Friday Five

[ofearthandstars]

I owe a much longer entry, but for now, I'm gonna try to nail out thefridayfive.


1) What's the weather like where you are right now?

It's cooled off about 10 degrees due to a cold front that moved through at the end of last week, which means it's mid-eighties and less humid and much more tolerable outside. We've spent the last couple of days exploring nature preserves in the region, mostly to get out of the house/our heads, and to try to enjoy the cool weather while we can. (It is most certainly "false fall".)

2) Has your weather been seasonally appropriate lately, or has it been unusual?

I think it is unusually cool for the last week of August, but I will absolutely take it. It has been a very hot, humid, stormy summer - which is par for course, really, but I'm looking forward to cooler days.

3) Have you noticed any trends in the weather near you over the past few years?

Hotter, wetter summers, with nastier storms. Flooding/flash flooding has been a real issue the past few years. It's been a while since we've had a cooler fall and winter, at least anything that lasted more than a few weeks. Hurricane seasons are more active, and of course there was Matthew and Florence only two years apart.

4) Are you worried about climate change?

LOL. Well, I've spent the last decade writing regulation to try to get a better picture of it and to help alleviate it, but alas, it often feels like that work has been in vain. I am hopeful the new IRA helps to make some serious shifts in our energy economy, though most scientists I know believe we are bit too far down the rabbit hole.

5) Are you doing anything to combat climate change?

It's my day job?!? I also remote work, don't eat meat or animal products, drive very infrequently and have a fuel-efficient car, don't buy a lot of products/consumer items outside of necessities, strive to reduce energy use in the home, try not to support actions or events with a heavy footprint (I avoid flying, cruises, etc.), shop secondhand (clothing, appliances, furniture, etc.), take advantage of power company programs that reduce our summertime load and invest in renewables. Ideally we'd have solar panels, but our lot is wooded and we get no direct sun - but the shade also reduces the need for heavy air conditioning. Still lots we need to work on and could do better at, but I feel like we live somewhat carbon light.