ben wakeman : : Journal

No Snow in Moscow

January 15, 2007

January and 70 degrees. Ugh. When I first moved to Atlanta it was a change for me climate-wise, but recently this has just gotten out of hand. Growing up in the mountains of North Carolina, I was used to a definititive change of seasons. I vividly remember the excitement surrounding the first snow fall in a small mountain town. We would wake up early and pad across the cold floor in bare feet to the frosted windows and peer outside to see a fresh blanket of snow covering the bare trees, dead grass and generally grey winter scene. The snow, reflected and amplified the bleak light of the winter sun and promised a day of sleding, tunneling and skiing. As kids, we would stay outside most of the day, only retreating indoors to melt off the ice balled on our toboggins and maybe have a cup of hot chocolate by the fire.

A winter without snow is for me like a song without a chorus or sex without an orgasm --- what is the point? Yesterday we were at the top of Stone Mountain in short sleeves and still sweating. It's just entirely unnatural and I feel cheated. I should say, I felt cheated until I started following the news around the world. For the first time in recorded history there is no snow in Moscow in January, no snow in Chicago, no snow in New York, now snow in Switzerland. I have even heard it reported that by 2040, there will no longer be snow in Colorado. There are still some that argue that there is no clear evidence that this climate change is a result of global warming. I suppose we can argue over symantics until we are wearing sunscreen in February, but something's gotta change.

Maybe we are headed for mass extinction, maybe it's just an freakish warm trend that will correct itself or maybe God is punishing us for watching so much bad televsion. Until then, I suppose the best we can do is crank up the AC, build a fire in the fireplace and look at pictures of snow: