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By: Tiffany Richmond

This summer has been unforgettable. Some might remember it as hot summer days spent swimming at the cottage or warm dinners with friends on the patio. What I will remember are the events, the earthquake in Ontario, monsoon rains in Pakistan, Moscow’s heat wave, that have reassured me that not only is the world is getting warmer but the way of life for many is changing dramatically.

I remember the classic story my grandparents would tell my brother and I of the hardship of having to walk to school in 10 feet of snow uphill– what’s the chance that by the time I’m a grandparent, some years away, I am reiterating this story to my grandchildren? Chances are slim. Instead my tales are going to consist of walking through puddles and rarely having to shovel snow.

Recently a report from NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) reported that 2010 is the warmest year worldwide since 1880, the year weather record keeping began. The report noted that year by year the earth’s temperature has been steadily increasing. The first 10 years in the 2000 are already warmer than the average of the entire 90s. The report also stated that each decade has seen an increase in about a fifth of a degree Fahrenheit , which in the past 50 years has increased the temperature of the earth by 1 degree Fahrenheit. This number seems so little, but 1 degree Fahrenheit increase has already altered the planet’s behaviour with glacier melting, increased heavy rainfalls and intensifying heat waves.

To most, this may mean nothing. People will still go about their day without thinking twice about the temperature of the earth rising. However, daily I am reminded that the earth is changing as frequent natural disasters are occurring around the world.

In case you haven’t been reading the newspaper the Petermann Glacier in Greenland broke off an enormous chuck of ice, approximately 97 square miles. This is the largest chunk of ice shed in Greenland in nearly half a century. If this type of activity continues we are going to experience increasing sea levels. If this occurs low lying areas, such as New Orleans, will see greater flooding.

Moscow Russia has experienced scorching temperatures this summer, hitting an all time high of 100 degrees Fahrenheit. This has sparked hundreds of forest fires and prolonged drought for the country. Other countries have also experienced increased temperatures this summer causing unbearable heat waves.

On top of that Pakistan is experiencing the worst monsoon rains in 80 years. 300 millimeters of rain in one 36-hour period has sent rivers rampaging over huge swaths of countryside, flooding thousands of villages. It has left 14 million Pakistanis homeless or otherwise affected, and killed 1,500. Monson rains occur due to seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with zero balance between the temperatures in the ocean and the temperatures in the air. With the air and ocean temperatures being hotter than normal it has produced more humidity. When humidity rises it forms intensive storms, causing natural disasters like in Pakistan.

China is also witnessing its worst floods in decades. Floods and landslides have killed at least 1,100 people and left more than 600 missing. It has buried farmlands and destroyed homes, factories and railways.

I’m not going to say that these disasters are a result of global warming. To me global warming is no more than coined political phase that has been splattered across the media and used out of term far too often. But I am going to say that the earth’s temperatures are increasing. This is evident every day and the above examples only name a few.

The question I ask is – what has to happen to make a change? People can debate back and forth about whether climate change is real but the issue at hand is this – things are changing and if we don’t do anything to help prevent further damages things are going to get worse. Lives are at risk, homes are at risk, basic living essentials, such as water and food are at risk.

This is what people should be thinking about and this is what should motivate people to make a change.

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Tiffany Richmond is an enthusiastic marketing guru and is responsible for online marketing strategies at Energy Advantage Inc.