The Earth Pope

Seasonal Confusion

So there I am on the streets of San Francisco last week, walking to visit a friend after taking the ferry across the bay from Larkspur, and the weather is in the mid-70s.  I'm thinking to myself that this is surely one of the warmest Marches I can remember when I get caught up in a lunch crowd heading back to work on Market Street. 

Most folks have their heads full of IPod music or cell phone conversations so they are totally unaware of anything that is going on around them.  As I stood there waiting for the light to change a finely dressed business woman turned to me and said, "Isn't this weather just fantastic!" When I neglected to respond in the appropriate amount of time she continued, "I mean spring is such a wonderful time of year but this weather has me thinking of summer clothing already!"

I just stared at her, hopefully without my mouth hanging open, because I couldn't believe that she really didn't connect this to global climate change.  When I was able to regain my composure I brought her back around to reality.  "You do realize that it is still officially winter, don't you?" I asked in all seriousness.  She was quick with her rebuttal.

"No it isn't!" she stated.  "It's...let's see it's March 14th so that means...well I guess it technically is winter but it might as well be spring."  She's right about that!  It might as well be spring because this winter has been hot enough and dry enough to be spring here in Northern California.  In fact it is now officially the warmest winter on record.  And we aren't just talking a few small increments here, but 1.3 degrees.

What's troubling is that this woman did not even seem worried about this fact.  She was obviously reveling in the opportunity to enjoy the warmth, catch a few rays at lunch and get to the mall to purchase her summer clothes.  From her perspective, what could possibly be wrong with warm March weather?

Maybe I will answer that for her next winter, that is if we still have one.  But then again, maybe I won't even need to wait that long for her to start asking questions.  I have a hunch that this summer is going to be so hot we will need to coin a new name for a season of extreme heat.

I wonder who is carrying an asbestos line of clothing for the scorching season?
 

Competing to the Death

It's official!  China is on their way to surpassing the U.S. in generating more greenhouse gases than any other country.  In their pursuit of growing their economy to emulate the American Way of Life, the Chinese will most likely not only choke their own people but will also smother the rest of us with coal fired pollution.

At the heart of all of this race to disaster is the fact that Chinese officials refuse to consider reducing greenhouse gas emissions until China is given a chance to "attain the West's standard of prosperity".  Ah yes, the West's standard of prosperity.  And what are the indicators of this lavish lifestyle?  Unprecedented levels of waste. Overconsumption of food and artificial food products to epidemic levels of obesity.  Polluting the environment with toxic chemicals.  Driving cars that have marginally better fuel efficiency than a Sherman tank.

But aren't Americans also responsible for the booming Chinese economy?  China is our largest trading partner and we are their biggest customer for everything our insatiable shopping appetites crave.  Everything we pick up at the store seems to be made in China and most of it are products that we can easily do without.

It appears that our Chinese friends have been stricken by the dreaded affluenza, a highly contagious and often fatal disease. In their haste to live like Americans they might just have stumbled on a cure for this vicious disease and it is the old "one from column A and one from column B" Chinese menu solution. 

Except this time all the columns are the coal fired smoke stake columns belching death around the world.