Climate Change

I have been in an absolute fog lately. I've been forgetful, scatterbrained and somewhat mentally absent in general. More so than usual. I have a to-do list that is growing and I've been neglecting things like household chores and my novel. 


This is a roundabout way of saying I've been feeling preoccupied. Actually, I'm still in bed as I write this. It's my day off and I do have things I could be doing and yet here I am. My kittens are doing rounds of battle on the bed at my feet. I hear the occasional growl over my laptop screen. Now? They're taking five to groom themselves. I feel like they are more productive than I am.


Yesterday was that crazy downpour. Weather has gotten so extreme as of late. I remember winters where the snow was up to my knees. Summers were hot and humid, but not nearly so painful. I don't remember those walls of heat and the feeling of literally being cooked just from being outside. Rain was more frequent and it would last most of the day and drizzle down, not come after periods of drought and then pour in buckets for an hour straight and cause floods.


Obviously climate change is happening. We can see it all around us. Our winters are getting milder and our summers unbearably hot. And yet for some reason all the leaders want to do is ignore it. I can't help but notice that those most in denial about this problem have something to gain financially. And those who have power to do something but opt not to are going to be dead by the time it really gets bad. To hell with the rest of us, I guess.


I wonder about the life a future child of mine would live. Going out to play in the summer is, frankly, agony. It's too damn hot. It's just not safe to be running around out there in humidity that feels like 40 degrees and a sun that can scorch your skin to a crisp. And winter? Well, sledding down hills is out, if the recent past is a sign of the future. No snow. And ice skating outdoors? Not cold enough. The only good thing would be not having to wear a snowsuit under the Halloween costume.


I wish this was more of a priority over "growth". Growth is all well and good, but not if the planet has gone to shit. Any time I hear people prioritize the economy over the environment, all I can think of is a bleak and increasingly humid future and the death of outdoor ice hockey.