Hot
December
“Sunshine
is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is
exhilarating; there really is no such thing as bad weather, only
different kinds of good weather.”
John
Ruskin
A
light rain is falling here in Birmingham this morning---and that's a
problem. We need heavy rain. Today is December 8th and the
temperature outside is sixty degrees at seven thirty in the morning.
By noon it will be in the mid-seventies. We should have entered the
cold, rainy season by now and not be balmy and tropical. I've been
praying for a cold winter, even though I'm not a person who loves the
cold. I'm gravely concerned that as our winters warm up, our summers
will become increasingly unbearable. Global warming is alive and well
in Alabama, y'all.
The
Kyoto conference is wrapping up in Dubai this weekend, with almost
nothing accomplished. The money for assisting poor countries in times
of crisis has all but dried up, and with the rest of the world in
recovery mode, isn't likely to improve any time soon. Things are
going to get ugly. Just this week there was a typhoon in the
Philippines, and an earth quake in Japan. Mother Earth is rumbling to
life, and she's not in a good mood.
I
am finding ways to conserve—composting, using green bags, planning
my outings to get all my errands done in one trip, recycling
everything I can, not buying bottled water—but I'm well aware that
these small steps aren't enough. We all have to give some thought to
lifestyle. In a country that dumps enough plastic bottles to wrap
around the globe every single day, we must stop living mindlessly.
Have you seen the photos of the trash from last year's tsunami that
has washed up on Hawaii's beaches? It strains the imagination! I know
that's a different kettle of fish, but still, more severe weather may
contribute to many more tons of trash in our oceans.
I
know I sound like Chicken Little this morning, but it's high time
somebody did. We have to start thinking of ways to live that lower
our carbon emissions. And, please, pray for a cold, wet winter.
In
the spirit,
Jane
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