It's bad, folks. The Arizona fire has spread to New Mexico. We're losing our southwestern forests.
West Texas is burning. Every day, two to three new wildfires pop up all over Texas. No rain to even the odds.
So on top of the record-breaking triple digit heat, we have smoke. A hazy pall that's been accumulating for many months now. The desert-dry wind stirs it up, but it doesn't leave.
No rain to wash it out. None to keep the wild critters alive. I so hate it when it gets so hot and dry the birds walk around with their beaks open--too dry to close them.
Speaking of skyrockets, Austin's Fourth of July celebration has been cancelled due to extreme weather conditions. No fireworks, no orchestra at Auditorium Shores this year. Thank all the gods and goddesses for banning high-flying burning objects in our present tinderbox of a state. I shudder to think of how much of Austin would burn to ashes. Nor should 75 musicians have to swelter in concert black, fight the wind to keep the scores on the stands, and sit in uncomfortable chairs, in the dark...don't even think about the traffic and parking.
I've been into weather since I can remember. When I was a kid, it thrilled me, excited me. Even when lightning struck the utility pole I was standing in a puddle right next to. When our family outraced a tornado coming up over the hill.
I was convinced in 1970 that the US was already beyond squandering natural resources, corporations poisoned the water, air, and earth to profit greedy bad guys. No one was doing much of anything to fix it.
Now, the weather makes me afraid. I'm old enough to have seen weather patterns change exponentially. I don't need the stats, I've experienced it. And it is ramping up. El Nino and La Nina models are breaking up. A few other countries are doing what they can to fix it. The US, certainly one of the top three greatest polluters on earth, continues to rape the environment with impunity.
Living in Australia for two years opened my eyes to what life is like under the hole in the ozone. Excessive, dangerous radiation. Lots of cancer. Lots of UVA/B resistant clothing and accessories. Lots of awareness. And the hole is growing. You don't have to call it Global Warming. Something IS happening, however, and we'd best get to it.
It's 1:02 a.m. Our local Austin weather champions cautiously hold out the first chance for rain in half a year. We're under a severe thunderstorm warning. Some of us will get less than an inch, most won't.
Thunder! Rain! Yes! Solstice! Night of the Long Dance. Time to run outside and dance in the rain!
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4 comments:
Here in Pennsylvania, we don't get too many extreme seasons. Sure we get drought, wind, downpours, and ice, but overall I find myself thankful that I live in a relatively "safe" weather place. Still, our society forgets to acknowledge how important the weather is to our livelihoods until something bad happens. This is painfully ironic though. It seems every time I turn on the television, some good-looking, well-dress person is telling me the weather -- what is was today, what it is now, what it might be like tomorrow. Our newscasts are obsessed with it, yet when we are asked to change our ways out of respect for it, we balk.
Great post. I'm happy to meet a kindred spirit.
You hit the nail on the head. Thanks. What with the oil spill, Katrina, grandfathered oil industry in Houston, wildfires, drought, border troubles, tornados--Texas, especially the gulf coast, has taken a beating environmentally. Oh, btw, "bikkies" are Australian for "biscuits," a kind of cookie that's a little harder, less sweet than our cookies. Most always served with tea/coffee. I lived in Australia for almost 2 years.
I love biscuits. I love cookies. I can only guess that I'd love bikkies!
Ohio is actually rather lovely now
so I'm definitely think that well feel like we're being BBQ'd in another couple weeks! I'm not complaining -- it's just how it is!
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