Wishing summer away...

"Lake Meade is at its lowest level in 85 years. Water is becoming the new gold all over the west. The forests are as dry as a bone, and the smallest spark can start an inferno. Death Valley had a temperature of 130 degrees - 4 degrees short of a worldwide record."

Okay - first things first. I AM NOT WISHING SUMMER AWAY! Why not? Despite the dry weather and almost drought conditions in Minnesota, I am having a decent summer. Enjoying it. Even though, as most of us know who have been around the block a few times, summer goes into hyper speed right after the Forth of July. It always seems that right after the last firework is shot off, the State Fair is looming. And by the way, just having the State Fair this year, is going to be AWESOME!

That being said, if I lived out west this summer, I would be wishing summer away - bigly! The drought and heat they are having all the way from Arizona up to Washington State, is historic. Day after day, week after week, of no relief. The only relief will come when summer starts to wane. 

How bad has it been in the Pacific Northwest? Some scientists are saying this type of heat, in an area of the country which is known for clouds, mist and rain, would have been impossible without man-made climate change. But then one of the scientists went on to say this - this type of jump in temperatures in that part of the country, is almost impossible even with man-made climate change. Let that sink in for just a minute. 

Need an example of how bad the Pacific Northwest is going to be during the next two weeks? In Spokane, Washington (where our niece lives), the temps will be in the high 80's (two days), high 90's (five days), and mid 90's for the remaining days. That is insane for that city, to have heat like that. Plus, to really aggravate a bad situation, there is zero percent chance of any rain for those two weeks.

Lake Meade is at its lowest level in 85 years. Water is becoming the new gold all over the west. The forests are as dry as a bone, and the smallest spark can start an inferno. Death Valley had a temperature of 130 degrees - 4 degrees short of a worldwide record. California and Nevada? Every square mile of both those states are in an excessive heat warning for the entire week. 

Just when the strongest skeptic of man-made global warming might want to park his or her truck in the garage and start riding a bicycle, remember this. China, the baddie on the block, is responsible for the majority of green house gases. If our planet is truly getting warmer due to greenhouse gases, we have only to look at China as the chief villain. 

Wishing the summer away? Not here, we are not. Heck, our Minnesota sweet corn just started to appear. This summer is a whale of a lot better than last winter. But that is from here. If I lived out west, I would be counting the days until fall. That is, if fall is normal. If fall, like summer out west, is 20 degrees above normal, I would not be wishing the fall away. I would move.