 Photo by fabooj on Flickr, licensed under the Creative Commons. |
Okay, this sounds like an easy column to write, but bear with me. We’ve all heard about why climate change is so bad: it’s ruining the Earth, it’s raising ocean levels, it’s shifting weather patterns and it contributed to Hurricane Katrina, blah, blah, blah. We’re screwing our grandkids, who will bear the full brunt of this climate change. Illinois will soon be just like Oklahoma, only without a musical. Al Gore can tell you all about that. The truth is, global warming has some consequences you may not have considered.
We’re in the midst of some unbearably, unseasonably high temperatures. On Sunday, the mercury topped 90 in D.C., Columbus, Kentucky and Michigan. Twenty-one states set record October highs over the weekend. Right here in Chicago, highs of 88 degrees set new records. Oh, and last week was also the first week of autumn. I’m sure you noticed the heat. You busted out those flip-flops, stowed the hoodies and cranked the AC. But here’s a look at some other ways the record heat has affected the country.
Marathon Mayhem
The weather worried organizers of this weekend’s Chicago Marathon. Temperatures were expected to top anything seen in 30 years of the marathon’s running, which meant runners could overheat or become dehydrated. Either way, organizers knew runners’ times would be down. So they added new cooling stations, record amounts of water, 700 medical workers on standby and mist adapters for fire hydrants along the route.
Even with all that planning, the Marathon didn’t go smoothly. One man died (though it was later attributed to a heart condition) and 312 other runners were treated at hospitals or medical stations. Two remained in critical condition as of Monday. The city ran out of ambulances to treat runners and cut the race short, diverting runners to Grant Park. All told, the record-setting marathon (only in heat, not in speed) was a mess, thanks to the high temperatures and the city’s lack of preparedness.
Buggy Baseball
On Friday night, the Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees played Game 2 of the ALDS, an eagerly awaited match between two of baseball’s best teams. But it was the uninvited players that ended up capturing the headlines: a swarm of bugs that swept down on the field like a plague of locusts in the eighth inning. They buzzed around the players and forced coaches to grab all the OFF they could find. To hear any Yankees fan or ESPN announcer tell it, the bugs gave the game to the Indians (for a detailed argument against this claim, please feel free to contact me).
Either way, the swarm was completely unexpected and, in keeping with the theme of this column, related to climate change. Midges seek out warm weather and usually can’t be found in Cleveland once temperatures dip in October. But the unseasonable weather meant the midges were still around during postseason baseball–where freezing temps are more the norm–and were attracted by the bright lights of the stadium. In the grand scheme of things, this fluke result of climate change could affect the World Series.
Sweating out the cents
Running an air conditioner costs a lot. The cost of running the air conditioner for 12 hours a day for three weeks (let’s say, since school started) is equivalent to leaving the fridge door open for an entire year. That means every time the AC is on, it translates into a significantly higher electricity bill. Not only that, high temperatures mean people are buying more water and showering more often, which also doesn’t come free. This heat wave is doing more than making you sweat; it’s also emptying your pockets like a weekend in Vegas.
Leaves Leaving
The reason so many people love fall, besides the apple cider and hayrides, is the colorful foliage. Leaf peeping, the sketchy-sounding but pastoral tradition of seeing the fall colors, has blossomed into a tourism industry, especially in the forests of New England. However, this year’s warm temperatures are delaying the process. Maine’s much-heralded leaf change was scheduled to begin last week, already five days late, but the heat has dampened the full effect. Climate change is also damaging pumpkin crops, which were hurt simultaneously by lack of rain in some areas and too much rain in others. That’s two fall treats that have fallen this year due to climate change. Could apple picking be next?