It is the Truth and It is Inconvenient

I Need To Wake Up - Melissa Etheridge

This is crazy. We need to stop hating on the poor little groundhog. He is a rodent not a meteorologist! I think I made my view fairly clear in a previous blog that I really feel that the whole Groundhog Day ritual borders on animal abuse and is certainly cruel. The only reason the barbaric ritual continues is the money. Rest assured if you pulled me out of my warm bed in the middle of winter, I would tell you whatever you wanted to hear and do whatever it takes to be returned to my slumber. Seeing his shadow on February 2nd of any given year only tells us if that day was sunny or cloudy. Now, I'm not university educated in weather matters or any form of the wild animal kingdom (okay maybe a bit) but not a rodent - but I will go out on a limb and make a prediction for February 2nd 2014. On that day, 10 months into the future, I hearby predict that if it is sunny I will see my shadow. However, if it is cloudy I will not see my shadow. There will be no need for you to wake up at an inconvenient hour and stand in the cold to hear my news. I will let you know whenever I happen to wake that day. All I can promise is that it will be daytime and not the middle of the night (sun can't shine then silly). 

That was making light of a serious situation. Why are people really hating on the groundhog? It is simply because winter seems to be never ending. It can be fixed in one of two ways. Either we move Groundhog Day to March 2 or we wake up and realize that our weather patterns are changing. It is the truth and it is Inconvenient. The only problem with Al Gore's message is that he was so passionate about the cause that some people interpreted it as fear mongering. In the book and movie, An Inconvenient Truth, the blame for climate change is placed squarely on our shoulders (where it belongs I might personally add). But along with the fear and doom and gloom, there is a message of hope. We can effect change. But no, we would rather sit back and blame a rodent rather than look in the mirror at ourselves. And yes, I do believe that referring to the whole phenomenon as Global Warming was a mistake. When it is snowing in April it is hard to relate to the concept of Global Warming. 

But call it what you will, the weather patterns are changing and there is a reason for it. In my generation, the changes are dramatic. 35 years ago, I could guarantee that I would be skiing on my birthday in late November in Thunder Bay Ontario. In the 1970's there were no less than 5 ski hills. Candy Mountain, the iconic Mount McKay and Mount Norway/Big Thunder have all closed. Big Thunder is where I schussed down the snow covered slopes and it was a world class training facility for ski jumping. A lot of money was spent to make it so and it brought in a lot of tourism dollars to the area with events that it hosted. But why did all these facilities close? The population still exists in the same numbers to support all the ski hills. The sport of downhill skiing was never an inexpensive one and the least costly way to partake was a membership for the season. If you had a good season you skied from mid November to March. But weather patterns changed and there was no guarantee of snow by Christmas and if there was, there was suddenly an inevitable thaw in January. The cost of making snow just to keep a minimum ski base was not financially sound and the ski hills just couldn't afford to keep running. People stopped buying seasons passes because they weren't able to ski enough to make it worth it. Twenty-five years ago, I could count on a winter sledding or outdoor skating party for my daughters birthday in late January. By the time she was ten, we had to plan two parties - one indoor just in case. Snow in April is not normal but neither is no snow in December and January in Canada. 

Seasons have shifted in Canada but our mind-set has not. Winter in Thunder Bay where I grew up, was thought to be from November to March. Spring was March, April, May and June. Summer was June to August and Fall was September to November. Yes some overlap and if you were really lucky you might get an "Indian Summer" in September. With a little less snow and some date variations, it wasn't too different in Southern Ontario where I am now. 

Photo Credit Ashley E Duncan Taken in
Thunder Bay Ontario April 19, 2013

Like last years winter, our memory of it seems to be also short and sweet. It should have been a real eye-opener, not only for the lack of snow but the record breaking high temperatures. I bought a new shovel and it never saw snow. At most we got a light dusting which melted as quickly as it fell. The few times we did get some accumulation, warmer temps were forecasted and melted it quickly. A local television station had a snowfall contest, awarding a snow-blower for the prediction of the first 5 cm snowfall day. It finally came on February 18, 2012. In fact by mid-January there were only 11 days with temperature below the freezing mark and the top news stories was the "Winter That Wasn't". Ski hill operators were crying over the red ink in their ledgers and winter sports enthusiasts every where were resigned to holding down the couch. The meager snowfall in late February quickly gave way to thermometer boiling temperatures more common for July and August. Mid-March broke heat records never before seen. Scenes of people kicking up their flop-flop clad feet were everywhere. But this isn't good people. Flowers and trees were blooming, birds and insects were awakening and continuing the cycle of life - only to be cut short in an unexpected freeze and return to winter temps. Today, we had a snowfall here in the Toronto area, yesterday I was admiring the daffodils that were in bloom. We have nothing to complain about, Thunder Bay received so much snow yesterday that schools, transit, city services were canceled, businesses were closed, area highways were shut down and trucks and their drivers hunkered down in deserted shopping mall parking lots. Snowdrifts were as high as 8 feet - normal in December or January - freakish for the end of April. 
It's all abnormal and not what we are used to or expect. So instead of calling a freak dusting of snow an April Fools Day joke, we should be getting used to it and accept that the change has come and unless we act - it's not going back to what it once was. These freaks of nature abnormal weather patterns cannot be blamed on a rodent nor should we be questioning the sanity of Mother Nature or calling into question her advanced age and menopausal symptoms. And yes, our weather does indeed have similarities to menopause.

