It's not the heat, it's the....

When I was in the army stationed at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, the summer I was there was brutally hot.  My drill sergeant always told us, "it's not the heat that gets you, it's the humility".  Now I am sure that he had some hidden meaning in this but we always knew that it really WAS the heat that got us.

As I write this blog sitting in my air-conditioned office in Tulsa, the temperature outside is 97 degrees.  This is pretty hot no matter where you live but the difficult part is that it is 10:15 AM.  The forecast highs are: 111, 109, 109, 109, 108, and 106.  Even for Oklahoma in the heart of the summer, these are about 15 degrees above normal.  My lawn is the color of old hay as I’ve given up trying to keep it green.  My air conditioning bill each month is close to what I paid for a used car in my youth.  My dogs refuse to go outdoors except under the most urgent of bodily needs because their water is too hot to drink (though the squirrels in the yard brave it).  My once-vibrant trees resemble weeping willows from the lack of rain.  I see the birds in our shade trees panting! 

So what the heck is going on?  My promise at the outset of this blog series was that it would not be a political disquisition.  It seems that our country is particularly polarized right now and although I am absolutely certain that my viewpoints are all 100% accurate and everyone who disagrees with me is absolutely wrong, my promise not to be political keeps me alive and safe!   

I live in the reddest state in the country (and I am not talking about sunburn either).  As such, there is a general tendency to disagree with things green.  One of our United States Senators, James Inhofe, has written a book, “The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future”.  Among relevant scientific evidence he offers this:  

 “…Genesis 8:22 that I use in there is that ‘as long as the earth remains there will be seed time and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night,’ my point is, God’s still up there. The arrogance of people to think that we, human beings, would be able to change what He is doing in the climate is to me outrageous”.  

Now, I don’t intend to criticize Senator Inhofe for his religious views.  I can say that his quotation from Genesis has nothing to do with climate change.  Some things are a matter of faith, others an issue for science.  We human beings ARE able to change the climate and most everything else we get our hands on and not everyone is beholden to God for permission to do so. 

No doubt you see where my heart lies.  Spoiler alert: I am NOT a climatologist.  I am not a scientist. This means I have to take a stand based on what I think the best evidence shows.  Not everyone believes in climate change, not even climatologists.  My philosophy when these types of issues come along is to go with the preponderance of the evidence.  From what I’ve seen, some 97% of climatologists feel that climate change is real and that’s good enough for me.  I think there are signs that even diehard climate change deniers are coming around.  There was an interesting article by a recent convert to this view and I include it here for your pleasure.

Conversion of a climate change skeptic


Given the strong probability that climate change/global warming is real, what do we do about it?  Hey, don’t ask me.  I already told you I’m not a scientist!

My saying for this week’s blog has to do with the weather (surprise!).


"It is best to read the weather forecast before praying for rain”. ~Mark Twain, American Humorist and author (1835-1910)

Splendor in Lake Tahoe

As a slight departure from information regarding energy conservation let me offer this. I had the pleasant experience during the last week of June to spend it in Inverness Village, NV, flush on the banks of Lake Tahoe.  Located at 6500 feet elevation, the first few days of my visit were spent trying to find warm enough clothes to keep from freezing my assets off!  For those of you who haven’t been there, this is a most beautiful area of the country.  The water in the lake is as blue as any I have ever seen (except for some Tidy Bowl porcelain) and I have included a picture below to give you an idea of the splendor.   

As a member of the American Boiler Manufacturers Association (ABMA) I have the privilege twice each year of attending their general meetings along with my wife Rosalie.  Each of these conferences is hosted at some of the finest hotels around in the most wonderful of locations suitable for the season.  Though the conference lasted only four days, Rosalie and I had planned to spend an extra few days in Reno.  Unfortunately my wife tripped over a piece of luggage and broke her arm so I learned the finer points of nursing, none of which I can say was particularly pleasing to me.  In any case, she is healing nicely but will be in a sling for the next several weeks.   

So what did I learn there that might be interesting to my extensive (OK, small) audience?  Regarding the November election, I heard one of the presenters say that the general election was Romney’s to lose.  For those Obama supporters in my group, do not despair as things are so tight and only the swing states really matter.  One attribute to living in Oklahoma is that it is so Republican that neither party spends money on campaigning here.  Contrast that to Nevada that is in play where ads ran all the time.  Of course as November draws closer, the local pols will be placing ads but that’s a bit away. 

On the economic front, sorry to say that’s a different kettle of fish.  One of the speakers – and remember he was addressing an audience consisting of business leaders in boilers and associated equipment who have been enjoying a couple of years of really good sales after three difficult years – spoke gloom and doom.  Although Romney and Obama will throw spears and barbs at each other, the blame for our woes extends far beyond that.  Two words stand out when fault is assigned: Europe and China.  Europe’s economy is going to be difficult for a long time and is a big trading partner of the US.  China, according to the presenter, sticks us with two problems: one is a slowing economy; the other is its unfair trade practices that lead to large trade surpluses against the US.  This, in turn, results in an economy that struggles.   

And besides all this "great" news, here in Tulsa, it’s HOT. 

As I am now a caregiver for my ailing wife I found how impatient (no pun there, really) I am and how wonderful real nurses are.  Here are some words for the occasion. 

"It is not how much you do, but how much LOVE you put in the doing."
Mother Teresa (1910-1997)

Lake Tahoe June 2012