Global warming, birthdays, and other news from the wild side

First off, the good news. Andrew is 14 today! Gee I feel OLD! My folks are coming in from Bama-land today, so I have mucho cleaning to do (you're never done enough cleaning if your dad is a former marine!!!)


Bad news -
This story is rather scary! I guess I'm glad we left Texas :) We had a drought in the late 90s, where the summer temperatures were really high (not fun being pregnant in June 1998!) and every summer our yards would dry out, turn brown, and the ground would crack. We would come up to Missouri every August for a family reunion and I would be amazed at the green grass, moderate temperatures in morning and evening, and the soft ground. The picture below is of White Rock Lake, one of the most beautiful areas of Dallas, taken during the 1950s drought. The lake was totally dry :(


Our lawn could have looked a lot better if a) we had worked within the watering restrictions and woken up early to hand water with the hose, b) we had ignored the water restrictions and risked getting turned in by the local neighborhood vigilantes, or c) if we'd actually given a crap. We would give the foundation a light sprinkle now and then to prevent permanent damage.

It always amazed me how water-hungry the Dallas area was. So many people had to have lush green lawns. There was a small movement towards xeriscaping, but it was mostly disregarded. After all, the golf course look was ideal. Every summer the area would have burst water pipes due to the increased usage.

So this whole global warming thing (which lets face it, has already started) is really going to bite the whole southwest on it's collective ass. Here's a map from the above article:


The darker brown areas will be the most affected.

I am REALLY concerned about global warming, and it will be influencing my vote next year. I just hope that there's a nice MODERATE candidate who will take this under consideration.