Regardless of what or who
"caused" climate change, I've been seeing its effects play out in real time over the decade I've lived where I do in California, and at home in BC, Canada. My place in CA is in a very unusual location right where two climate zones meet (inland valley meeting coastal shore at 2200'). For the first few years (2014-2018) it was pretty nice overall, relatively comfortable temperatures, didn't need the AC much but a brutal drought where our well level plummeted. Then, things started to get kind of wonky and the frequency of these events seems to be accelerating and worsening.
My landlord who moved up there in 1958 (RIP 2019) said that the climate had completely changed from when she moved in. It used to rain once a week, even in summer she recalled - we'd go almost the whole year without rain for some of the years I was there. It used to never crack 100f - it was cracking 100f for a week at a time. The well was always plentifully refilled annually - those brutal drought years didn't recharge it. The plants she had installed before died of heat, or died of deep cold. It never hailed - then it started to be an annual multiple time experience. Then, the heat turned up and we had 117f one year, 118f the next for 3 different days. Even the native oaks and native plants burnt to a crisp. Then the INSANE rains arrived this year and we had 300%+ of annual rainfall, including one 24 hour with 18.3". It was like the sound of chicken frying in a pot of oil pouring out of the gutters. These extremes are exactly what climate change scientists forecasted. It's not that everyday is always hotter (although there is some truth to that), it's that the highs are higher and the lows are lower, and you'll get 100 year storms every 10 years if things change. I admit, it's kind of spooky to think of what it'll be like in 50 or 100 years if this trend continues.
I'm a lifelong petrolhead and drive sports cars, motorcycles, and drive a diesel truck to tow all the gear... But I'd still buy an electric car when it comes time to get a new one. At a recent autocross event, the damn Tesla smoked everyone by 3 seconds on a 1 min course - even the $250k Porsche.
They're just flat out more efficient, and once charging infrastructure improves and so does charging speeds - heck yeah man, let me take 15-20 minutes to stretch my legs, drink and eat every 300 miles. I do that anyways when I'm haulin'. Solar panels? Sheeesh! Sign me up! I get to blast my AC on all those blitzing hot sunny days for free?! I don't need to breathe exhaust fumes from my massive leaf blower cause the battery tech has enough minutes for my yard full of oak leaves? Again, sign me up.
I dunno man, what if all we got was cleaner air, more efficient vehicles and engines, and it didn't change the future prospect of climate change? Doesn't seem that bad to me. I don't think it's an agenda by big government - I think it's capitalism at work. Building better cooler stuff that makes consumers want to buy it.
The well is full, the plants are kicking ass after 84" of rain, I had some zone pushing losses with the once in 30 year snows and frosts... But it's cool. I'm still growing. Sorry about all your flooding FL folks, bet you'll be begging for rain in a few years when you see the other side of the extremes.
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