If I were a wealthy woman, I would be writing this while sitting in the sun in Brazil, not in Newton County, Ga. However, here I am, sitting in my home, hoping my laptop doesn’t stop working.

This last storm has taught some people to prepare for the worst in the winter. I am always amazed at how people do not believe the National Weather Service. I am a believer when it comes to weather reports. If the weather isn’t as bad as predicted, I am pleased.

But I am aware that it is harder than ever to predict it, thanks to climate change.

There are many schools of thought on climate change. Some make sense, and some are down-home crazy. I would place myself somewhere in the middle.

I am not a Paleoclimalologist, though my baby boomer body does inform me when it is going to rain.

On an Earth that was formed millions of years ago, how can researchers tell what the daily weather will do? Scientists know from remains in rocks, ice, trees, coral and fossils what the climate was like millions of years ago. The same scientists think they will be able to predict what the weather will be years from 2014.

Man didn’t cause climate change thousands of years ago, but this doesn’t mean that man isn’t contributing to some of the changes in modern times.

Researching climate issues has held my attention. There is a lot of information to absorb.

For example, scientists have researched the Vostok ice core in Antarctica.

About 20,000 years ago, ice sheets covered large parts of North America. I wonder if this could happen again? Would modern man survive? Would man believe it could happen? Would our government provide us with information so we could prepare?

In some places, these ice sheets were a mile deep, according to NASA. I do not believe my home could withstand ice sheets a mile deep.

What does climate change have to do with weather changes? I do not have an answer.

The bigger picture is that man has developed more coal-fired power plants and large cars and trucks. Logic would seem to tell us that this has to have a bearing on the climate. There are a number of different forces causing climate change, but mankind is always pushing to see how far we can go.

I am sensitive to people who have different views than mine, but I do know this: When the National Weather Service presents us with forecasts, we need to listen and prepare.

"Scientific evidence for warming of (the) climate system is unequivocal." - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Dorothy Frazier Piedrahita welcomes reader comments. She can be reached at ufrazier2001@yahoo.com.