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The end of the world

Forests are becoming engulfed in flames, coastal cities are being flooded with rising ocean levels and famine is forcing us to our knees, but worst of all, we may lose our beautiful and bountiful fields of corn. When will we begin to care?

The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report detailing the rising atmospheric temperature will hit 1.5 degrees Celsius by the year 2040 at our current rate. This temperature threshold is when the world will begin to experience the most severe impacts of climate change, as previously stated.

Why don’t we care?

Bradley University is characterized by its blistering cold winters – the kind of cold that makes you freeze your you-know-what off; therefore, the idea of Illinois being as warm as southern Texas in 20 years sounds like a bit of a blessing.

But it isn’t. It’s awful.

Do you see luscious and never-ending fields of the greatest gift bestowed upon this Earth in southern Texas? No, you don’t. Corn grows in the Midwest; however, according to Sheldon Schafer, who has taught the astronomy class at Bradley over the last 39 years, climate change could bring the harsh and barren climate of southern Texas to the corn capital of the freakin’ world.

Oh gosh, no.

“If you go to south central Texas, you don’t see vast fields of corn,” Schafer said. “So, if we see the climate shift from down there to up here, that’s going to be really drastic for a lot of people.”

Well, crap. This is the most grueling news we could have been given. How could we possibly survive this apocalypse? All of our memories of bountiful harvests, slowly fading. America’s favorite fall pastime – navigating the corn maze at the local pumpkin patch – will be lost in time.

“My dad would be out of a job,” student and daughter of a local farmer, Ashley Lessen said. “There’s a saying we use, ‘never say you hate farmers when you have food on the table.’”

“So yeah, I think the [IPCC] report says ‘we’re pretty screwed.’”

The changes may not be apparent yet, but they have been prowling and slowly affecting the climate, and when we realize what’s happening, it will be too late – like someone taking the corn off your plate when you aren’t looking.

“It’s kind of like a frog boiling in water,” Schafer said. “The water rises so slowly that the frog never jumps out.”

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