SWIMMING THE ALPS
This year I am
planning on a fabulous vacation to Europe to swim the Alps with my family.
It's been over thirty years since I skied the majestic glaciers of St.
Anton, Austria and the Alps of Zermatt in Switzerland. Stunningly beautiful
mountains and villages and an economic base that revolves almost entirely
around skiing tourists. This trip will revolve mostly around water sports
and picking Edelweiss, however, as the entire region is in the midst of
another abnormally warm winter. Stephan Bader, a climatologist with the
Swiss Meteorological Institute expects that the record summer of 2003 which
used to occur only once in a hundred years will now occur every two or three
years. Central England had the warmest Fall since record keeping began in
1659. In Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and France, annual snowfalls
are now half what they were only forty years ago. Austria's Central
Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics reports temperatures in the Alps
have been driven to their highest in 1,300 years. At the Cortina d'Ampezzo
resort in Italy just one slope in the 90-mile trail system is open to
skiers.
For those of us who have been dismayed by Europe's cold shoulder treatment
of the United States, especially since 9/11, there may be a certain amount
of nefarious satisfaction with the melting of the Alps. After all, it is
widely believed that it is the evil, over-consuming, coal and oil-burning
America that is the sole cause of the Greenhouse Gases many feel is to
blame. While it is true we have done our share, Europe has not been far
behind and perhaps they are seeing more dramatic change than we are. At
least for now.
I'm not arguing global warming here anyway. More interesting to me is the
dramatic demonstration, once again, of our vulnerability to nature. Whatever
it is that is causing these changes, it is surely noteworthy when you see
entire countries that have had established weather patterns for so long that
entire cultures and economies are built around it.."It's really worrisome"
says German Meteorologist Gerd Saalfrank. That's an understatement. It goes
well beyond tourism as fruit trees across these countries are blossoming,
threatening another entire industry with a zero year. If the pattern, or
lack of one, continues, it threatens that industry on an indefinite basis.
But moreover, it is simply an unsettling trend and there seems to be
demonstration after demonstration of Mother Nature having hot flashes over
the last several years.
The weight and fury of an ocean came to bear on Indonesia in the form of a
tsunami. Still exercises the imagination when you see that footage of a true
wall of water laying bare that stretch of coast. Evidence of the enormity of
Hurricane Katrina still readily available in Louisiana and Mississippi, in
fact, the staggering reality is perhaps just now coming clear as it is
generally accepted that it will take decades to truly rebuild it all. The
way things are going, what are the chances that decades will pass before a
similar storm ravages that area or one nearby?
What is happening in Europe now may well turn out to be a prelude to our own
destiny. On a larger scale it is a species just beginning to deal with a
changing climate, a different habitat. It is a sobering thought, as it is
one thing to change your tourism marketing from world-class skiing to
world-class swimming. It is another thing entirely when you start having
kids with gills. Besides, it's too soon to tell exactly what kind of
physical changes us humans may have to take on to adapt to our changing
climate. Like lizards and llamas we will have to adapt to our region, I
suppose. Those of us native to areas which routinely have temperatures in
the 130 degree range will need a scaly skin. Those native to the base of the
Alpine Glaciers will probably need dorsal fins. The only certain thing is
that it will be engrossing entertainment for the next generations. The next
most certain thing is that we are, and will remain, powerless to stop or
change it. It wouldn't matter if we did have the technology because we can't
even agree, as a culture or a planet, whether anything is actually happening
or not. The entire issue of Global Warming has become so politicized that it
is almost comical at this point. As the house burns to the ground, let's
argue about the cause of the fire. Was it lightning or a candle left
burning?
So, given the evident futility of it all, I have decided to just enjoy the
ride. Bring it on, Mother Nature! Twelve inch rain storms? I love them.
Snowstorms measured in feet? Hit me. Oceans rising up and swallowing cities?
Let me get my camcorder. New Multi-Climate Humans running around with
forked-tongues, webbed feet and a pointy tail? Let me get my sketchpad.
Remember, we are the "smart" species. Let Nature take its course.