Lauren's GeoJournal Week 13

Climate Change in my Life

    Seven ways climate change is already hitting Texans | The Texas Tribune

     According to this article, Texas is already suffering from the effects of climate change. These effects are evident in the record-breaking temperatures making the state scorching hot. From 1895 to 2020 the state's average minimum and maximum temperatures have raised 2.2 degrees. The biggest increases were observed more frequently in urban areas where tall buildings absorbed the heat more easily, but all Texans reported feeling an increase in temperatures. Even miniscule shifts in everyday temperatures require drastic energy usage from the power grids, which then effect the climate even more. The warming of oceans fuels also triggers more hurricanes. Personally, I have yet to feel a difference in temperature throughout my entire life of living in Texas, but I can attest to the increase in hurricanes. My mother also spent her whole life in Texas, but it wasn't until within the last 20 years or so that, specifically in Houston, we frequented major hurricanes and tropical storms. It seems to be reoccurring every year. When I was around 4, Hurricane Ike hit the Greater Houston Area, but it wasn't until I was in my mid-teens where I noticed a sudden increase in major storms. Now, it seems to only rain especially through early spring. 

This is the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.