By Mary O’KEEFE

In this space I write a lot about doom and gloom because, quite frankly, when talking about climate change it’s mostly gloom. We are now living in the world science fiction writers have been warning us about for generations, and most of us do not like being hearing “I told you so;” however, this is exactly what Mother Nature is saying.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the amount of ice in the Antarctic Sea set a record low in August 2022 when the world saw the sixth warmest climate in 143 years. The month of August wrapped up the Northern Hemisphere’s second-hottest meteorological summer on record. This does not lend any comfort to our philosophy that, if we behave just a little better, things will get a lot better.

With ocean waters warming, hurricanes like Ian will be more common and rain will be torrential or non-existent. The destruction that occurred in Florida breaks our hearts and frightens us because we know this is a warning for Californians to get ready for similar disasters. So again – I want to remind every single reader to be prepared for what is to come.

The International ShakeOut Day is Oct. 20. Go to shakeout.org to see what can/should be done to prepare for the next large earthquake. Also visit fire.lacounty.gov, glendaleca.gov, burbankfire.us and lafd.org. All of these fire departments have information on how to be proactive and provide education on what to do when a wildfire occurs.

As we saw in Florida, after residents evacuated, or even when they didn’t, the devastation experienced by many Floridians is now a terrifying reality. And as in science fiction movies we see people walking through the streets in a daze as they discover what is left of an area. What we almost never see is what neighbors … good neighbors … are doing.

In science fiction movies we often see people fighting each other when supply trucks show up, people grabbing guns to protect their property, and just being selfish. And honestly, we have seen this type of behavior – the worst of humanity – without a natural disaster occurring. What we often don’t see is the true grace of humanity that is found when the cameras stop rolling.

This morning I saw a very brief story of a high school football team cleaning up a local home. Though their school was affected by Ian, the team members wanted to help their neighbors. If you hunt more stories can be found of school kids helping out after Hurricane Ian. These are examples of what teenagers are doing to help their community. This not only teaches them a valuable lesson in being a responsible citizen of the world but it also gives hope to those who are feeling hopeless. What we often don’t see when we watch movies or even the news media are those small efforts that mean so much. We are all so blessed that we have emergency responders in California and throughout the country who are dedicated and well trained for any disaster. In Florida you can hear in their voices the need to help when they talk about not being able to respond during the storm. But now it’s about boots on the ground and working. There is another force that is so meaningful and that is the community of volunteers – just regular residents, including students – who roll up their sleeves and help their fellow humans.

For the foothills, the weather is going to hover in the high 80s/low 90s. The good news is that nights will be cooler – in the mid 60s. Next Wednesday we may be seeing temperatures reach into the high 70s. No rain or big wind events are predicted. Tonight NOAA reported there will be five to 10 miles per hour north/northeast winds becoming south/southeast in the afternoon but no strong wind events are predicted and, of course, no rain expected.