Earth Awareness Month & Why it Matters

April is Earth Awareness Month, and that means that the new climate model that just came out is particularly relevant.  Because it's a Friday (and, for many, the day before Spring Break), I don't want to be morose, but new research published in Nature suggests that the West Antarctic ice sheet is more vulnerable to global warming than previously thought.  Between the melting of this sheet and other ice forms globally, the sea level could rise by up to six feet within the next 84 years.  That's within many of our lifetimes!  If that happens, major local coastal communities could be totally flooded, with cities like NYC and Hong Kong finding themselves totally underwater.  Needless to say, that would not be good.

With all that said, what can we do to help present this sort of environmental catastrophe? Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane are a major cause of global warming because they form a heat-absorbent cloud in the troposphere that prevents heat from reflecting off of the surface of the planet, so obviously one of the biggest ways we can help stop global warming is by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  If you're going somewhere close by, walk or bike instead of driving.  Buy local produce and free range, pasture-raised meats.  Turn lights off when you don't need them.  Easy steps like these ones can really have a big impact because all our little actions add up, and what better time to start being eco-friendly than Earth Awareness Month?  Green is the new glamorous.  Show your planet some love this April!

<3 Frances