Fact: Global average temperatures have increased more than 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit over the last 100 years. Changing the average global temperature by even a degree or two leads to serious consequences on Earth. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, for every 2 degrees of warming we can expect to see: a 5-15 percent drop in crop yields, 3-10 percent increase in rainfall during heavy storm events making flooding more prevalent, and 200-400 percent increase in area burned by wildfires in the U.S. By 2100, climate change is expected to effect a 1.5 to 3 foot rise in sea level. There’s no sense in denying climate change. And there is no sense in hoping the problem will fix itself. On Sunday groups will gather in Northampton, Greenfield, and Amherst as part of an international protest — the Global Climate March — ahead of the climate talks in Paris the week of Dec. 1.
Global Climate March, Nov. 29, Sunday. Free. 6 p.m. Amherst Common, (413) 549-2846; 7 p.m. 399 Main St., Greenfield; 5:30 p.m., march from Northampton High School, 6 p.m., rally at City Hall, (413) 695-2102.
