Did you enjoy your summer? I hope so, because now we return you to your regularly scheduled weather for late March in southern Maine.
There was rampant speculation about last week’s freakish heat wave, an anomaly that shattered local meteorological records and sent scores of disappointed people to Old Orchard Beach in search of Pier Fries.
Some folks opined that increasing solar flares from the sun were to blame. Others said fiery rhetoric from presidential hopeful Rick Santorum was dramatically increasing gaseous emissions and further eroding our fragile ozone.
And, of course, global-warming alarmist were out in full force, smugly announcing that the much-anticipated end of the world is now in full swing.
But leave it to those crazy Brits to get to the meat of the story.
Apparently, the earth has a long track record of warming and then cooling. It’s a cycle that’s been going on for centuries, long before rednecks like me were driving F-150s to suburban shopping malls in pursuit of consumer electronics and plastic bags.
If you don’t believe me, check this story in London’s Daily Mail newspaper, which reported a new study that throws a monkey wrench into the global climate change debate.
According to the story, a team of scientists led by geochemist Zunli Lu from Syracuse University found that contrary to the ‘consensus’, the ‘Medieval Warm Period’ approximately 500 to 1,000 years ago wasn’t just confined to Europe — it extended to Antarctica.
Now there’s an inconvenient truth that ought to be as easy to understood as a trip to Peaks Island.
We had an Ice Age long before we had SUVs. Peaks and all the other islands in Casco Bay were created long ago when southerly flowing glaciers carved out the island masses.
Even in Greenville, Maine — arguably the state’s greenest community, there is evidence of historical global warming: it’s called Moosehead Lake.
We have a moral obligation to be good stewards of our natural resources; and none of this should justify industrial pollution or irresponsible human behavior.
It’s just that you should remember that there is an agenda to the global warming hysteria. It’s a belief that individuals should not get to choose how much energy they use. Other people want to tell you how you should heat your home, what kind of car you should drive and what type of lightbulbs you can use.
Look, if it helps you sleep at night by driving a Prius… knock yourself out. If you want mercury-laced, curly lightbulbs in your kids’ playroom — have at it.
But don’t think that any of that is going to fundamentally change the planet’s natural evolution.
Earth’s climate has been changing since the beginning of time. To think that you can save the planet is the height of arrogance. The planet will change with or without you.
If you want credibility, then lead by example: ditch your car, buy a bicycle and get off Facebook….computers are made of petroleum-based products and they consume gobs of electricity.
If only the Neanderthals had Twitter, maybe they could have stopped those damned glaciers.
But then, where would I drive my boat?
Global warming has been good to me—even if only to give my furnace and my wallet a much-needed break during the final days of winter.
LESSONS IN MEDIOCRITY 
Randy, well written piece, but I don’t think you backed up your assertions.
Yes, I believe that most of us would agree that the earth has experienced warming and cooling periods throughout its history. But, we have evidence that the changes we are experiencing now are accelerated, and don’t forget about the ozone ‘hole’.
Also, you state that: “It’s just that you should remember that there is an agenda to the global warming hysteria. It’s a belief that individuals should not get to choose how much energy they use. Other people want to tell you how you should heat your home, what kind of car you should drive and what type of lightbulbs you can use.” Can you back this up? You believe that environmentalists don’t want us to ‘choose’ how much energy we use, etc.? I think that this is a broad, over-generalizing statement. People ‘choose’ to do drugs and break the law, does that make it right? Sometimes we need to be ‘guided’ into making the ‘right’ decisions for ourselves and the community, wouldn’t you agree?
Lastly, you basically state that one person can’t make a difference, and that attempting to be green is pointless. That statement invokes thoughts of Giordano Bruno, Copernicus, Rosa Parks, Gandhi, and others who have been murdered and ridiculed for their ‘radical’ beliefs.
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Randy, this musing did not make me feel ‘warm and fuzzy’. 🙂
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