Winter of Our Discontent

​www.unionleader.com/opinion/op-eds/alexis-eyon-winter-of-our-discontent/article_703620dc-d631-11ee-90f9-b34630d3e6e0.html

​SOMETHING that my outdoor enthusiast friends and I talk about is the waning winters we’ve been 
getting here in New Hampshire. The stark contrast between winters we have had for the past couple of
years versus the winters we have historically had is remarkable. 

It has been all over the news that 2023 was the hottest year on record for our planet; it seems that we hear that every year now. In particular, I have noticed the stark lack of snowfall and true winter in our area. 

I love winter, and I love the cold. As an avid cross-country skier and concerned human on this planet, this matters to me a great deal. And I notice that when we do get snow, like last week, the temperatures are so unstable that they often rise and the snow quickly starts to disappear. 

Perhaps living in another part of the country or world that does not experience such drastic changes in climate throughout the year, one may not notice as acutely how dramatically climate change is impacting our planet. But, in northern New England, I have noticed a huge shift.

Winters are not as cold, or the cold isn’t as consistent throughout the winter. We have far less snow, which impacts a whole host of things in our ecosystem, least of which is our famous maple sugar production. And it’s not just our winters. Our summers have dramatically changed. Where we once would get maybe one week of hot, humid weather with very pleasant dry, milder warm weather and cool nights, we now have weeks and weeks of heat and humidity and warmer nights, which is deeply troubling to me. 

We are clearly not doing enough as a species to keep our planet healthy, hospitable, and thriving for all 
living creatures. The flora and fauna in our communities do not have a say in what is happening to them, therefore we as people need to defend and care for them. 

We can do so by legally recognizing that nature has the right to exist, flourish, and naturally evolve. When we protect Nature, we also protect future generations of humans because we are nature too. Reach out to the N.H. Community Rights Network (NHCRN) to learn more.
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Alexis Eynon lives in Thornton, NH.