The Brighter Side of Global Warming

Now, I know that global warming is a serious issue.  In the years to come we will have more tornadoes, hurricanes and typhoons.  Polar Bears may well become extinct.  Vast expanses of land which are now agriculturally productive will become deserts.

Uh-oh

I’m also totally convinced that it’s man-made.  If you happen to live in a large,   polluted city pay attention the next time you have a 3 day weekend.  On Monday, after 3 days of decreased traffic and lots of stuff closed, the air is clearer and you can see farther.  Fact.  I’ve seen it with my own eyes.

But there’s not much chance of reversing the trend, given that we are permanently squabbling over the conflict of the moment, whether it is gay marriage, eating disorders or athletes on steroids.   We have about as much chance  of getting governments and large, multi-national corporations to give a shit about the environment as we do of ever finding out what caused building 7 to fall on 9/11, or who was standing behind the fence on top of the grassy knoll at Dealey Plaza.  So, we might as well look at the brighter side.

Interesting weather today.  I guess you would call it blustery.  Intermittent light rain, but whipped up by a stiff, cold wind.  The kind of day that can substitute for caffeine, that brings out the rosy in your cheeks.  It was a stormy spring day…

…but we are in January.  I know the long term implications for the future of the only biosphere in which we know how to exist are not good, but I am enjoying this mild winter.  I kind of hope it carries right on into Spring.  Prague, in the future, could have a climate similar to Spain or Italy.  Then again, Spain and Italy might have climates that are too hot for human habitation.  Not my problem.

Global warming will no doubt cause disruptions to the world food supply, but we should be able to get around that with a little bit of ingenuity;  greenhouses and such.  Also, the grain belt will move a bit north and, since that moves into into the planet’s most land heavy latitude, it’s probable that as much new land will come into cultivation as old land is laid waste.

Plus, the Arctic Ocean becomes navigable.  A few centuries from now, that could be the new Mediterranean.  New civilizations will rise.

Shame about the Polar Bears.  Maybe we could move a few of them down to Antarctica to save the species.  Of course, the Penguins wouldn’t be too happy about that.  There’s always something.