Virginia’s climate is often described as “Goldilocks Climate”. This is because the weather in Virginia is not too hot and not too cold throughout the year. It is a humid, subtropical region much like the rest of the southern states. It is an ideal place to spend your summer vacation. Climate change does make summers in Virginia a little hotter, but it is the humidity that magnifies the heat. Snow often falls during the winters at varying amounts. The effect of climate change was felt mostly on the coast of Virginia. With rising ocean levels, beaches are being eroded and flooding has become more frequent.
Just recently, Hurricane Ian has devastated Florida. Many homes were destroyed and many deaths were reported. These hurricanes are becoming more and more frequent as climate change gets worse. With more frequent storms, Florida and islands in the Caribbean are struggling to recover from the last hurricane when a new one arrives. While these tragedies seem to only affect Florida and the Caribbean, the effect of these hurricanes can be felt further north. Recently, the coastal regions in Virginia have been experiencing strong rainstorms that last throughout the day. The risk of flooding is very real and school in my hometown has been closed for a day because of this. Many people have suggested solutions to combat climate change like depending more on solar and wind energy. It is important to note that these solutions are not only expensive, but are not guaranteed to be an efficient replacement for the use of fossil fuels. Most of these solutions are also meant to delay climate change, rather than reverse it. For now, we do not seem to have the technology to find a viable solution to save the victims of climate change as well as the ecosystems that are being destroyed. The least we can do as consumers is recycle products that should be recycled and keep our environment clean. As a community, we should focus on preserving the ecosystems like forests and the ocean which are responsible for recycling much of the CO2 in the air.
-Antonin Ducroux- USA (East Coast)