Monday, December 17, 2007

Snow Day... not officially


Along the lines of my previous post in that this is also weather related. We had a Snow Day on Sunday, not an official one as the title suggests because there is no school on Sunday. This same storm hit parts of the U.S. and was described as having "crippling" effects. Luckily for us it happened on a Sunday when we had no plans. Some Christmas shoppers and retail folks may not share my happiness as this would have probably been a good day to hit the malls. Although they said the storm was to start Saturday we didn't get much until Sunday and then when it did hit we got over 30cms in under 8 hours. Once again luckily it was on a Sunday to give clean up crews time to clear both the main roads and the side streets. I can't imagine what would have happened if this were on a working weekday.
We shoveled at least twice and from the picture I've attached you can see that there was some play time as well.
I could use a little Global warming after this.

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Global warming you say


Every night on the news there is at least one piece that talks about a new study or shows devastating weather related tragedies. There is no denying that the Earth is getting warmer. Just Google global warming and you'll get tons of facts and fiction on the topic. I think climate change is a better term to use as global warming gives me the impression that in a few decades or less we northerners will be enjoying margaritas on the back porch in our shorts and t-shirts for Christmas.

This year is a perfect example of why I would say climate change rather than global warming.
So far we have had 3 snow storms. One in late November and two in December. School buses have been cancelled twice due to icy or snowy conditions and the temperature has been close to or below 0 c. This my friends is not global warming. If we continue like this we will have one heck of a traditional winter.

Yes, I will agree that our existence on this planet is causing things to change but they have been changing for millions of years.
Is it happening faster than before?
Maybe
Are the changes more dramatic?
Maybe.
Should we try to minimize our impact?
Yes!
Should we consume less?
Yes!
In the end its change. Just as the seasons change each year.
We can adapt, we can do better but it's going to take some time.
But stop calling it global warming.