Earlier this summer, I was flabbergasted when the broccoli bolted two weeks ahead of time, before we even had a chance to enjoy it. I was amazed that, even before the first bloom normally hits the day lilies, they had faded and their bloom spikes had browned off. I was amazed at how early everything was happening in the gardens. I had to tie up the asters, the peonies and daisies about two weeks early, mostly because of the record breaking rain. I saw my first pile of deer apples on the curb today. Fall still seems far away, but the harvest is definitely coming in early. I don't know how much more destabilized the global climate will have to get before we realize that mankind is acting like a bull in a china shop.
My first seven years or so were spent in Southern Illinois, as well as seven summers after that. The summertime heat and humidity that we had there in the sixties and seventies is here in Green Bay now. People tend not to notice trends that occur on this scale, but the weathermen will tell you a tiny bit about what is going on, as much as they might deny it, fact is that when a series of records that were set over 100 years ago fall in a period of weeks, something big is going on. When records across several different parameters are set, that is even more of an indication that something is up with our climate. This summer we set a three-month precipitation record where I am from. Simultaneously, there was that issue of it being the hottest summer on record as well. The last major storm that passed by included hail and high winds, but the airport, which is outside the city, on the windward side received just under three inches of rain in the short three hours that the storm took to dump on us. I live within a mile or two of center city and our rain gauge captured seven and three sixteenths inches! I'm almost certain that if you were keeping records here that would have beaten any and all storms, ever.
Living lightly on the planet requires a weaning off of fossil fuel, we know that, but the insidiousness of fossil fuel use is that it creeps into nearly every purchase we make. Think about the truck driver bringing food from California, Florida or Texas, the only way to stop that fuel from being burned is to buy local produce, ultra local. In my case, I choose to buy seed and just walk the food into the kitchen. Even the water we use is most often brought to us through pumping, again using coal energy turned into electricity. Rain barrels have allowed me to significantly reduce my water use and still keep my garden productive through dry spells. Even the packaging on most items has the blessing and curse of fossil fuel use upon it. Buying unpackaged items as opposed to packaged ones can cut petrochemical and fossil fuel use by up to 60%.
For a little perspective, the fossil fuels (Carbon)that nature took millions of years to lay down and store (sequester)are being consumed by our modern culture at a rate that will be on the order of hundreds of years. All of it, the Coal, oil and natural gas have stored solar energy, conveniently yes, but we cannot sustain the planet and use it all up. We need to step across the threshold that confronts us now. We need to use the sunlight that hits the earth today, or that which hit the earth yesterday, The Sun and the Wind have the potential to power everything we do now, in a more benign way, the challenge for us now is to put them to use as quickly and efficiently as possible. corporate interests will fight like there is no tomorrow, but when the people come together on this issue, they will have no choice. The fossil fuel industries have been the most profitable undertakings that humans have ever participated in, bar none. Asking, begging or cajoling corporate interests to walk away from them will not be easy. Human beings with conscience must stand shoulder to shoulder and demand that practices change. We have come to a place that is full of danger and risk for our children and life as we know it, we cannot stand idly by and fail to reclaim our right to a cleaner. safer and more sustainable way of life. The future is now and there are apples to pick, almost a month early!
My first seven years or so were spent in Southern Illinois, as well as seven summers after that. The summertime heat and humidity that we had there in the sixties and seventies is here in Green Bay now. People tend not to notice trends that occur on this scale, but the weathermen will tell you a tiny bit about what is going on, as much as they might deny it, fact is that when a series of records that were set over 100 years ago fall in a period of weeks, something big is going on. When records across several different parameters are set, that is even more of an indication that something is up with our climate. This summer we set a three-month precipitation record where I am from. Simultaneously, there was that issue of it being the hottest summer on record as well. The last major storm that passed by included hail and high winds, but the airport, which is outside the city, on the windward side received just under three inches of rain in the short three hours that the storm took to dump on us. I live within a mile or two of center city and our rain gauge captured seven and three sixteenths inches! I'm almost certain that if you were keeping records here that would have beaten any and all storms, ever.
Living lightly on the planet requires a weaning off of fossil fuel, we know that, but the insidiousness of fossil fuel use is that it creeps into nearly every purchase we make. Think about the truck driver bringing food from California, Florida or Texas, the only way to stop that fuel from being burned is to buy local produce, ultra local. In my case, I choose to buy seed and just walk the food into the kitchen. Even the water we use is most often brought to us through pumping, again using coal energy turned into electricity. Rain barrels have allowed me to significantly reduce my water use and still keep my garden productive through dry spells. Even the packaging on most items has the blessing and curse of fossil fuel use upon it. Buying unpackaged items as opposed to packaged ones can cut petrochemical and fossil fuel use by up to 60%.
For a little perspective, the fossil fuels (Carbon)that nature took millions of years to lay down and store (sequester)are being consumed by our modern culture at a rate that will be on the order of hundreds of years. All of it, the Coal, oil and natural gas have stored solar energy, conveniently yes, but we cannot sustain the planet and use it all up. We need to step across the threshold that confronts us now. We need to use the sunlight that hits the earth today, or that which hit the earth yesterday, The Sun and the Wind have the potential to power everything we do now, in a more benign way, the challenge for us now is to put them to use as quickly and efficiently as possible. corporate interests will fight like there is no tomorrow, but when the people come together on this issue, they will have no choice. The fossil fuel industries have been the most profitable undertakings that humans have ever participated in, bar none. Asking, begging or cajoling corporate interests to walk away from them will not be easy. Human beings with conscience must stand shoulder to shoulder and demand that practices change. We have come to a place that is full of danger and risk for our children and life as we know it, we cannot stand idly by and fail to reclaim our right to a cleaner. safer and more sustainable way of life. The future is now and there are apples to pick, almost a month early!
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