Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Enjoying The Weather

Here In the North State

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Clouds heading east

When I was living in other parts of California and Oregon, my friends and I were thankful that we didn’t live in Redding. The extreme heat in the peak of summer and bitter cold in the dead of winter was the stuff of legend.

Redding was just a fuel and food stop on the way to someplace farther down the road. Some of my friends would get all a flutter when I would take my band to Redding to play. Little did I know then that my path of destiny and enlightenment would lead me to live here one day.

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Fortnight lily

When I prepared for my move to Redding in 2007, I bought thermal underwear for the winter and a wide brim hat to protect my head from the blistering summer sun.

The long Johns are still in their wrapper in a drawer. The winter of 2007/2008 was cold, but not thermal underwear cold. It was the last cold winter in Redding. Since then each winter has been record breaking warmer than the ones before.

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Rose with Buick background

In the summer of 2008 there were a few days over 110 degrees and I was glad I had a hat and A/C in the Buick and at home. Since then, there have been few if any extremely hot days. Nevertheless the average summer temperature has been rising to record breaking levels each consecutive year. 

So far, the weather is slowly but surely rising to a boil here.

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Bee fly

Meanwhile east of the Rockies, states are getting hammered by extreme weather events as a result of the world’s changing climate. The National Climate Assessment that was released today, means something to those Americans who are in the midst of the destructive storms and unprecedented cold snaps that are becoming the norm in their parts of the country.

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Iris in the planter by the Treehouse mail room

It is interesting that the climate assessment report was published at the same time I am reading “The Sixth Extinction - An Unnatural History” by Elizabeth Kolbert. The combination of the two sources of information makes me want to do everything I can to get people to stop using energy produced from burning fossil fuels.

Lease solar panels, drive electric cars, turn off cable TV news and talk radio, pay attention to what is happening to our planet and do something to help stop the fossil fuel industry from compounding the problems they are causing.

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Lovely Colors

I recommend the book, and the National Climate Assessment report. If nothing else, it will help you to understand why those who have studied the global catastrophe that we have set in motion are so passionate about ending further damaging activities before all is lost.

On a more cheerful note, I finally have a new energy saving refrigerator.

Today’s Video;

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Do Good

1 comment:

Aha Moment Tour said...

Hi Phil,

I work for the company that produces Mutual of Omaha’s ‘aha moment’ campaign; check out www.mutualofomaha.com/aha to see what an aha moment is and the incredible stories we’ve filmed over the last several years. As I came across your website, I couldn’t help but think that you might have an aha moment to share.

For the 5th year, we’re taking our 34-foot Airstream mobile film studio on the road again for the 2014 Aha Moment Tour, visiting 20 cities across America to capture inspirational, life-changing aha moments from folks all over the country. We are headed to Redding, CA on May 12th and 13th and would love to invite you to share an aha moment, and how your life has changed since. It can be about your work, your family or other life experiences. You would just have to step into the Airstream studio for a few minutes and tell your story on film to our tour producer. Your video will then be posted to www.mutualofomaha.com/aha, where you will be able to share it with your friends and family via email, Facebook and Twitter!

On May 12th and 13th from 10am to 6pm, we will be parked at Sundial Bridge North Plaza, at approximately 840 Sundial Bridge Drive, Redding, CA 96001. Guests will park in the lot at the south base of the Sacramento River Trail and walk over the bridge. Here is a link to the location: https://mapsengine.google.com/map/u/0/edit?mid=zua7UrWO9xBk.kitAEz9_YVzg

We’d love to have you. Let me know as soon as possible and I can reserve your time slot.

Many thanks!

Rachel Clark
tour@ahamoment.com

See the 2014 aha tour page: ahamoment.com/tour
View aha moment videos: youtube.com/myahamoment
Follow the tour:
twitter.com/myahamoment
facebook.com/myahamoment
instagram.com/myahamoment


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