Some thoughts on how the peculiar but personal effects that Climate Change has had on me
09/02/18
“A small little note on Climate Change”
Right now in the United States it’s Labor Day Weekend. For many people this means an extra day off to finally relax or catch up on work. But for me it has become a personal reminder of how climate change has affected my life.
Last year, I decided to celebrate by having a lot of fun hanging out at First Fridays in Oakland and cruising down Russian River in Sonoma County. But this was during the greatest heatwave the San Francisco Bay Area had experienced on record. Once the weekend was done I had to travel over 70 kilometers (45 miles) from Berkeley to San Jose on public transportation. The air conditioning (AC) systems onboard malfunctioned, leading me to becoming greatly dehydrated. This condition was only exacerbated when I had arrived at my living space with no AC. Within a few hours, my medical condition had destabilized, leading to a series of painful events that ended with me being thrust into the emergency room for the first time in my young life.
When I had returned home, I had to recover by being in a cooler environment. This meant being stranded in the only room with working air conditioning. However, the water fountain and restrooms were in a completely different room, requiring me to travel. I soon noticed how the temperature would vary widely from room to room, and how if I had left my one area of the house I would be in extreme pain.
In this dark episode, I had came to a stark conclusion. As global temperatures rise, people will become more dependent on their climate control systems. The more these processes are used, the more electricity will be used. If this electricity comes from a non-renewable source, the global temperatures will further rise, making people even more dependent on air conditioning. This creates a positive feedback cycle that will only cause further suffering.
This weekend has brought in much of the same experience. Again there are abnormal climate conditions. Again I have gone up to Berkeley to see friends. Again I am sick. Again the bad climate has exacerbated my conditions (the air pollution from the wildfires have worsened my runny nose considerably). And heck again I have even eaten too much!
Just a few personal notes on how Climate Change has affected my life.
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