Last week there was light snowfall in the Buda hills. Yes, that's right. Snow in Hungary on 15 October. JC in Prague also posted a snow sighting that day, to which someone commented, 'I miss Prague!' Sorry honey, but i think that's the wrong response. It should NOT be snowing - should not be cold enough for snow - at this time of year in the middle of Europe (or New England!). Also last week, a study was released showing that global warming-induced glacial melts in the Swiss Alps are releasing toxic compounds into the environment which had been bound into the ice for decades: organic pollutants like DDT and and dioxin - for which there is no 'safe' minimum concentration - which floated upward from the agrarian lowlands, expecting to be enshrined in ice forever. Other studies have shown that this same phenomenon has been occurring in Antarctica, where trace amounts of these chemicals have been found in penguins. Elsewhere, i've read that Switzerland's borders with Italy have been redrawn to accommodate the appearance of solid land where there once was thick glacial cover. 'Great that Berlusconi's kingdom is shrinking!' Ok, sure, but again, wrong response.
This is a photo i took 2 years ago while flying over that border area. Surprised by the scant snowpack, i'd had no idea that the situation was as bad as it actually turns out to be: not in terms of political dimensions but rather, environmental ones. A recent report by al-Jazeera (embedded below) discusses the impact of receding glaciers in Peru, a situation which is even more stark due to the lack of pervasive surface water that characterize Italy's Lake Region (if you aren't familiar with this area, just do a search for George Clooney, who has a lovely house on Lago di Como).
Too much doom and gloom? i totally agree. That's why i'll be going to this event in Budapest on the 24th: to hear some great music, maybe cop a little film cameo, and be part of the paradigm shift in parka preparedness (the 'Stewardship Revolution' for those who prefer more swanky event marketing slogans). We may be too late to reverse climate change, but at least we can weather the change in weather with some respectable GMT+2 late-night aquatic enervation. According to 350.org, 170 countries will be holding some sort of event to register (our) (collective) desire for meaningful action at the pending COP 15 (please oh please let it not be another episode of the Obama Multimedia Love Boat).
As one of the great environmental thinkers of our time, David Suzuki, famously said, “We're in a giant car heading towards a brick wall and everyone's arguing over where they're going to sit.” Obviously, people who ride bikes don't have that problem, so wherever on Earth you find yourself this weekend, try to do something as if the lives of penguins depend on it... or the lives of glaciers, if species extinction doesn't make your heart bleed... or just your own little 'i prefer four seaons' life, if, like me, you don't want to be burning gas or coal to prevent hyperthermia in October.
This is a photo i took 2 years ago while flying over that border area. Surprised by the scant snowpack, i'd had no idea that the situation was as bad as it actually turns out to be: not in terms of political dimensions but rather, environmental ones. A recent report by al-Jazeera (embedded below) discusses the impact of receding glaciers in Peru, a situation which is even more stark due to the lack of pervasive surface water that characterize Italy's Lake Region (if you aren't familiar with this area, just do a search for George Clooney, who has a lovely house on Lago di Como).
Too much doom and gloom? i totally agree. That's why i'll be going to this event in Budapest on the 24th: to hear some great music, maybe cop a little film cameo, and be part of the paradigm shift in parka preparedness (the 'Stewardship Revolution' for those who prefer more swanky event marketing slogans). We may be too late to reverse climate change, but at least we can weather the change in weather with some respectable GMT+2 late-night aquatic enervation. According to 350.org, 170 countries will be holding some sort of event to register (our) (collective) desire for meaningful action at the pending COP 15 (please oh please let it not be another episode of the Obama Multimedia Love Boat).
As one of the great environmental thinkers of our time, David Suzuki, famously said, “We're in a giant car heading towards a brick wall and everyone's arguing over where they're going to sit.” Obviously, people who ride bikes don't have that problem, so wherever on Earth you find yourself this weekend, try to do something as if the lives of penguins depend on it... or the lives of glaciers, if species extinction doesn't make your heart bleed... or just your own little 'i prefer four seaons' life, if, like me, you don't want to be burning gas or coal to prevent hyperthermia in October.
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