Is It Really Too Hot to Play Outside?

It’s been hot. Really hot. And, unless you’re in complete denial I think we can both agree that the planet is getting hotter. Last week, 60 Minutes ran a story on the alarmingly low water levels in our western reservoirs.

It seems the mighty Colorado River is getting thirsty, The river serves seven western states and 30 Native American tribes. It’s the lifeblood of the region. The river has been suffering from the impact of an epic drought, as it struggles to serve it’s 40 million constituents.

But the river is also suffering from immense population growth. According to the 1990 US Census, California had 29.8 million residents. Today, California boasts 39.2 million residents. According to Stanford University, the state has 1,500 dams and more than 1,300 reservoirs that can store 43 million acre-feet of water. But, the last new reservoir was build in 1980. So, the supply simply cannot meet the demand for water.

Lake Mead sits just behind the majestic Hoover Dam in Nevada. It supplies water for the city of Las Vegas and surrounding areas. As the water level recedes, the Lake is giving up her ghosts. This week authorities removed the fifth skeleton from the lake.

Some of those remains stored in 55 gallon drums have been heretofore under water for 30-40 years, but have now reappeared like ghosts from the past. Apparently what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, unless it gets dumped in Lake Mead.

The photo below shows another skeleton recently given up by the lake. Yup, that’s a boat that has been lying on the bottom of Lake Mead for years. It now sits as a monument to the historic drought brought about by changes in our climate. Yup, it’s the driest period in 1,200 years.

Back in 2000 Lake Mead was at full pool. Today, the lake sits at 27% of max capacity. See the high water line below.

Other countries are struggling, too. Officials in Pakistan announced that the flooding from monsoon season has affected over 33 million people living in Pakistani villages. The floods have claimed the lives of over 1,000 people since early June.

Yes, the world’s climate is getting more volatile and it’s causing all sorts of problems. But, there are some among us who want to blame everything on climate change. While convenient, it diminishes the real climate story. Just last week, the climate journal \”Temperature\” released a study. It suggested that children were 30% less \”aerobically fit\” than their parents were at their age. No surprise there. The study further opined that the cause of childhood obesity was, you guessed it, climate change. Apparently hotter temperatures are preventing kids from exercising outside.

To be sure, fewer kids are getting the 60 minutes of exercise a day recommended by the World Health Organization, but it has little to do with the temperature outside.

I know it’s a bit warmer now. But, I grew up in the deep south. It was hot as blazes in the summer. Regardless, we rode our bikes to find endless games of stickball, kick the can and touch football. We learned that the coldest water came from the hose, but you had to let it run for a minute before you sipped it. We laid in the shade to cool off. We ate popsicles out of the freezer before rushing back out the door for another inning of stickball or quarter of touch football. If we got really hot we turned on the sprinkler and ran though it until we were drenched. Nobody had a heat stroke or worried about hydration or sunscreen. And, nobody’s mother ever let us come inside to play, at least until dark. Some moms even locked the doors to keep us outside. This comedian completely nails growing up before everybody became a worry wart. Watch here.

See, back then we didn’t have video games, unless you count Pong. We didn’t have YouTube or Netflix. We didn’t have on-demand, ultra high-def porn. Being inside was boring. Today is different.

It’s not the climate that’s making our kids fat. Its smartphones, Social Media and video games. It’s processed, pre-packaged and fast foods. It’s salt and sugar and preservatives. It’s unreasonable fear of dehydration, sunburn and heat stroke.

Unfortunately, being overweight is a self fulfilling prophecy. See, kids who are obese can’t tolerate the heat. They more readily suffer heat related illnesses like heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. So, instead, unhealthy kids are allowed to retreat to more civilized, conditioned air and addictive screens and snacks. It’s not the climate that’s making kids fat. It’s the fat that’s making kids fat.

It’s the main reason why there are rapid declines in childhood physical activity globally, especially over the last 30 years. Our public schools have also limited Physical Education. Can you imagine growing up without a game of dodge ball?

Covid exacerbated these problems. Childhood obesity exploded during the Covid lockdowns, as activities were cancelled. According to a CDC study of 432,302 children ages 2 to 19 years, the rate of increase in childhood body mass index (BMI) nearly doubled during the pandemic.

Just two days after the Temperature Study on childhood obesity was released, Axios jumped on the climate blame bandwagon with an article entitled, Climate Change is a Secret Driver of Inflation. There’s even a name for it: climateflation or Fossilflation.

This kind of click-bait reporting is reckless. It’s creating unnecessary fear, according to a study in the Lancet. Young people across the planet are terrified of climate change. More than 45% of people age 16-25 are so terrified that it affects their daily life and functioning. Almost 50% of youngsters believe “humanity is doomed,” and two-thirds think “the future is frightening.” Don’t you think our kids have enough to worry about without reporters feeding off their anxiety? I do.

I think you and I are smart enough to respect the changes taking place in our climate. I also think we’re smart enough to resist the desire of some journalists to use climate as a ready excuse for all the world’s problems. Most of which are man-made.

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