By Ashley V.
“Anything else you’re interested in is not going to happen if you can’t breathe the air and drink the water. Don’t sit this one out. Do something. You are – by accident of fate – alive at an absolutely critical moment in this history of our planet.”
-Carl Sagan
Climate change is undeniably here, it is happening, and it doesn’t matter what side of the political spectrum you’re on – you already have, and will continue, to be impacted by it. But what does this mean for us in the Midwest? How will our lives in Wisconsin be directly affected by climate change?
As our seasons shift and we experience unprecedented heatwaves, farmers struggle to adapt. As temperatures rise, our air quality degrades, leading to increased rates of heart and lung disease. Weather events such as severe thunderstorms and blizzards are becoming stronger and more frequent. Increased flooding events have impacted families and critical infrastructure. And this is just the beginning. What will the future bring?
The Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI) has provided us with some shocking facts and figures for the coming years.
By 2050, we will be experiencing…
- Annual average temperatures that are 6⁰F warmer
- Peak temperatures will reach 110-112⁰F
- 20 additional days with temperatures over 90⁰F
- An extra 2+ inches of precipitation per year
- Rainfall frequency and intensity will increase, including more extreme rainfall events (defined as 6+ inches of rain in 24 hours)
Imagine 30 years from now that you, your children, and your grandchildren are going to have hotter and longer heatwave events. Not only will it be hot for us but think about the creatures living in our lakes, rivers, forests, and prairies. Are they able to step into an air-conditioned building? They’ll either be forced to migrate to colder regions or they will die trying to adapt.
What about our forests? As the days get hotter, the risk for wildfire increases. Are we going to become the next California or Australia and make headline news as wildfires sweep across our state, destroying our homes, communities, and livelihoods?
Wisconsinites have seen the devastating floods caused in recent years. Flooding will become more prevalent and frequent in years to come (WICCI). Increases in flooding destroy farmland and property and create mold problems in homes and businesses and contaminate both surface and drinking water. They also create breeding grounds for mosquitoes and other insects that can carry disease.
This is the tip of the iceberg of what we’ll face over the coming years if we don’t act now. Think back on your childhood and compare it to Wisconsin now… do you notice any changes in weather patterns, seasonal changes, temperatures highs/lows, and precipitation? Climate change is here, so let’s work together to create a sustainable future for us all.
Actionable Tip:
Learn more. Climate change is complex, and there are so many impacts we are still trying to understand, but the good news is that the world is waking up, and we already know how to combat and adapt to the most dire consequences we are facing. Check out Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts website, read one article, or watch one video to learn more. Knowledge is power, and only when we are working all together can we tackle climate change.
The information used for this blog post is from the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts and Clean Wisconsin
Sustainable Saplings 