That’s a question I had always wondered about. When we think about climate change, or global warming, we often visualize an image like a polar bear precariously balanced on a small floating patch of ice but, in the bigger picture, can it affect our own health?
The answer is absolutely.
Unfortunately, there are many ways that are often overlooked and never even discussed when we consider climate change. The change in global temperature can have long-term effects on human health because it affects the food we eat, the diseases we get, the disorders we develop, the air we breathe and the water we drink… all the things essential to a healthy body.
Here are just a few concerns to consider if anyone ever thinks this is only an environmental issue:
- Greenhouse gasses can cause respiratory issues and more severe problems for asthma suffers because plants will actually produce more allergens when temperatures increase.
- Extra heat creates more ground-level ozone, and increases pollution, which creates added stress for our heart and lungs.

- Rising temperatures can increase the range of infectious parasites and therefore increase the rate and severity of infectious diseases.
- Weather extremes will increase, resulting in intense heat waves or bouts of bitter cold, resulting in cardiovascular and respiratory disorders.
- Crops can become compromised, decreasing the yield and reducing their nutritional quality.
- Water supplies are reduced along with the quality of water, coupled with an increase of water-borne illnesses.
Research has shown that bugs, plants, animals are all literally moving closer to the poles to escape the increases in heat. Tropical fish have even been found off the coast of Long Island, New York, because of the rise in water temperature.
The next time someone rejects the idea of climate change affecting their lives, remind them that our environment can’t change without changing us too!


Tick, tick, tick… yes, the countdown clock to Christmas seems to be moving at warp speed!
on and restoration of some of the world’s most amazing places
your choosing. (We selected a man in Tajikistan who desperately needed money to buy seeds for farming and help support his family.) Once they are able to repay the loan, you are given back your donated money to grant to another needy recipient… and this wonderful cycle starts all over again!
So, here we go… again. If you’re a regular reader, you know that I don’t cut down trees, don’t like trees being cut down and detest when anyone needlessly DOES cut them down. Unfortunately, we are squarely located between
We went to our daughter’s school and ran around looking at all of the amazing wonders in her school’s Land Lab. This area in front of her school has a pond, decks, walking paths and large planter boxes that the families can adopt. We cultivated our box and planted some bulbs (and will eagerly await their Spring arrival) and added a little metal sign that said “GROW”! (…somewhat of a double entendre for growing some of nature’s gifts as well as growing little minds!)
Having been extremely exhausted, overwhelmed, overcommitted (and at times, stressed out!) I felt like I should simply start the week with some inspiration… maybe even more for myself than anyone else.
Recently, in my home state of Ohio, the EPA reportedly found 
A few months ago, I wrote a post about the
t so long ago, but seems so long ago.
wrapped up in how vast and amazing the ocean is. The irony is that one of our favorite adventures was trying to find sea glass washed up on the shore. This sea glass is actually glass that has found its way into the ocean and gets tumbled and smoothed by the water, sand and salt. Every time we found one it was like finding a real gem and then I start to wonder what it came from, where it originated, who touched it before us and even how it wound up in the ocean. Yes, ironic that Mom Goes Green and family found treasures in something that started as ocean litter!
All this in a suburban neighborhood, close enough to urban life that we can see downtown Cleveland from our backyard.