Mother Nature is Menopausal 

Mood swings = fluctuating temperatures not seasonally normal

Irregular menstruation = no reliability in beginning and ending of seasons

Hot flashes = random bursts of hot air 

Irritability = more intense storm activity and occurring more frequently

Mental Confusion = snow and hail in areas closer to the equator, icebergs melting in the polar regions.

Honestly, this is a very serious issue and The Inconvenient Truth of what we have done and continue to do to our planet is cause for concern. I watch most documentaries with a leaning towards skepticism and understanding that there are two sides to every story. I just want people to start thinking about the possibility instead of searching for groundhog recipes. Sometimes I think we need to clone Erin Brokovich 1,000 fold. I wish that the population understood that under the guise of a movie it was really a documentary based on reality. Not to be forgotten after a night of the the Oscars. Today, as we prepare to celebrate another Earth Day, take a moment to consider the facts and evidence in front of you. 

1. The climate and seasonal patterns of the world are changing.
2. Natural disasters are hitting with more frequency and increased intensity.
3. Incidences of cancer are increasing at a frightening pace and we are seemingly all vulnerable.
4. Alzheimers, diabetes and obesity are plaguing the young, middle aged and old. Our diet and lifestyles are killing us. Fast food creates too much waist/waste.
5. Whether it is caused by stress or some other chemical factor, mental illness is becoming as common as the cold. At least 1 of your neighbours suffers from depression or other mental impairment.
6. Just because we can doesn't mean we should. Can someone please explain how it is logical that GMO food is okay for me to consume. GMO food is Genetically Modified Organisms and any living thing that has had its genetic material altered through scientific interference. One thing changes another, changes another and the snowball effect begins. 
7. Ask yourself - where were all the kids with life-threatening allergies when you were growing up in the 60's? 70's? And the kids with autism, ADD, OCD and every other new age disorder?
8. Is there enough water in the world? Look at the globe and you see the majority is water covered, but it's not suitable for drinking. Removing the salt is a costly venture. In our stupidity we are using potable water to flush our toilets and make grass green, we build massive cities in the middle of a desert (Las Vegas, Nevada) where the only viable source of water is being consumed faster than it can replenish. 
9. What we do to the animal kingdom we do to ourselves. We cannot continue on this road of medicating farm animals to ensure an increased financial profit without effecting the rest of the food chain. For a real eye opener, read up on factory farming and ask yourself what exactly happens to the waste these large numbers of animals in a small area produce. Consider the amount of methane produced in one acre of a factory farm vs the amount of methane on the same size family farm. Want to move next door? Share the underground water source? Swim in the local watering hole? 
10. Become a locavore, choose food that comes within a 100 mile radius where possible. Eat seasonally and support local farmers. 


I am including a small exert from by Earth Day Blog of last year. It is still relevant today and something I am proud to have penned. Feel free to read the blog post in its entirety.

Raping the Earth is not Consequence-free (April 21 2012)

I think that people are really starting to get the idea that resources are limited and conservation is key. Whether you subscribe to the Global Warming Theory or not you cannot deny that everything we do impacts the health of our planet, some of which can never be repaired or recovered. Newtons' Third Law of Physics states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The Law of Karma states that every action in life creates another reaction which produces another action and so on. Even the Bible itself supports this notion in "as ye sow, so also shall ye reap". They are all saying the same thing. What we do today will affect our tomorrow. If we want a tomorrow as glorious, bountiful and plentiful as our today we must be aware of how are actions will impact the future. The future for those who will still be here after we have gone and for those yet to come.

Credit where credit is due:
The Inconvenient Truth - movie and documentary by Al Gore
Erin Brokovich - movie and activist and lawyer
One Drop - documentary about the water crisis
The World According to Monsanto - documentary on GMO's
World Watch Institute - visions for a sustainable world
Ashley E. Duncan - photographer and resident of Thunder Bay