Can You Weather The Change?

Why you may need to adjust to new and shifting patterns in your environment

- Dana Benner

As I sit and write this piece, it is the middle of April and tornadoes are slamming Texas and the southern part of the United States. A week ago, record snows were being dumped on the Great Lakes region, and high winds and rain were pounding New England, causing major flooding.

Heavy rain and snow are not unusual for April, but what is troubling is the tornadoes that are hitting ahead of tornado season. After a year of major natural disasters ranging from massive forest fires in the West and epic floods in the Midwest to killer hurricanes in the Atlantic, this is just more fuel to add to the fire. What we are seeing is not normal and, according to the experts, it is only going to get worse. So what is the cause? Better yet, what can we do about it, if anything?

The short answer to the first question can be summed up as climate change. No matter what side of the political fence you stand on, there is no denying that the world’s climate has always changed. It is changing now, at least in part. Some scientists say we’re experiencing global warming while others forecast the coming of a new ice age. What really matters is whether you are prepared to respond to changes in your environment and what you will do when those changes have a significant impact on your way of life.

The second question is much harder to answer. To find out more, I tapped into the work being done by the scientists at NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), EPA, National Weather Service (NWS) and the U.S. Global Change Research Program. All of these groups are studying the effects of climate change and trying to find out how to best deal with it. After doing this research, I am beginning to think I need to adjust my survival plans.