There is so much talk about climate change these days. The debate is going strong. The way I look at it is, while I read alot about the facts and the evidence, listen to the debates, and understand all the theories, nothing beats a good history of personal experiences. I have been on the road for a long time, living, rockhounding, prospecting, and working in various places for usually anywhere from 1 week to 6 months at a time. Everywhere I have been for the past few years the weather story is the same: "This is the most unusual weather we have EVER had." It is either the rainiest, the hottest, the coldest, or the stormiest season ever recorded.
When I was in Louisiana it was the worst hurricane season. When I was in Florida for the winter and the temperature was in the 100's in March, it was the hottest it had EVER been in March. Several of the places I have been have had the rainiest wet seasons they have ever had, with floods and flash floods in record numbers. Now I am in Texas. I am working as a paddling, hiking, archery, and climbing instructor in outdoor education. The keyword here is "Outdoor". My co-workers and I have realized that, with the exception of one or two sunny days, it has pretty much rained here for over a month straight. We have been counting. After all, we are outside in the rain every day. We ought to know. And all I have heard for the past month is how NOT normal this much rain is for this part of Texas at this time of the year.
Now, maybe I have a cloud following me around like Pigpen in the Peanuts who brings his dust with him everywhere he goes. Or maybe there really is something to this climate change stuff. There really is no denying all the times and places lately that I have heard the locals say "this is the worse weather we have ever had". In addition to all the rain, the temperatures have been much colder here than they are supposed to be here in the beginning of October. At the same time, on the news there is record cold in Colorado and record heat in Arizona, and the list goes on.
It is quite obvious that things are not normal and are out of balance. So while there are Climate Change Summits taking place, Debates going on, Books being written, Legislation being argued, and Research being done by people who are INSIDE all day long everyday, those of us who spend our lives OUTSIDE can tell you that something is definately wrong.
About 8 months ago I splurged and bought some really expensive rain gear- Marmot Precip to be exact. I saw it reviewed in Backpacker magazine and then I caught it on sale at REI. Maybe that was the day I also purchased the rain cloud that has been following me. I can honestly say that with all the "worst and most rain we have ever seen here" that I have encountered since I bought that rain gear, I no longer doubt the wisdom of that investment. Being prepared for the worst has taken on new meaning with all the crazy changes in the environment. It makes me wonder how much more prepared we need to start being- and what types of "worsts" might be in store in the future to try to be prepared for.
I don't know about you, but I will be prepared, no matter what happens.
No comments:
Post a Comment