It's finally getting hot in this neck of the woods. The forecast calls for temperatures to top 100 degrees this week. Probably have steambath-like humidity to go with it as well.

So I thought that this scene would cool things off a little bit. It's from last winter, just after a snowfall that left things all white and fluffy. In this area, more than three snowflakes generally brings things to a halt. We have a gravel driveway, so you can't use a simple snowblower. But the snow doesn't last that long, and a little bit of shoveling is good exercise if you warm up first. (The thought of warming up for cold weather exercise sounds a little strange. To me, the best way of warming up on a day like this one is to put your feet up in front of a roaring fire with a nice warm, alcoholic drink in your hands. But that's another story.)

I've read that the first six months of this year are the hottest on record. The ice is melting in the arctic, and the weather patterns around the globe are becoming increasingly strange and extreme. In the opinion of most scientists, we're altering the structure of the climate in a way that will soon reach a critical point. But some still resist this growing evidence, saying it's some sort of cycle, and that to do something to stop what's happening will be bad for the economy.

But what would it hurt to err on the side of the angels in this case? Suppose we just pretend that global warming is real and take the appropriate steps to counteract it. We certainly won't be hurting anything, and every measure we take will benefit the planet in any case.

Unfortunately, we don't have that many summers and winters remaining to do something about it, for it will soon be too late.