#ClimateChange #weather #floods #heat
There are fires in places that almost never burn.
There is extremely hot weather setting records in places that don’t usually get hot.
There are floods in places that don’t usually flood.
There’s even cold weather in places that never get cold.
No matter how you cut it, our climate is changing. We have to figure out exactly why, and what we can do to fix it. Science points to fossil fuels and industrialization as a cause. We want to keep being industrious, but we need to find different ways to do it.
If we don’t, peril will persist. Life as we knew it will be gone.
Weather, once unpredictable, is now pretty predictable. Still, no one could see the unexpected weather in many parts of the world. It’s not just the unexpected. Expected, predictable events are becoming worse than predicted.
For example, one can predict wildfires in California. But recent fires have been far more frequent and devastating, and less seasonal, than in the past. (If only we could move water from places that have too much of it, to places that don’t have enough.)
Also, one can predict triple-digit heat in Texas in the summer. But one never expects triple digit heat in Canada, forcing a British Columbia town to burn up.
Think of what triple-digit heat would do if it reached as far north as the Arctic. Even the final round of the Open golf championship in England saw record warmth for that locale (though it was actually a pleasant 80 degrees).
These changes may force people to rethink careers, where they live and how they should prepare for the unknown.
There are some disasters for which there is no possible preparation. But, for many, doing the right thing beforehand can mitigate damage, injury or loss of life.
Most important of all, we must act soon to determine the long-term global actions that will need to occur. As individuals, we can prepare as best we can to save our own lives and possessions. But, as a world, we have to take large-scale measures to mitigate these changes.
Some will sit back and let nature take its course. One does that at his or her peril.
If our actions as humans contributed to these events, our actions as humans can mitigate them.
Just as we can prepare as individuals to protect ourselves and our things, we can also prepare to change things that either aren’t going well in our lives, or are not sustainable in our lives for the long term.
Is what you are doing the thing you want to be doing? Have you thought about what might be if you did something else? Are you looking for something that would change your circumstances potentially exponentially for the better?
There are many programs that can help you do that, even without having to give up – at least for now — what you are already doing. No specific education, background or experience is required. As a bonus, they can be done regardless of the climate you live in.
To check out one of the best such programs, message me.
In summary, prepare for what you can predict. Presume what you predict will be worse than you believe. Throw in some preparedness for things you don’t expect to happen. Engage with the world to mitigate nature’s changes.
Don’t sit back and wait for things to get better. They probably won’t, unless you (and we) act.
Peter
Tag Archives: weather
CHANGE ISN’T ALWAYS WHAT YOU WANT
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Mahatma Gandhi
Today, more than ever, change is constant.
Sometimes we see it coming. Often, we don’t. Regardless, we wonder what we could have done about it, presuming the change isn’t good.
Some things are beyond one’s control. Some things are totally within one’s control.
If change is beyond one’s control, how one responds to it is totally within one’s control.
One certainly can’t control the weather, and, as this is written, weather is severe in some parts of the United States. We can control how we prepare for and respond to severe weather.
Have you been through some change lately? If so, how are you dealing with it? Are you trying to reconstruct the past, or are you figuring out your place in the future?
Are you expecting change? What are you expecting? How do you feel about it? Is it going to help or hurt you? Most importantly, what are you doing now to prepare a response?
Are you expecting no change at all for the foreseeable future? Don’t be blindsided. Change IS coming. You may not know what the change will be. Therefore, you have to think of the worst change that could befall you, and prepare your response. What if you lose that job you think you are so secure in? What if your spouse walks out on you? What if there is an unexpected death close to you? What if YOU die?
All of these things will require a response. The good news: you can prepare a response in all these scenarios. At the time of the change, emotions will run high. That’s no time to think about how to respond. We don’t want things like these to happen, but they could – and they might. There are many prudent actions to take BEFORE they happen. Have a plan. Write it down. Have appropriate financial safeguards in place. Have appropriate insurance – yes, that goes for health insurance, even if you are young. Insurance is an investment, even if you don’t use it right away. Penalties are throwing money away.
