summer. Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner.
These are such simple things, yet it will save the Earth, and prevent another excruciating heat wave. Until then, grab a bottle, find some shade and do something positive for the Earth.
Aneya Fernando is a sophomore journalism major and the assistant opinion editor of the Summer Forty-Niner.