How's The Weather?
If you happen to be in the NorthEast, or if you happened to be in the SouthWest earlier this winter, you're having a remarkable winter. Stay warm in nature's blast, my Yankee friends.
Most of us pretty much enjoy comparing weather stories, but it's no fun when you really do top them all.
Gale warnings were in effect on the coast, from Maine to Virginia, as wind whipped up waves and freezing spray. The frigid temperatures and fierce winds -- which gripped the nation from Georgia to the Dakotas -- stung those who ventured out, drove birds to shelter in the lee of shrubs and rattled street signs and house shutters.
"This is the kind of cold that takes your breath away," said Kevin Brown, an Alexandria sheriff's deputy on lunch break about 2 p.m. "It just knocks the wind out of you."
Of course, we've been hearing about el Nino, that usual disruption that occurs in cyclical nature, and produces unusual weather patterns. Hmmmm, "unusual weather patterns" assumes there are usual ones, which local humor here celebrates with the old line; "You don't like the weather? Wait a minute, and it willl change."
Recently there was a notice about plant hardiness zone changes in the North Texas area, notifying us gardeners that we could now put in our palm trees and grow dates. Neat! I haven't had a date in ..... oh, well, let's not get personal.
From your ever so helpful USDA hardiness zone website;
Last frost date
Most planting directions are based on the average last frost date. The last frost date for an area is the last day in the spring that you might have a killing frost.
When making your plant selections, it is wise to consult more experienced gardening friends for advice regarding your local conditions. Their knowledge can be invaluable.
It's not exactly a great position to be in these days, predicting the weather. And to those of us watching the loss of species looming closer, particularly in the warming Artic/Antarctic, it's horrifying.
Individually, we are all trying to lower our own harmful effects on the earth, by lowering thermostats, dressing for the weather rather than adjusting our own tolerance zones, driving less in more efficient vehicles, and insulating our homes.
The companies that are joining in the efforts to save our earth also can be encouraged.
Recently several companies joined to push our government for ending its role as the earth's greatest retrobate. Many large business organizations threw their weight into the field of saving the earth from disaster.
Corporate leaders don't normally invite the federal government to raise their taxes. But that's exactly what Paul Anderson is doing.
Anderson, the chairman of Charlotte-based Duke Energy, wants the federal government to fight global warming by taxing companies based on the "greenhouse gases" they pump into the atmosphere — just the sort of big-government remedy the Bush administration says would hobble the economy.
For his efforts, Anderson has been excoriated by conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh and threatened with an "exorcism" by an industry peer.
*********************************************************
Corporate America, which once regarded cries of "global warming" about as favorably as The Communist Manifesto, increasingly is embracing the need for reducing human contributions to the planet's rising temperatures. Forty companies — including Boeing, IBM, John Hancock and Whirlpool — have publicly endorsed the notion that climate change is real by joining a business council organized by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.
An election showing the American public rejecting the recidivism of the GOP-led government has had a lot of positive effects. I suspect this is one of them.
One site I have come across, BuyBlue, provides a forum for people seeking to be responsible in their use of buying power. I haven't used it as much as I should but am passing it along to you here .
It's a good time to take a look at the policies espoused by the companies we support as well as those of our elected officials.
Most of us pretty much enjoy comparing weather stories, but it's no fun when you really do top them all.
Gale warnings were in effect on the coast, from Maine to Virginia, as wind whipped up waves and freezing spray. The frigid temperatures and fierce winds -- which gripped the nation from Georgia to the Dakotas -- stung those who ventured out, drove birds to shelter in the lee of shrubs and rattled street signs and house shutters.
"This is the kind of cold that takes your breath away," said Kevin Brown, an Alexandria sheriff's deputy on lunch break about 2 p.m. "It just knocks the wind out of you."
Of course, we've been hearing about el Nino, that usual disruption that occurs in cyclical nature, and produces unusual weather patterns. Hmmmm, "unusual weather patterns" assumes there are usual ones, which local humor here celebrates with the old line; "You don't like the weather? Wait a minute, and it willl change."
Recently there was a notice about plant hardiness zone changes in the North Texas area, notifying us gardeners that we could now put in our palm trees and grow dates. Neat! I haven't had a date in ..... oh, well, let's not get personal.
From your ever so helpful USDA hardiness zone website;
Last frost date
Most planting directions are based on the average last frost date. The last frost date for an area is the last day in the spring that you might have a killing frost.
When making your plant selections, it is wise to consult more experienced gardening friends for advice regarding your local conditions. Their knowledge can be invaluable.
It's not exactly a great position to be in these days, predicting the weather. And to those of us watching the loss of species looming closer, particularly in the warming Artic/Antarctic, it's horrifying.
Individually, we are all trying to lower our own harmful effects on the earth, by lowering thermostats, dressing for the weather rather than adjusting our own tolerance zones, driving less in more efficient vehicles, and insulating our homes.
The companies that are joining in the efforts to save our earth also can be encouraged.
Recently several companies joined to push our government for ending its role as the earth's greatest retrobate. Many large business organizations threw their weight into the field of saving the earth from disaster.
Corporate leaders don't normally invite the federal government to raise their taxes. But that's exactly what Paul Anderson is doing.
Anderson, the chairman of Charlotte-based Duke Energy, wants the federal government to fight global warming by taxing companies based on the "greenhouse gases" they pump into the atmosphere — just the sort of big-government remedy the Bush administration says would hobble the economy.
For his efforts, Anderson has been excoriated by conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh and threatened with an "exorcism" by an industry peer.
*********************************************************
Corporate America, which once regarded cries of "global warming" about as favorably as The Communist Manifesto, increasingly is embracing the need for reducing human contributions to the planet's rising temperatures. Forty companies — including Boeing, IBM, John Hancock and Whirlpool — have publicly endorsed the notion that climate change is real by joining a business council organized by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.
An election showing the American public rejecting the recidivism of the GOP-led government has had a lot of positive effects. I suspect this is one of them.
One site I have come across, BuyBlue, provides a forum for people seeking to be responsible in their use of buying power. I haven't used it as much as I should but am passing it along to you here .
It's a good time to take a look at the policies espoused by the companies we support as well as those of our elected officials.
Labels: Global Warming, The Environment
posted by Ruth at 2:58 AM
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