It is happening folks. Yes, there is validity to the fact that most of the weather stations that report ground temperatures around the world are located in or near major cities and that this influences the readings. However, lets be honest with ourselves, 90 degree temperatures in April in NYC are not the way it is supposed to be. Chunks of Antartica, the size of Rhode Island breaking off and melting in a couple of months is not normal. We don’t need to run around like Chicken Little screaming the sky is falling, but we have to start to change our co-dependence on fossil fuel and the personal automobile.
Let’s Call a Shovel a Shovel
By John Bollinger
Published: May, 2002
It is happening folks. Yes, there is validity to the fact that most of the weather stations that report ground temperatures around the world are located in or near major cities and that this influences the readings. However, lets be honest with ourselves, 90 degree temperatures in April in NYC are not the way it is supposed to be. Chunks of Antartica, the size of Rhode Island breaking off and melting in a couple of months is not normal. We don’t need to run around like Chicken Little screaming the sky is falling, but we have to start to change our co-dependence on fossil fuel and the personal automobile.
One of the best ways to get the ball rolling in the direction of responsible citizenship is doing what you are doing now, taking a ferry to and from work. Yes, there is also a great debate about the true ecological effectiveness of presently designed ferries. Yes, there is a need to cut the amount of emissions of the ferries you take everyday. However, by being an aquammuter you are still helping address the problem.
This is being written on the weekend of Earth Day when huge numbers of people will show their support for improving environmental quality, but this concern shouldn’t be limited to one day. Yes, you are busy trying to keep up with your day-to-day existence, but why not tonight get out an envelope, paper and pen and write a letter to any political leader saying that you are concerned and would like to see more improvement. How about going on line and emailing a government representative of any sort, that you would like to see more of your hard-earned money used to clean things up?
We can try to believe that it is only El Nino or fires burning in coal mines in Russia, but we know what is going on and we can do something about it.
