Reflection

Reflection

The seasons are changing. It didn't snow this year. No amount of spoons tucked carefully under pillows or childish hopes could pry a snow-day from the clutches of climate change. In fact, as our climate warms rapidly, so do our winters-- by 3.8 degrees Fahrenheit, to be exact. Where I live, this increase in temperature means snow will melt into rain before it even hits Earth, making an already rainy Washington into a daily shower. This Winter, I felt a lot like a little kid. Constantly peering out of windows, looking up at the sky, and pleading for snow. I have depicted this feeling in my artwork, with two kids in thick snow clothes in juxtaposition with the warmth of their environment, one of them looking sadly toward the sky. In the background, we see a dark patch of the beach, but with ice in the ocean. A girl sits there, small and curled up-- a representation of the ice of winter, slowly shrinking and fading away. Winter is more important to life on Earth than we think, playing a crucial role in the life cycles of plants and animals, replenishing Earth's freshwater, and maintaining the ice that acts as a protective shield on Earth, reflecting excess heat into space, and as a key habitat. The seasons are changing. Winter is turning into summer and summer... is turning into an even hotter summer. Every year, little children wish for a snow day on Christmas. The role of bringing back our winters rests solely on us, and simply hoping isn't going to change anything. We need to take action by reducing the emission of excess greenhouse gases into the air, since they're responsible for trapping the Sun's heat in Earth's atmosphere. Saving electricity, reducing water and food waste, and recycling when you can are all different methods that can be implemented. We have everything to lose if we don't change, and everything to gain if we do.