The Science Guy
If you grew up in the 90s then you remember the face of Bill Nye the Science Guy. He taught us all how to look at the world with eyes of wonder and learn the fundamental basics behind the science built to understand it. And now he has an important message regarding climate change.
There are so many impending dooms waiting just beyond our time that have not been taken seriously, but this is one that we still have a chance to change. Take a few minutes to listen to him and find out why you should care about this too.
Considering he posted this back in December, I'm a little late to the party. But his message really hit home for me when I visited Detroit Lake last weekend. We get so much rain here in the PNW that it's easy to forget about the droughts and drastic climate changes directly effecting the world. Just a few months ago we had record heats in our endless summer. As an outdoor enthusiast, I took advantage of this time in the sun while I could, not thinking about the consequences it would have in the following seasons.
It wasn't a planned stop. We decided to take a different route home and suddenly we found the twisting bark of tree stumps along the water bank irresistible. When I got out to look around, I realized what was missing: it was the water. Boat docks and tree lines were high above the waterline. Stark effects of that endless summer.
Climate change is a special kind of destruction. It flirts with you. Sometimes it's obviously apparent, as I found at Detroit Lake. In other ways it's hides in the shadows, patiently warming our oceans and melting our glaciers. Its effects are often slow to our eyes but its a mere blink in the life of our Earth. And we will continue to lose the battle with Mother Nature until we decide to take this seriously.
We cannot reverse the effects of climate change. It's important to understand that there will never be an easy fix for this. This is permanent. Once a glacier melts, it will not reform. Once a town floods, it will take years to build it back up. We will never get back the people we lose in these natural disasters. But "although we are part of the cause, we can also be part of the solution," says Bill Nye.
Scientists believe that we have a chance to turn it around. If we can only commit to recycle, reuse, take public transit, eat local, and spread the word. We are fortunate in the PNW to have easy access to all of these things but I can't count the amount of towns and cities I've visited with unreliable, old forms of public transportation, leaving millions of people driving in traffic jammed roads. (I'm looking at you LA and Honolulu.)
We can't ignore the facts forever.
P.S. Is anyone else just as excited to see science giants like Bill Nye and Neil deGrass Tyson so prominent in the social media and politics?
To put it in perspective, there are now thousands of TV and radio shows spanning any and every field of science you can imagine. Science is more readily available to the public than it's ever been. I can up-vote scientists and researchers as they answer AMAs on reddit. I can watch astronauts like Chris Hadfield record their own Bowie cover in space or follow Scott Kelly's safe landing as he returns home from the International Space Station. I can use my pocket-sized technology to participate in studies that will effect millions. I'm just saying: I'm so glad we live in a time where scientists are considered celebrities.