In Iowa, it used to be that there was no question. On February 2nd, whether the groundhog saw his shadow or not, there were six more weeks of winter. And I don’t mean low key around freezing winter. I mean temperatures could hover in the single digits—or lower—for weeks to come. Not so these past few years. This year at Groundhog Day we have yet to have any sustained Iowa winter weather. By that I mean we have had a lack of consecutive days where the temperature is bone crushingly cold. We have had weeks where the low might be 1, but the high is 52. Or higher still. So while we have had a bit of snow, and nights where you wouldn’t go out without full winter gear, we have also had weather in the 50’s and 60’s. And lots of it.
In the meantime, Australia has had the hottest summer on record—with day time highs going to 130 degrees. China has had more snow than they can withstand—literally. Roof cave-ins from snow burden are at an all time high. The world has more storms and weather variation than anyone can remember—yes, that is a poor indication of climate changes, but that is not all. Nine of the 10 hottest years on record have been in the 21st century. That, combined with the accumulated carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, lead to what some would have hoped would have been obvious conclusions. We have a problem.
I hope that in the next four years we see our way to energy sustainability and independence as containing lots more wind and solar. Fracking oil is not the legacy I want to leave my grandchildren with. The current lack of leadership in the country makes planning for the future challenging at best, but as the numbers of young people soar, people who see themselves as needing a functional planet 50 years down the road, and who see that there might be profit in being pioneers in those solutions, then we might stand a chance.
In the meantime, get ready for spring.
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