Hmmm, should we look upon this January thaw as a welcome reprieve from winter or a not-so-subtle reminder that the clock is ticking on climate change?
January in this neck of the woods is usually bitter cold, blustery indoor weather. But this weekend has brought a sudden thaw. Temperatures have risen up the thermometer to tempt us into thinking we’ve bypassed the dead of winter and vaulted into spring.
As welcoming as this weather is for those of us who view winter as something to grudgingly endure, we cannot ignore the evidence of the countdown clock on climate change.
Long-term buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is trapping heat and warming up the land, oceans and atmosphere. Extreme weather – severe droughts, deadly heat waves and record numbers of tornados to name but a few – are battering Mother Earth with long term consequences that may be irreversible.
I fear that we will begin to lose some of those small wonders of nature that feed my soul like nothing else can. Where will I find a replacement for…
The regal graces – velvet black and frosted blues, sculpted wings and teardrop scallops – of the Black Swallowtail?
The golden flash of black-flecked orange of a Great Spangled Fritillary perched on the purple-pink tendrils of a wildflower?
The sunlight washed wings and marvellously camouflaged abdomen of a Fawn Darner?
The subtle shades of brown, puddle eyespots and gracefully sketched streaks of a Northern Pearly Eye?
These are magnificent and delicate creations that mankind cannot recreate. But we can erase them from nature’s palette all too easily through our neglect.
Let these tiny miracles of creation be metaphors for what we owe the world we live in and for the price we’ll be if we fail to pay the debt.
~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.comor the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.
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Tags: Black Swallowtail · climate change · Fawn Darner · Great Spangled Fritillary · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · Northern Pearly-EyeNo Comments