Title
Owens’ Climate Story
Name
Owen Erdman
Place
Two different places. First in Cochection, New York 12726. Then in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
How are you sensing climate change?
“White Christmas”
“I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know.” The record spun as I sat by the warm fire, drinking eggnog. The environment of Christmas was a truly magical thing. However, to me, there was something that made it special. The snow. I grew up in a very rural area of New York and when Christmas time came around, every year we would receive mounds of snow. Whether it was making an igloo or snowman, having a snowball fight or making snow angels, snow had always brought me joy. It was what made Christmas magical.
This magical experience changed when I moved to center city Philadelphia, the summer before sixth grade. The school year started, I was getting adjusted to the city, and before I knew it winter break was just around the corner. As Christmas came closer and closer, I waited for the first bit of snow to arrive. I waited and waited, but not one flake of snow fell down from the sky that December. Of course, I still enjoyed Christmas, but it just wasn’t the same. Turns out, that the US snowfall total has decreased by nearly 50% since the 1970s, and is still decreasing, every year. In just a few decades, there may be no more snowy days left to enjoy, sitting by the fire with eggnog and cookies. A white Christmas is becoming more of a dream every day.
How do these changes make you feel?
I feel like many people don’t understand the severity of climate change, and even if they do, most don’t take action. I’m worried about what is to come in the next few decades, and whether humanity will even last that long.
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