By Lynnae Marty Hentzen
We continue our weather series with Chris Gloninger, chief meteorologist at KCCI here in Des Moines.
Chris completed internships at NOAA and WABC in New York and received his BS in meteorology from Plymouth State University in New Hampshire. He was awarded a CBM from the American Meteorological Society where he presently serves on the Broadcast Board. Chris established Boston’s first Climate Change series and produced two half-hour specials on how climate change affects all aspects of life.
Some key points that Chris emphasizes in this video:
- The environment includes us; it is not separate from us
- To keep moving forward on a path to mitigating climate change, we must face where we are and recognize that we all benefit from addressing this
- Climate change is impacting our communities fast and hard in financial, emotional, and physical ways
- We can’t afford to not do anything!
- It is necessary to take a serious look at nature-based solutions and a clean energy future
- Climate change already has a huge price tag, but inaction will cost us more
We had a great discussion on the real impacts of climate change on our weather which Chris has experienced first-hand by covering hurricanes along the East Coast. Tune in to the podcast to hear the full discussion.
Key Takeaways:
- For every $1 spent on mitigation, it costs $7 to clean up after a major weather event
- Boston’s barrier islands serve as an example of a nature-based solution. Boston is enhancing these protections by creating living shorelines that absorb stormwater instead of just attempting to block it.
- The number of people still employed in the coal industry could fit entirely into the Patriot’s stadium. It is very doable to retrain all these employees to help them find new, more lucrative jobs in the renewable energy sector.
- The impacts of climate change aren’t as visual here in the Midwest
- The fishing industry has migrated north due to warming waters. The Gulf of Maine is warming faster than any other body of water
- The Ag industry here in Iowa has a lot to lose if we don’t pay attention
- The younger generations who are engaged in the climate change issue provide hope for our future
“We need to kick the carbon habit and
Stop making our energy from burning things.
Climate change is also really important.
You can wreck one rainforest then move,
Drain one area of resources and move onto another,
But climate change is global.”
~ Sir David Attenborough, Natural World Broadcaster
Thank you for listening to today’s discussion.
Let’s continue the conversation and learn from each other.