Sunday, January 26, 2014

Climate Change

My house looks out on bay marshland so we see the tide go in, go out, the bike path disappear during a full moon. It's nice, this unspoken tie to it all, something that I forget sometimes, take for granted most times. Although one of my favorite small pleasures happens when I get off the bus at the end of the day from my commute back from the city--I take a deep breath of salt air. It smells of sweet grass and right.

Which is why it suddenly struck me how wrong it is that every photo I have taken this winter is of us sailing or swimming or at the beach, short sleeves and warm. We are smiling, I won't lie. 72 degrees in January is amazing, but it is an unsettled amazing. Amazement met with worry, with a gut level realization that this is wrong, because really? This is the driest year in recorded history and everywhere I go conversations are peppered with percentages of rainfall, record high temperatures and the rapid increase of catastrophic fire. My skin is dry, my eyes feel gritty, my banana plant died from frost or lack of water, not sure, the hills are the silver gray of teak. I am scared, and I want to turn to Zoey and Ozzy and apologize profusely because this is my fault--our fault--not theirs. We fucked up, and now they have to live with it.



So here we are. It's been a beautiful winter, stunning. Today we went on a bike ride and I wore a tank top. I am trying, but it's hard to see the glass half full when the Sierra snow pack is grasping at 17%.

6 comments:

Allison said...

I live in the Bay Area too, and the weather has been SO crazy. I'm trying to enjoy it, because what else can you do -- but it's scary. Here's hoping for some big, wet storm systems.

(And I love your blog!).

Rest of the World said...

You do know that the rest of the country has been having extreme lows all winter, right? Google "polar vortex."

Petunia Face said...

Believe me, I am well aware that the rest of the world is also having extreme temperatures, and am somewhat obsessed with how life goes on in -40 degree weather.

My version of climate change is more livable right now. Like I said, this winter has been beautiful! But it's getting scary, the lack of water, and the effects are going to be just as catastrophic.

Fire, drought, snow, melting icecaps...it's all scary and wrong, and I am hoping that we can all turn it around somehow.

Cathi said...

Yesterday I drove to the beach and took a nice long walk, there is nothing better than being near the ocean to clear your head. I live in LA and it is so dry down here, definitely crazy warm weather for winter and scary about the lack of water. Hang in there and enjoy each moment, that's all we can do. xxoo

Anonymous said...

This weather is certainly bizarre! We're getting snow this evening on the coast of Florida!

Bearden 365 said...

I am a bit North, in Portland, and for the past few weeks not one time--not once--has someone mentioned all this sunshine without following it up immediately with something along the lines of "we're going to pay for this later." It's eerie. I enjoy the sunshine, but definitely while squinting and frowning at the same time.