Within the first seven days of October, a month known for its crisp fall-like weather, temperatures reached a high of at least 80 degrees four times. Weather like this in the seemingly always cold city of Boston is a pleasant surprise to many. But ignoring the true implications of this warm weather and changing climate will eventually lead to our demise.
Conversations about the recent weather, at least in my experience, are casual and uphold a sense of normalcy. A “Wow! What a beautiful day,” or maybe an “I’m loving this weather!” are quite common to hear. I’d take warm temperatures over cold any day, but comments like these subtract from the severity of the situation.
Climate change is like a pain in your chest you’re just too scared to acknowledge. We don’t want to think about how our lifestyles can contribute to the destruction of the planet we call home. The thought of it is uncomfortable, and acknowledging it makes it feel too real.
This sort of cognitive dissonance — a disagreement between our actions and their consequences — continues to worsen the climate crisis. Just because we pretend a tumor isn’t there doesn’t mean it won’t kill us slowly.
A quick Google search of “climate change” will bring up images of polar bears on melting ice caps or droughts destroying the habitats of wild animals. Animals lives are not insignificant, but these images fail to illustrate humanity’s role. Climate change doesn’t cherry-pick its victims: It affects humans, and it’s affecting us now.
Recent flooding devastated communities in Central Texas this past July. Wildfires continue to burn in California and Canada. These are all life-taking events that are amplified by, or happening because of, climate change.
If these events don’t hit close enough to home, maybe the effect of increased CO2 in the air will. Not only does it warm our earth, but it decreases the cognitive functioning of our brains. That’s right, climate change is scientifically proven to make us stupid. We may be able to escape flooding or fires but escaping the air we breathe might prove to be impossible.
The Earth’s increasing temperatures, devastating natural disasters and effects on our health are overwhelming. Dealing with it all can feel hopeless. But the answer to all these problems begin with the conversations we have with one another.
If we communicate with deflection and ignorance of the problem at hand, the situation will continue to get worse. A problem will be impossible to solve if it isn’t recognized in the first place. When we shift our conversations from casual and appreciative to concerned and appalled, we create an opportunity for the problem to gain relevance.
Relevance and recognition is now more important than ever in a world crowded with distractions. Giant corporations, who profit off our ignorance and continue to pollute our planet more than the average person ever will, are overjoyed to hear sentences like, “Nice weather we’re having!” Phrases like these conceal their crimes.
No one expects the average person to solve the climate crisis. It is a complex problem with multiple factors contributing to it. What the average person can do is change the language they use surrounding the crisis. A mass language change would result in a mass recognition. Recognition leads to thinking, and thinking leads to solving. Only then will anyone find a way to stop the destruction of our Earth.
This article appeared in Vol. LX, Issue V, published Oct. 27, 2025.
