Paul Monaco .com

Global warming… a topic that often gets me into trouble with the circle I associate with but I really believe it’s just a catch phrase that caught on and the “in vogue” thing to save the planet from.

Specifically looking at warming trends, I think our impact on that aspect of the environment is insignificant compared to natural causes, and in our haste to save the planet we’re not necessarily making all the right decisions. (Do we really want to jump into replacing all our benign incandescents lamps with mercury filled fluorescents?)

That said however, we don’t want to be stupid. As a Buddhist I am all to aware of the simultaneity of cause and effect. How every action we take (or don’t take) has an immediate effect on our environment today and into the future. We should always be aware of our actions and make every effort to not pollute and otherwise have negative effects on our environment. Not in the name of the politically correct buzzword of the day but in the name of simply doing the right thing.

If we simply look at the health of the planet as a whole and stop worrying about only a small aspect of it (like global warming) then we can together make a much greater impact and cross more party lines.

As some of you know, I fancy myself an armature photographer. This show was taken during our (hopefully) last snow storm of the season on March 16th. As you can tell the traffic was so slow I was able to frame and focus this show while driving. Click the image for a full-sized view.

Anyone that knows me is well aware that I am a fan of winter. Not because I enjoy skiing or any other winter sports, but simply because I enjoy the crisp clean air and blanket of snow.

However this year… well… it was a bit disappointing. We never really had a good solid snowfall and for the most part things have just been cold and gray. So I’m done. Bring on spring, let the blooms begin.

The photo above was taken this morning during my power-walk. It’s looking out over the city of Rockville towards the North.

About my last post… just ignore it. So far the temperature is the only indication that this is winter. The snow simply has not come to fruition, though this morning I thought it had. At 4am I’m awakened to the unmistakable sound of steel rubbing across pavement and back-up alarms. I thought for sure we got the mother-lode of snow overnight. I was so wrong.

I imagine the folks that make a living off of snow removal are pretty antsy this year, and as soon as they saw a dusting covering the pavement they came out full force, sanding and plowing. The snow was so light that I saw one contractor using a leaf-blower to clear a sidewalk. I have a hunch small claims court will be clogged in the coming weeks when the land owners refuse to pay these guys for jumping the gun like they did.

At least the weather isn’t effecting my power-walks. Actually I prefer to do it in the frigid cold then in summers sweltering heat.

Since I’ve quit smoking over 6-months ago, I’ve taken up walking to help get rid of the weight I gained from quitting. I have a hunch that after today my power-walk schedule will be greatly reduced as there predicted some snow on Friday then again on Monday. I think winter is finally in New England.

It’s actually amazing that the weather has been so mild this late in the season. I haven’t put snow-studs on my car yet and am still disputing if I should?