I was quite young when I first learned about the Sun. First thing was not to stare at it, then how our favorite star is important to life on Earth. If Earth was closer or further from the Sun, life would be vastly different. Our 4.6 billion years old Sun is about 150 million kilometers from Earth. One of the reasons it has a powerful effect on Earth from this great distance is its size. We would need 332, 946 Earths to equal the mass of the Sun, and 1.3 million Earths to fill the volume the Sun occupies. Like everything else in our universe, if you study it long enough, you start seeing patterns. One of my favorites is the solar maximum that will be reached in a few years. It occurs every eleven years. It when Sun activities increase, resulting in a better chance of seeing aurora lights in Banff.
But also when looking toward the Sun and thinking about the heat waves, wildfires, floods and more occurring throughout the world. It’s not hard to have climate change on the mind. For many of us, with the time we spend outside and all the reports that have come out in the past. There was no surprise when the 3949 page long assessment report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change came out. This report cites some 14,000 studies, put together by some of the most brilliant minds from Canada and around the world. I have always listened to those who are specialists in their field of study. What I eat, how I sleep and being active is based on that. With 97 percent of climate scientists agreeing and this third major report by the IPCC, it is clear that we are having a major impact on climate change.
I for one still have hope. Just as our scientists put their heads together and built on what they had learned about previous coronavirus, they were able to come up with a solution for COVID-19. My role was much simpler, listening to the experts, dealing with few inconveniences and taking two jabs for my and my community’s well being. Climate change is a much bigger issue, but it’s still possible for future generations to enjoy what was available a few decades ago. The Sun will continue doing its thing for another 5 billion years, we just have to help Earth get back in shape.
