Commentary: Potentially warm fall to disappoint cold weather lovers

Megan Troke, Editorial Editor

This fall is going to be a warm one. According to weather.com, Sept. through Nov. will be warmer than average in Naperville. As an avid lover of fall and everything that comes with it, this is news I will likely lose sleep over.

The first thought that might pop into your heads, as I am a white girl, is what will she do if it is too warm for a Pumpkin Spice Latte?

Fortunately, my love for the cold extends into beverages so the venti green iced tea unsweetened that the baristas at the Starbucks on Jefferson and Main have memorized will not be affected. However, if this prophecy of warmer weather comes true, the judging stares I get as I walk with my freezing drink from bundled up people in Downtown Naperville may be held off until later in the season.

It isn’t just the PSL lovers who may be taking a hit, children will also fall victim to the rise in temperatures. Playing on the playground or walking from their home to their bus stops they are even more susceptible to the geese that terrorize anybody that cross their paths.

Playing in the leaves will become a memory of the past, it will be far too hot for anybody to take the time to rake leaves into meticulous piles, repiling and repiling each time a child takes a joyous leap. How can I sit back without remorse for the kids that won’t partake in running through corn mazes or apple picking because this heat is too much to bear.

More importantly than the children that will suffer, is the downfall of my wardrobe. I own approximately 20 sweaters, take great pride in my collection of jeans and have an unhealthy amount of striped long sleeved shirts. As of this moment I have taken the necessary steps into persuading my parents on the necessity for a J. Crew credit card.

The 15% off your purchase when you open the card pairs nicely with the 1985 Rollback Sweater in navy blue I have been eyeing. I have even considered getting my booties surgically attached to my feet. If my fall looks succumb to the change in climate, I don’t know when I will forgive Mother Nature.

As much as I love driving with all of the windows down and being able to forgo three layers to walk from the parking lot to Central’s front door, cold weather is something I cherish. This upcoming season will be another indicator of the larger problem that has been growing. According to Dan Collins a meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, Climate Change is playing a part in this shift. “[The] most recent decade is somewhat warmer than the previous three decades, from 1981 to 2010,” Collins said in an interview with livescience.com. I’m not sure if
global warming will have any negative implications on the future of this Earth but it is definitely doing damage to the love I have for fall.