Everything Going On With The Environment This Summer and How To Stay Safe

During mid-July  in New York City, our beautiful skies were clouded and invaded by blown over smoke from a patch of Canadian wildfires. While the air quality here has significantly improved for the remainder of July, over 900 individual wildfires are still raging throughout Canada and covering about 3m hectares of land and diminishing air quality in those areas, other sectors of the United States and even reaching northern areas of Europe.

Wildfires like this often pop up in the dead of summer due to a combination of environmentally damaging factors like extreme droughts and dangerously high temperatures as a result of climate change. These dry, hot conditions, like the recent heatwaves that have actually been breaking records, act as the ideal kindling for constant wildfires to grow and spread throughout Canada and beyond. Persistent heat prevents smoke and fires from vanishing on their own, and, even though July is famously a hot month to begin with, these temperatures are unlike any we’ve seen in the past.

An unhealthy air quality advisory was administered for New York and New Jersey as well as Toronto and Minnesota, adding to the already occasionally precarious heatwave that struck the city and beyond throughout July.

This specific type of smoky, wildfire air pollution contains fine particles and chemicals that can cause health concerns like coughing, dizziness, shortness of breath and fatigue. People with existing heart or lung health issues were advised to avoid going outside all together at the risk of worsening their condition. 

The Trump administration has been routinely pulling out of and dismissing many climate change-related rules, laws and mandates for years like removing the USA from the Paris Agreement and repealing the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding from 2009 to eliminate the legal basis for federal greenhouse gas and vehicle tailpipe emissions regulations.

Actions like this by the president continue to spread the narrative that climate change is nothing to be believed in and fought against, instead prioritizing drilling for oil and maximizing the carbon emissions from vehicles and related machines, turning up the heat of the planet every day. Denying the existence of climate change is no longer an option in today’s world.

In related news, in May, the Trump administration has made great strides in turning natural land like national parks and forests into yet more resources. There are about 45 million acres of national forest land that are protected from processes like road development, logging, mining and drilling for oil under the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. The current administration recently announced plans to bulldoze this rule and open up these protected areas for exploitative, material gathering processes. 

The destruction of these lands would cause a myriad of additional environmental issues like deforestation, habitat depletion, the removal of recreational activities and the damage of clean water. Opening up natural areas to drilling machines and roads with cars will also further increase the likelihood of more wildfires arising due to the increased carbon emission from those kinds of vehicles and machines.

Not a great couple of recent headlines for the future of the planet, and it can be difficult to not feel defeated and helpless in a world where all the big decisions are completely out of our hands. However, doing your part, no matter how small, to protect the planet from overheating and the subsequent depletion of nature as we know and love it.

Always do your part to recycle and throw your trash away, mind your water use, walk instead of drive where you can and even more small, but effective changes like that can make such a huge difference. In terms of these current conditions, stay inside if you are a part of the sensitive groups that are more likely to be affected by poor air quality.

Make sure to also keep all doors and windows tightly shut and filter your indoor AC units so that it recycles the air from within your home without drawing in damaged air from outside. If you must go outside, wear a safe, effective mask to protect your lungs, always rely on air purifiers and avoid other potential air contaminants by turning off your gas stove and putting out any lit candles.

Summer is slowly winding down and, hopefully, most of this dangerous heat goes with it, but for the remainder of the season, stay safe and stay informed about all of your surroundings from the smoke in the air to the changes from the White House. We can still create positive change for the environment, but make sure it’s safe to go outside first, and don’t forget to vote!