And I just thought we were having a warm summer! As it turns out, the whole world is burning up. According to the World Meteorological Association, 2007 is breaking records for extreme weather events in general, and heat in particular. In other words, it isn't just Des Moines. As a world -- or is it as a country; or is it as a government -- we have been trying to make up our minds about this whole "global warming" thing. Meanwhile, completely disregarding our collective ambivalence, the globe has been busily warming. This is particularly distressing to me since my favorite clothes are winter varieties -- flannels, wools, sweaters and turtlenecks. At this rate, I'll have less and less need for them. And I just don't look that good in shorts.
Unfortunately, the subject doesn't lend itself to flippant humor. Despite our politicians' wrangling and our economic apprehensions, this is serious business. It isn't a matter of comfort -- there are those, I'm told, who would rather sweat than shiver -- it is about the resilient but ultimately fragile web of creation, interrelated, strand into strand, that gets turned and shifted and wounded and warped by even single degrees of change. A thermostat that we seem to be ratcheting higher and higher, to compounding effects. Ice melting. Tides shifting. Insects spreading. Diseases spreading. Agricultural reversals. Forest fires recurring. Habitats deteriorating. And who knows what else.
Meanwhile, we sit behind our Ray-Bans, sip our lemonade, and enjoy the pool. Like children, believing that if we can't see it, if we pay no attention, it doesn't really exist.
Or like boiled frogs. According to the story, if a frog is dropped into a pot of boiling water it will recognize the danger and jump out. But, if a frog is placed in a pot of cool water that is slowly heated, the frog will eventually boil to death -- no doubt laughing smugly at those on the counter nearby shouting warnings of the approaching fate.
Today has been another scorcher; unusually hot for Iowa. It has been that way all summer. Ah, but winter is only a few months away.
Perhaps. Ribbit.
1 comment:
So I was flipping through the TV channels and came across one of those Christian TV Shows and found myself watching alittle bit of it. Now I believe myself to be a Christian. This does not mean that i think that i am perfect, b/c i am not by anymeans, but the man who was talking just seemed alittle fake to me. So i decided to go and see what my dear old minister was up to. I came across this blog and liked what you were saying and decided to tell you that you are completely right. Anyways....i am going to bed, have a great rest of the day if you are reading this.
Kirk
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