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While I’m writing posts based on prompts, I might as well put another Friday Five in.

1) What’s the weather like where you are right now?

We’re currently on day 3 of a week-long heat wave, with temperatures around 32 Celcius.

2) Has your weather been seasonally appropriate lately, or has it been unusual?

It’s been much hotter than before. I mean, it’s August, so we’re in top summer weather season, so if it gets hot it’s now — but it is much hotter than previous years.

3) Have you noticed any trends in the weather near you over the past few years?

I recalled that when I was young, it was a really important event if temperatures would hit 30 Celcius somewhere. It just never really happened. And now, we’re in the second heatwave this year, and everyone is like: “At least the temperatures are 32, instead of the 38 we had earlier this year!” It’s kinda frightening to see how fast we got used to temperatures that are basically abnormally high.

4) Are you worried about climate change?

Yes. I worry about it a lot, but ultimately that doesn’t really change anything. It seems like we lack the collective will to do something about it.

5) Are you doing anything to combat climate change?

We drive a hybrid car, and with our jobs now being fully remote, we work from home and hardly drive anyway. We have solar panels on our roof. We heat (and cool) our house with a heat pump instead of gas. Our electricity comes from wind turbines, and the gas that we used is “compensated” (whatever that may mean, but it’s better than nothing). We try to save energy. We use a bank that does not invest in polluting industries.

But all of that doesn’t really change anything — it’s a myth that we are individually responsible for climate change. The concept of “carbon footprint” was thought up by BP as a way to deflect attention from the way they are pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.