GLOBAL WARMING MUST BE A REGIONAL THING

Our condo is at the end of the cul de sac on the right

There is no question that the earth is in a period of global warming. The cause of global warming is less certain; certainly manmade additions to the atmosphere play a contributing role, but it is simply a question of how great or how little the role is.

The polar ice cap is melting and the polar bears are losing their habitat, and the Colorado winter is no longer cold enough to kill the pine beetle and their larvae, so now we're losing the lodgepole pine across the mountain west.

There certainly though seem to be some regional variation in the weather patterns. I have just experienced the coldest days of my entire life, and in fact the coldest days for anyone living in this locale for more than 100 years. In the middle of a series of night time temperatures well below zero was a record setting night of 31° below zero last Thursday. (absolute temperature, not wind chill! ) We also experienced a bit of snow, as you can see from the picture above. The snowfall was not a record, but it added to the overall sensation of cold.

There is nothing evil or sinister about the winter, and without the cold temperatures and moisture, the flora and fauna of the warm six months of the year could not exist. And I guess there's always the philosophical point that the experience of pain is necessary in order to appreciate pleasure. Thus this spring we will be absolutely bursting with joy in Iowa.