The conspicuously warm weather that the North Country had this week allowed for the last few jaunts into the outdoors without wearing 20 pounds of clothing. I took a break from the finals crunch and got in a nice, long run on the trails around campus. I spoke with one man near the canoe shack who was thrilled to be getting out on the Little River for what was likely his last paddle during the extended warm spell. At this time of year, the Little River is normally well on its way to become a sliver of ice in the woods. I saw friends coming back from a swim, albeit a cold one, at the rope swing. I bumped into others escaping the week-before-finals madness by running (and getting refreshingly lost) on the Kip Tract. I paused for a few minutes and stood by the sand banks to watch reflec- tions of clouds shape-shift in the gently swirling water. I could not help but grin and laugh quietly to myself. Seeing so many wonderful people smiling and waving back to me as the western sky began to flare red with the descending sun reminded me of how beautiful this world and the people who grace it, if only for a relatively short period of time, are.
In the rush that is college, es- pecially the end of the semester,
it is so easy to lose touch with the things that make us tick and keep us sane. For me, one of those things is time spent outdoors, prancing around on dirt trails, peeking at the sky through a canopy of hiber- nating trees. My run earlier this week gave me the chance to take a step back from the final days of classes and looming papers, and instead focus on how magnificent it is to just be alive. I shared the woods and trails with others and exchanged brief smiles and greet- ings, unable to stop myself from beaming, knowing that they were also taking pleasure in the quaint woods that surround the southern portion of campus.
That day brought me so much joy, but also stood as a somber reminder of what is happening to our planet’s climate.
Whether or not the tempera- tures we have been having this past week can be attributed to climate change, or the strong El Niño currently going on, is not something that I have the knowl- edge to make claims about. How- ever, there is near unanimous agreement in the scientific com- munity that humans are hasten- ing the changes in the world’s climate. While North Country December days in the 50’s are fantastic, they also warn of the unfortunate flipside to unseason- ably warm temperatures. Head- lines declaring the “warmest year
on record,” massive droughts, devastating floods, and stronger storms are nothing new. Despite their frequent appearance in the press, these warnings are often forgotten. Unusually warm days and weeks like the ones we’re in the midst of remind me why we can’t afford to forget about the planet we live one.
Running in shorts and a t-shirt just a few weeks before the win- ter solstice was joyous, but also put a drop of worry in my blood. We live on a vibrant ball of rock floating around space. The cli- mate changes, trees are cut down, wildfires burn. Recently, the rate at which humans are changing the world is unprecedented in our little rock’s 4.5-billion-year old life. My run reminded me of why we should love our home. It also reminded me why we need to help make sure it remains a hospitable, livable, place. With the holiday season coming up, much of America enters a fren- zy of over-consumption. In the midst of shopping and travel- ing, take some time to enjoy our rock and its other inhabitants. Remember that no matter how small, the actions you take in your daily lives do matter, even when they feel like they do not. Go skip, ski, run, ride, jump, and be jolly this winter break, and do not forget how great this planet we call home is!