Surviving the Immediate

I start with this disclaimer: I believe climate change is real and that our unchecked production, use, and disposal of carbon from the burning of fossil fuels is the greatest threat to the long term survival of the planet. If you disagree, you can stop reading here and save yourself ten minutes of frustration.

The lasting impacts of climate change seem far in the future, and we aren't good at imagining or accepting something we can't see today or in the very near future. The list of threats that are forecasted before 2050 is long and includes rising seas, droughts, catastrophic weather, famine, wars, death (sound like a disclaimer on a US television drug ad). Some studies are indicating that were are at the Rubicon and we will soon be past the point of reversing the rising temperature.

I live in Canada where we have been experiencing weeks of frigid weather. We do get cold every winter, but -30C for all of February is unusual and uncomfortable. The science is complicated but essentially we have warmed the planet by at least two degrees in my lifetime. This has begun a melt of the snow caps in the Arctic and caused glaciers to recede exposing darker surfaces that absorb the sun's energy and heat up the air around them. The warming in the north has thrown the temperature difference between polar vortex and jet streams out of balance, and therefore the cold air continues to rush south. Suffice to say that knowing that my frigid February is a result of global warming is little consolation.

I have been attempting to bundle up and get out every day as part of a plan to survive the onslaught of frigid air. It might seem that it would be easier just to wait out the cold huddled under blankets in front of the TV. I have some weird stubbornness that refuses to let this bizarre impact of global warming make me change how I live my life.

A good friend advised me a couple of years ago that if I chose to be agnostic about the weather, I could defeat it. Her advice was to wear layers, keep your hands, feet, and face covered and your head down as to challenge the windchill with grit and determination. I know it sounds like a Jim Croce song lyric, but it worked for the 28 days of February.

I have been fantasizing about a beach in Oceanside, California and find myself wondering what the weather in Vancouver, BC is today and getting concerned that I may not feel my toes again. Day 33 and even when the temperature rises to -10, the wind comes up, and the 'feels like' temperature causes red faces, bitten ears, and the discomfort turns into bitterness. Tomorrow we are supposed to warm up to -5 C, and I expect a sunnier disposition might follow.

I don't know if we have the social will and scientific expertise to survive climate change but here are three ways to make it through the weather we need to become accustomed to realistically experiencing for the next fifty years.

1. Be prepared. Get used to carrying an umbrella, a scarf, a warm hat, and wooly mitts every day in months that have the letter r in their name. Don't tempt fate by storing away your winter coat or boots before June 1st.
2. Accept the inevitable. Don't curse the weather. Don't wish or pray for something else. Hold your head high and say "bring it on." This is the way it is and will be, so make the best of a chilly situation.
3. Be grateful for any respite. Learn to love and live outdoors every minute that you can from May to August. Take photos, post on Facebook, create an Instagram album, and write a journal about the glorious weather so that you can return to it fondly when the season changes.