Every summer for the past few years I have heard the all too familiar phrase: “This summer was the hottest summer on record.” As summers get hotter and hotter, I’ve spent some free time figuring out the best solutions for dealing with all of that “hottest” talk. While I could take the obvious route of being concerned and lobbying to politicians who (like my ex) claim to care about me when they don’t, I’ve decided to take another approach: manipulating myself.
I’ve come to appreciate the benefits of climate change over the drawbacks.
First and foremost, climate change does wonders for my seasonal depression. I might actually enjoy going to Ocean Beach in San Francisco at 80 degrees, while everywhere else in the Bay is well over the 100s.
Along with heatwaves, fires, and droughts, climate change even brought a hurricane to California, all which will enable me to make more Californian climate jokes at my expense.
I personally think that oil companies get too much flack. If it weren’t for them spilling millions of oil into the Gulf of Mexico every year, I wouldn’t be able to watch videos of oil-covered wildlife being washed with dish soap. Something about watching poor, defenseless animals struggle to live manages to warm my heart. Why would anyone want to put an end to that? It’s not like we can do anything to prevent oil spills from happening. Spill’s gonna spill, right?
I will admit manipulating myself against societal issues isn’t a perfect solution. I haven’t found any benefits from spending $80 a week on groceries. I tell myself that every dollar I spend is stimulating the local economy, but that hasn’t done much to stop me from being broke.
I’m still depressed, but with climate change, I know it isn’t seasonal depression.