Weather, as I have often said and still maintain, is important stuff, especially when you’re standing in it. It’s a bit like doggie –do in that sense: doesn’t matter a damn unless you stand in it, and then you can’t help noticing.
I’ve often been told that I’m very fortunate to have a (partly) outdoor job: this is said by people who can go indoors when the weather is less than clement. At the same time, it was a consideration in my career choice, so I do see their point while simultaneously realizing that they’ve never stood over a batch of plants with the rain dripping off the tips of their noses in a howling wind.
Of course, nowadays, there’s a great, intellectual-sounding, environmentally educated, current-affairs way of saying ‘We’re having funny weather lately’. Instead of just saying ‘Gosh its hot/ cold’, or ‘Goodness! Its raining a lot this year’ or ‘My, but its dry these days’ we can then look wise and say ‘Global warming, you know’. Wonderful stuff, science.
Oh, I’m not denying that global warming is happening, but the whole point is, its global, and no-one seems to be sure exactly how it will actually affect the weather. For every theorist, there is a counter-theorist, and weather hasn’t been accurately recorded for any significant length of time in the big scale of these things (say a thousand years or so – a blink in the eye of time) to observe its larger patterns. I’m reasonably sure (although of course, this is a theory too) that blaming all weather's vagiaries on global warming is a bit overly simplistic.
Mind you, we can always go back a few hundred years to when people regarded meteorology as the province of deities who made the sun come up etc, so over-simplification is, at least, not new: the thunder storm is no longer caused by the anger of the gods, but by global warming.
I’ve often been told that I’m very fortunate to have a (partly) outdoor job: this is said by people who can go indoors when the weather is less than clement. At the same time, it was a consideration in my career choice, so I do see their point while simultaneously realizing that they’ve never stood over a batch of plants with the rain dripping off the tips of their noses in a howling wind.
Of course, nowadays, there’s a great, intellectual-sounding, environmentally educated, current-affairs way of saying ‘We’re having funny weather lately’. Instead of just saying ‘Gosh its hot/ cold’, or ‘Goodness! Its raining a lot this year’ or ‘My, but its dry these days’ we can then look wise and say ‘Global warming, you know’. Wonderful stuff, science.
Oh, I’m not denying that global warming is happening, but the whole point is, its global, and no-one seems to be sure exactly how it will actually affect the weather. For every theorist, there is a counter-theorist, and weather hasn’t been accurately recorded for any significant length of time in the big scale of these things (say a thousand years or so – a blink in the eye of time) to observe its larger patterns. I’m reasonably sure (although of course, this is a theory too) that blaming all weather's vagiaries on global warming is a bit overly simplistic.
Mind you, we can always go back a few hundred years to when people regarded meteorology as the province of deities who made the sun come up etc, so over-simplification is, at least, not new: the thunder storm is no longer caused by the anger of the gods, but by global warming.
Anyway, weather, as I was saying, is important. One has to have it. Its obligatory.
The earth holds mysteries we do not understand fully. Our activities affect the earth- but the impact can not be summed up by declaring "global warming" and then pointing fingers. We tend to think we are in control of weather- just isn't so.
ReplyDeleteI like when it rains, I open the window & listen to the pitter patter, the rain makes some of the best punk rock music
ReplyDeleteWhether, I mean, weather is a relative term.
ReplyDeleteI take it all with a grain of salt. They don't call it "global warming" anymore. They call it "climate change" because when it got cold people did not believe it was "global warming".
I agree with you that we have only a short snapshot of time to look at. We, the people, have the arrogance to believe we have affected this world's environment and it might be true, but I don't believe we can be sure because of the relatively short time line we can view as compared to the long history of the world's weather patterns. And only time will tell.
Upon re-reading, let me correct myself - it is clear that we have affected the world's environment. The question - and what I should have said - is whether we have affected the world's climate.
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone really comprehends the weather fully: I used to know a meteorologist who said so, anyway. Oh well, each day as it comes.
ReplyDeleteRain is good from an indoor location, for sure. Summer storms, even when one's outdoors can be fun too.
Isn't this great? We're talking about the weather!
'Climate Change', yes of course: I must remember to tell my colleagues about it next time we have a cold snap!