Remember, in regard to your job, company ownership can change. You can get a really bad manager. Companies also reorganize a lot more frequently than in the past, because of changes in the marketplace, technology etc. Even if you have a great job, and are good at it, any one or more of the above changes could kill your career. How do you prepare to unexpectedly leave your job?
You can be a good saver. That certainly will help. You can be a very careful spender. Remember that money you don’t spend stays with you. However, remember the difference between being “cheap” and being frugal. (See health insurance vs. penalty above).
There are ways outside of a job to generate income. For one of the best, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau. It may be something you’d never thought of, but getting into it while you have an income – and before you really need it – could pay handsome dividends if the worst happens. Heck, it could pay big dividends even if the worst doesn’t happen.
Harkening back to Gandhi, you may not like the world as it is. You may love the world as it is, but don’t expect it to stay that way. If it does, that’s your good fortune, since you can’t control “the world.” In either situation, there are things you can do to make the world a better place, and secure your place in the future.
Don’t let circumstances beat you. Prepare for the worst and expect the best. You will be so much better for it.
Peter
CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND YOUR CONTROL
The Libra horoscope for Dec. 8, 2012, read: “Don’t waste time speculating about how you would perform in other circumstances. Focus instead on the circumstances you’re in now.”
That horoscope was published in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Not everyone takes horoscopes seriously, of course. But this one has a resonating message.
It makes one think about the difference between wishes and dreams.
A wish is something you want, but usually can’t get. A wish is usually something that depends on circumstances to come true.
A dream is something a person can ACHIEVE, regardless of circumstances, if he really wants it.
A dream is usually something a person creates, along with the way he’s going to achieve it.
Circumstances are none of your business. You can’t control most circumstances. Circumstances result from things that happen beyond your sphere of influence. What takes place in your sphere of influence is how you react to the circumstances around you.
For the last three years, the economy has been in the pits. Lots of folks lost jobs. Some still have not gotten new ones. Others have gotten new ones, but at far less than they were earning before they lost their original job.
Jobs are circumstances. They do not belong to the job holder. There is no entitlement to work. Jobs will come and go, through no fault of the job holder. Some will never come back, either to the job holder or anyone else.
Job holders can’t wish for time to go backward. They have to deal with new realities. They have to face the fact that the job that took care of their lives and families is gone. It would be the same as if a hurricane, or other natural disaster, wiped out one’s livelihood, home or entire town. You may have known it was coming, but you never really know how bad it’s going to be until it hits YOU.
CIRCUMSTANCES ARE LIKE THE WEATHER
Most circumstances, like the weather, are beyond your control. When a boxer faces his opponent in the ring, he knows he’s going to get hit. He can do a lot of things to prevent himself from getting hurt, but he can’t prevent everything. And, he certainly can’t prevent his opponent from swinging at him.
We all face certain circumstances. We can’t wallow in the misery, and expect to come out better. We have to DO something to make things better. We have to acknowledge what has happened, but not be paralyzed by it. We must look at the bad, yet see the good – or potential good – of any circumstance.
If you face tough economic circumstances, solutions are all around you. You just have to look for them. Lost your job? There are many ways to make money WITHOUT having a job, and regardless of education or background. To check out one of the best ways, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau.
If you face tough circumstances, think of all that is good in your life. Let those thoughts dominate your mind. Don’t wish for things to be better. Do what you need to do to make them better. Don’t wish for circumstances to be different. You can’t control them. Establish a dream, write it down, and go about achieving it. If you focus on that, after a while, circumstances won’t matter to you. Circumstances can take away your job, home, possessions and surroundings. They cannot take away your dream.
It’s been said to focus on the things you can control. You can’t control most circumstances. You can control how you respond to them.
Peter