heatwave
props to martha and the vandellas, and an honorable mention to linda ronstadt. (and credit to brian and ed holland and lamont dozier for the writing). anything covered by both the supremes and the jam has gotta have it going on for sure.
but once we're done genuflecting to the gods of rock and roll for their divine aural providence, we're left crawling through a gauntlet of 90+ degree days and 70+ degree nights as best we can. the largest federal disaster area in history (counties across two thirds of the 50 states and counting) is now on record for the drought corresponding to this brutal spate of H-O-T hot, and anyone still confused about the summer extremes of "climate change" can step outside and become educated. this has been the hottest first half of a year here in the history of recorded temperatures, just a second summer after the hottest year ever recorded.
a lot of folks are still inclined to want to argue about who started it, just like children in the back seat of an overloaded station wagon, (i'm too old to want to say "minivan", and, besides, those are all air-conditioned these days anyway, which is absolutely not the same), but it's getting to the point where the discussion has to rather wind around back to "what the heck are we going to do about it", or we're all going to be roast on our own petard. (to coin a phrase).
even if we don't do anything about it, we ought to at least figure out how best to fuel all these air conditioners that are becoming more and more necessary more and more to the north here in this country. this year marks, coincidentally, the 50th anniversary of centralia, while the radiation from fukushima is still washing ashore on our side of the pacific, and you can flip a coin between exxon valdez and deepwater horizon for the most egregious and expensive oil examples. the fossil and nuclear power routes are clearly more expensive than our electric bills and prices at the pump would have us otherwise mistakenly believe. unfortunately, even for us small government types, all this illustrates an acute necessity for centralized planning, even if only to decide upon a decentralized solution. (my favorite approach).
here's my prediction: if you're not generating your own power, you're heading for some tough times ahead.
but once we're done genuflecting to the gods of rock and roll for their divine aural providence, we're left crawling through a gauntlet of 90+ degree days and 70+ degree nights as best we can. the largest federal disaster area in history (counties across two thirds of the 50 states and counting) is now on record for the drought corresponding to this brutal spate of H-O-T hot, and anyone still confused about the summer extremes of "climate change" can step outside and become educated. this has been the hottest first half of a year here in the history of recorded temperatures, just a second summer after the hottest year ever recorded.
a lot of folks are still inclined to want to argue about who started it, just like children in the back seat of an overloaded station wagon, (i'm too old to want to say "minivan", and, besides, those are all air-conditioned these days anyway, which is absolutely not the same), but it's getting to the point where the discussion has to rather wind around back to "what the heck are we going to do about it", or we're all going to be roast on our own petard. (to coin a phrase).
even if we don't do anything about it, we ought to at least figure out how best to fuel all these air conditioners that are becoming more and more necessary more and more to the north here in this country. this year marks, coincidentally, the 50th anniversary of centralia, while the radiation from fukushima is still washing ashore on our side of the pacific, and you can flip a coin between exxon valdez and deepwater horizon for the most egregious and expensive oil examples. the fossil and nuclear power routes are clearly more expensive than our electric bills and prices at the pump would have us otherwise mistakenly believe. unfortunately, even for us small government types, all this illustrates an acute necessity for centralized planning, even if only to decide upon a decentralized solution. (my favorite approach).
here's my prediction: if you're not generating your own power, you're heading for some tough times ahead.
posted by kad barma at 9:04 AM
1 Comments:
I go with the penultimate paragraph. We have to learn how to live with this. As for temperature, isn't it more like the 1950s, at least in New York City?
But, to the point, we do need to find a way to cope with this head wave and to exploit it. Being sad won't get us out of the swamp. We need to be hopeful and cope with what comes and use it to help us better the life of all on this planet.
Regards — Cliff
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