Devilish Heat

It's still hot. Welcome to the new normal.

I'm so tired of hearing people celebrate the warm low-snow winter and then complain about the heat all summer long. It's climate change, folks. We caused it, we need to work to solve it. Or at least slow it. Do you like to eat food? Breathe oxygen? Then let's work on curbing that CO2 addiction, k? And, some of us actually *enjoy* the winter, the snow, and things like snowshoeing and skiing, hot chocolate and sledding. So please stop ruining my environment with your Hummer.

I was mystified to read this headline today: "What's Causing the Heat Wave?" Um, really? Have you not heard the news in the past, oh, twenty years? Perhaps not, as only 83% of Americans "believe" the climate is warming. No, my fellow citizens, this is not Santa Claus. Much like evolution, there is nothing to "believe" about climate change. Step out your door. It's happening. Actually, it already happened.

So, what can we do? Little things. Easy things. Hang your clothes out to dry instead of using the dryer- it'll save four whopping pounds of carbon emissions for each load you don't dry, and it'll make your clothes last longer. Use bar soap- it takes less energy to ship a condensed bar instead of all the water in body wash. Don't use a hair dryer- think about the silliness of blowing hot air on your head while you run the a/c. Or, if you are like me and like to use the dryer to straighten your hair, wait until it's almost dry and then run the dryer for only two minutes instead of ten. Eat vegetarian for a few meals a week- it takes an astounding amount of water to raise animals, not to mention the strain on petroleum resources and if you're eating beef the mass of methane that cows produce. Turn up your a/c a degree or two. Eat local. Turn off the lights and t.v.

If we all take small steps today we won't have a massive crisis tomorrow.

Recipe for the summer smoothie that I drank while reading about Yoshitomo Nara (pictured above): toss one peach, one apricot, and a handful of blueberries into the blender with two handfuls of ice. Blend. Drink. Be devilish.