by JoEllen Collins
I am not in my Idaho home at the moment and am being told by my friends and neighbors in the Valley that I’m doing well NOT to be there in the Valley with the piles of snow, icy streets and generally tricky driving and walking conditions.
Right now I am staying in a tiny pied-à-terre near the opera and symphony in San Francisco, owned by a woman with whom I originally agreed to trade places for the past couple of weeks, even though she decided to go to Mexico instead. While I am away from the worst perils of a remarkable snow season in Idaho, I am beset here by other weather and transportation problems. Exiting the BART yesterday in a fierce rain with a broken umbrella didn’t help. It has been storming sporadically ever since I arrived, and while California certainly needs water, this amount at this time is dangerous and difficult to navigate.
My high school friend who lives in Sausalito knows a woman whose house there was removed a couple of weeks ago from its foundation by mud and carried a street lower. For some magical reason, she didn’t perish in the process. Many Californians are fearful as I write this that recent fires and sufficiently eroded ground covers now elicit a response like, “Again? We know this can happen.”
I once noted the truism that talking about the weather is an easy icebreaker that most of us employ when in an elevator, talking with a clerk, or sitting on a bus next to a stranger, an acceptable way of casual communication. However, I have noted recently that, like politics, the subject of weather is becoming difficult. A few words about any extreme weather may lead to angry exchanges about global warming or nonsensical judgments about the people who choose such locations, as though they could easily find safer places to live and work.
I have a family member far away from here who disagrees with me about causes of weather change, and we occasionally talk by telephone. His much-researched but extremely dogmatic opinions about global warming (he thinks it is a farce, possibly part of a government conspiracy) make even occasional birthday messages uncomfortable. He claims that I am brainwashed and stubborn not to agree with his studies. I just this morning heard an NPR piece about a scientist who disputed the theory that carbon dioxide is a major component in the environmental crisis we now face. His ideas were soon dismissed. Now some have thought that his views (I am oversimplifying for the sake of space), along with many other contrary and controversial opinions about weather, should be reexamined to be sure respected scientists have heard all sides equally.
Of course, I am worried about the paths humanity is taking to destroy our earth and sad that my grandchildren may inherit a more destructive and ugly world. I will keep learning about what I can do to help correct this situation. Right this minute, however, I need to simply appreciate not being soaked by windy rain as I enjoy a lovely, sunny sky.