KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Happy Monday Blog Readers-
It's a warm and windy Earth Day.
The 1st Earth Day was celebrated in 1970, when U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson (Wisconsin) and activist Denis Hayes organized a coast-to-coast campus environmental teach-in. April 22, 1970, is considered the dawn of the modern environmental movement as 20 million Americans (10% of the population at that time) took to the streets, parks and auditoriums to demonstrate the impact of industrial development on human health.
Kansas City, Missouri, has joined the green revolution with their pledge to be carbon neutral by 2050, and they have a ton of go green helpful hints on their website.
Earth Day is a reminder of the importance of environmental conservation and sustainability - protecting the Earth today and for the generations to come. So while southwest wind gusts between 30 to 40 mph this afternoon may seem like a nuisance, they're actually helping Kansas and Missouri save an estimated 103,900 tons of CO2 today!
Today's wind across Kansas helps to rank the state in the top wind producers across the country. A title that is starting to become a new normal for the sunflower state.
According to a new report by Climate Central, "Wind power has more than doubled this decade, with 425,325 GWh coming from wind installations across the country in 2023." And the state of Kansas saw a 10% growth in wind capacity from from 2022 to 2023. Between 2014 and 2023 the wind capacity is up 153% for Kansas, making it one to the leading states in wind energy production. The states with the most significant growth in wind capacity during this decade include: Texas, which added 26,658 MW from 2014 to 2023; Oklahoma (8,466 MW); Iowa (7,241 MW); Kansas (6,074 MW); and Illinois (4,347 MW).
But wind also blows around pollen, and today the Children's Mercy Pollen Count is sitting in the extreme range. Tree's like Mulberry, Pine, Juniper, Hickory, Alder and Birch are all producing very high levels of pollen.
The wind should calm down a bit tomorrow but warm temperatures will persist to allow things to bloom.
Tonight we have a cold front that will weaken as it moves through. With that rain chances should stall north of Kansas City and remain isolated. Don't expect a big wash from this, that will come later this week. We should see some cloud cover build in tonight but it should exit throughout the day tomorrow, just in time for the full moon to rise.
The "pink moon" rises Tuesday night, and no it will not really be pink. It's nicknamed that because in Native American culture this full moon corresponds with the herb moss pink that tends to flower at the end of April. And just for fun, in astrology this full moon is in Scorpio, so get ready to compost some deep wounds. Also visible in the night sky Tuesday will be Venus and Mars, so don't forget to look up Tuesday night!
Despite the wind this afternoon, today through Wednesday remain fairly mellow. But come Thursday the storm door is opening up and will remain open until next Monday. The KC Area could pick up 2-4" of rain over that five-day period, so to celebrate Earth Day put the grass seed down (mind the wind today), get your garden started, bring those flower beds to life, and then sit back and let Mother Nature take care of watering for a bit.
