Only one in 10 kids goes outside every day. It's hard to see how this is possible, unless the other 90 percent are Morlocks, but maybe shuttling between the front door and the air-conditioned interior of mom and dad's SUV doesn't count.
Anyway, the Nature Conservancy asked hundreds of kids why they didn't spend more time outside. Their number one answer? "80 percent said it was uncomfortable to be outdoors due to things like bugs and heat."
Maybe they’re whiny whinersons, but maybe they’re on to something. In case the arrival of autumn's first breezes has made you forgetful, we just survived a record-breaking summer. And now climate scientists are telling us that the crazy summer we just went through is the new normal. At this pace, it looks like the entire country is going to turn into Houston, Texas. ("The most air-conditioned place on earth.")
If there's one thing climate change means, it's more bugs and heat. Which means it could become harder and harder to convince our kids to get some fresh air.
