When I leased my way cool Z3 convertible in August, I never imagined tooling to the local Lincroft Dunkin’ Donuts with the top down on January 5th. But that’s what I did this morning.
How cool is that? Answer: it’s not.
Whether it’s the jet steam, the El Nino effect or global warming, something is seriously amiss with
our environment. Duffers are golfing in Chicago, flowers are blooming in New Jersey and women are wearing flip-flops on NYC streets.
Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE this weather. But, at what price? Having just rented and viewed Al Gore’s "An Inconvenient Truth," I have a totally new perspective on, and appreciation of, global warming.
I realize that other parts of the country, particularly the Plains states and the Northwest, have been hard hit by foul weather, but c’mon. Based upon what I’ve seen and heard, Denver may have more snow right now than the polar ice caps.
What scares me is the continuing inertia from Washington, DC. As is usually the case, Congress doesn’t seem to be able to get its act together in terms of passing new, smart and comprehensive energy and environmental standards. Sure, individual corporations are doing their part, but mostly because they see sustainability as a smart business move and not an investment in our children’s future.
It’s a real conundrum. On the one hand, we revel in record-setting temperatures. On the other, we know that, deep down, something is rotten in Denmark (and everywhere else for that matter). There’s a meltdown in effect and if we don’t start taking it more seriously, the implications will be apocalyptic.
So, here’s hoping the President’s state of the union address will suggest new legislation and that the Democratic-controlled Congress will agree on some of the measures good old Al Gore has been advocating for years. If nothing else, the smarter politicians (oxymoron?) should realize that advocating for the environment is no longer considered "dangerous and wacky." The proof is everywhere. And, if the more cautious pols want to "test the waters," all they have to do is put the top down on their convertibles and cruise over to the local coffee shop.
I live in Canada (southern Ontario between Toronto and Ottawa) and *definitely* notice weird weather this year…
While it’s snowing in Denver (and the northern part of New Mexico?), here in Canada I can look out my office window and see a huge lawn of grass that’s about 95% still green – not yellow/brownlike it should be by this time of year – and have only had one or two very minor snow falls so far this “winter”…
And the other day I saw a large gaggle of Canada geese (I believe) standing in a field beside the road and genuinely appeared to be engaged in deciding whether to continue flying south or just forget about it for this year. :O
-Steve
You drive an M3, not a Z3. That said, the rest of the blog rang true. Going to school in Vermont these past three and a half years, I have always complained of the brutal winters. But, looking back, I definitely notice that each winter has gotten exponentially warmer. Freshman year, I can remember the trek to classes in -13 degree temperatures. The following two years, I can certainly remember cold times, but few as frigid as -13. And then, like a punch in the face (which I’m well versed in), this fall semester I witnessed only two snowfalls, and one of them was around 5,000 feet at the top of Mount Mansfield. I don’t need Al Gore to tell me that something is obviously wrong when my Freshman year it’s -13 degrees and my Senior year it is a balmy 53. However, I’m glad he’s attempting to get his message out to all the numbskulls that enjoy walking around in their shorts and sandals during the middle of winter.
I read earlier this week that some bears had awakened this week from hibernation because of the heat. Bizarre.
Climatologists are arguing right now about whether to take the increasingly aggressive tone they’ve adopted in order to get people to listen and respond, or to take a slightly more positive approach about steps that can and are being taken so that people don’t just tune out because it seems too late or overwhelming.