What I Love

A lot of people still think of climate change as something that will happen in the distant future. Many projections talk about dire consequences by 2100, which can still seem very far away to some. By 2100 my own little children will be ages 88 and 90.

But really, climate change is happening already. Think of Superstorm Sandy in 2012. There was Hurricane Irene in 2011 which devastated much of my home state of Vermont. The Midwest, our nation's breadbasket, has been hit hard by severe drought for several years in a row now. Right now there is the Biblical flooding in Colorado and major storms on both coasts of Mexico. Hong Kong was just narrowly missed by a huge typhoon (Usagi) this week, and in Japan last week 500,000 people were rendered homeless by flooding from typhoon Man-yi. This is just a small sampling of recent extreme weather events. These types of events are growing more frequent and more devastating, thanks to climate change.  

Many of us in the US, are still largely insulated from the impacts of superstorms, floods, droughts, rising sea-level, and ocean acidification. It is easy to be lulled into a reassuring state of thinking yes, climate change is bad, but it's still far away and doesn't personally affect me. 

So, I would like to share a poignant tool (below) that aims to help people understand that the things they love today are already under threat by climate change.

"The real threat of climate change isn’t what it means for polar bears. 

It’s what the crisis means for the things that make us who we are."

Visit WhatILove.org and choose the people, places, and things that define your life … then discover how climate change will directly impact each one.

I chose 8 things that matter to me: kids, cookies, water, wildlife, swimming, gardening, peace and humanity. Then you can click to get a brief summary of how climate change threatens each of those things.

It's a tool designed to inspire you to protect the things you love, and add your voice in the fight against climate change. It affects every aspect of our lives, and if you don't fight for what you love, what will be left?


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