A Record We May Not Want To Break
Read more articles on Let Me Share With You and Weather.January 4, 2007
Posted by Karen Amato Schwartz
January 4, 2007
Posted by Karen Amato Schwartz
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In this morning’s news was the unsettling announcement that researchers are forecasting 2007 to be the hottest year ever recorded due to global warming. Just what we need; studies have indicated that the highest temperatures coincide with highest crime rates, as well as bringing out the worst in people.
Already, this year feels peculiar to those living in the northeast. Usually by now, we’ve had snow and have been wearing winter coats for at 4 weeks, but yesterday, kids were outside in t-shirts with temperatures just shy of 60 degrees. January and February usually keeps us buried under a white blanket, but what I’m seeing through my window right now looks like April. Let me tell you-it doesn’t feel right, although far be it from me to complain!
Personally, I enjoy four distinct seasons (although some may be too short and others too long) and always wondered what it would be like to be a kid, reading about snow without ever experiencing it. I also wonder if spring would mean as much if April looked pretty much like January or October. Only by bundling up in heavy wool for 8 straight weeks can one really appreciate spring. In this part of the country, spring fever occurs on the first day that it hits 50 degrees. Folks who have been driving around in gray slush for the past 2 months make the most of it, getting cars washed and pulling motorcycles out of garages. With consistently rising temperatures, we have more inclination to spring clean, buy new spring clothes, and start planting our gardens. (The sheer exhilaration of spring is actually difficult to explain to someone who has never lived through the traumas of winter.)
Summer is here once we can comfortably wear shorts and sandals throughout the entire daylight period, which, by that time, is more than 12 hours long. Perhaps this year it may occur in early May, and perhaps in 20 more years it may be in late April. What will it be like in the warmer areas? They just may be able to stash their “heavier clothing” (cotton hoodies?) away for all but a few weeks out of the year!
Global warming is starting to make its presence known. We may need to have several weeks of record breaking heat to wake up to this realization. A few power outages and living without air conditioning could do wonders to bring the problem front and center.
I feel for those whose jobs require them to work outside, where there is no solace from hours of the sun’s intensity. No amount of water and sunscreen can make their conditions healthy or comfortable, and there are only so many clothes they can remove.
There are also so many chores that can be done during the heat of the day. Therefore, what will happen when that heat becomes the daily norm, for weeks on end? Will Americans start taking daily siestas like its southern neighbors? There is no way I can imagine our economy coming to a halt-albeit for even a few hours. The scenarios are endless. Here’s to our being able to adapt to whatever happens. In the meantime, maybe we should get all troublesome outdoor errands done well before the dog days of summer, in case they all turn out to be dogs…
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