A Selfish & Greedy Society

Hi,

Bob here...

October has now passed by and with this month came some of the mildest weather on record. Although November has begun in fine form with sunshine and clear skies, the night time temperatures are beginning to drop quite considerably. For me in particular, I am entering a period of particularly painful swollen joints. Usually, a fall on the barometer coupled with damp conditions would cause me to suffer. Now, with the cold creeping in on us again, it appears that I'm going to be in for it once again. When I recall how hot it was for us during July this year, it serves to remind me that I was completely free of pain because of the hot dry weather. Roll on the summer...

The garden is still looking quite lovely, brightened with many tender flowers still blooming happily and making everything looking quite colourful. I planted quite a lot of winter pansies and viola last week, which with a little luck and not too harsh a period of frost, should last right through to next summer. Many trees are still not quite free of their leaves, so until the last has fallen, I have to wait a bit longer before taking my rake to them and using them as a mulch. This will suppress all those weeds that are eager to flood their way into my garden behind my back.

Autumn has barely begun, and yet I'm eager to see the arrival of spring again. It's not like there was no colour in the garden during winter. Far from it, there is plenty of colour derived from planting grasses, sedges and shrubs with evergreen foliage. Things like: Hebe, Euonymus, Ajuga, Box, Holly, Pittosporum, Choisya, Spotty Laurel and Elaeagnus have variegated leaves in cream and green, all of which provide a splash of colour during the frequently dull months of winter.

Alternatively, there are the deciduous shrubs which flower anytime from late November through until March and even early April. These include: Mahonia x media, Viburnum x bodnantense, Hamamelis japonica, Jasminum nudiflorum, Prunus mume, Garrya elliptica, Skimmia japonica and Rhododendron moupinense to name but a few. Needless to say, a great deal will depend upon where you live, as to what you can expect to grow. Winters here, are, or at least were frequently harsh, but now this is all changing dramatically.

The subject of change brings me back to the subject of Global Warming. Recently, Tony Blair announced that we all need to act now, if we are to prevent the harsh results of global warming and emitting too much CO². This is commendable of him, but could we expect less from him as leader of this country of ours? I think not! What I find odd about his words, is that you'd think that global warming was something that has happened only recently. No so! Not only have the world's scientists been saying it for decades, but even a humble person such as myself, who probably unlike Mr Blair, received only a secondary education, is bright enough to have known about global warming for the best part of eighteen years, perhaps more.

I first began to suspect that something was happening, weather wise, when the winters where I live began to lose their severity. At one time, the people living around here could expect snow, the loose dry powdery stuff, to lay on the ground for anything up to three months or so during the winter, with drifts usually blocking the roads and quite often the way out of one's home, too. Ever since this period began, I doubt that we've seen more than two or three weeks of snow in any single given year, and even then, it rarely lays on the ground in one continuous cycle. The seasons of Spring, Summer and Autumn have all become a whole lot more mild, with extreme variations in the weather that have caused the normally late flowering plants of spring, to grow and flower during February. When these unnatural occurrences begin to show up more frequently, I would suggest that this proves that we have long entered a period of dramatic change.

Now, while I'm on the subject of global warming and the release of CO², the first step towards doing something positive, would be to ban bonfire night and the sale of fireworks. Yes, I know that this would be unpopular, but then I can assure you that the catastrophic results of global warming would be unpopular too. The amount of CO² and other noxious gases that are released into our atmosphere, before, during and after November 5th must surely be astronomical?! And what for? We celebrate some antiquated period in our noble history that marks the prevention of the destruction of the houses of parliament. But need we do it in such a destructive way? I say, No! Of course, the government would be reluctant to act on this because of its vested interest, the sales of fireworks and taxes it raises from them.

We do have the choice to do something positive against global warming, and to do it now! Let's face it, making an effort will not be as painful as the resulting effect would be to ignore the issue. Myself? Yes, I started to do my bit a long time ago. I save all of my bottles, newspapers, plastic bottles and tin cans. I'd save even more if my local council would get its damn finger out. And No! I'm not a driver either. I use public transport whenever and wherever I can. I've never flown anywhere to go on holiday. In fact, I haven't had a holiday since I went away with my children in 1986. I don't burn rubbish in my garden, but prefer to compost wherever its practical to do so. I also collect water, including what is in the pond, and use it for watering my garden, but only when it desperately needs it.

Onto another point now. Why, oh why is it that car manufacturers insist on producing engines that run on fossil fuels? They should set an example by designing vehicles that run on alternative fuels. Oh of course, they do! Well, it's not enough. I see the worse thing as being that our government has a vested interest in you lot running around everywhere burning millions of gallons (sorry, Litres.) of diesel and petrol. How come? It's all that fuel tax you pay!! I digress, since drivers are not allowed to exceed the speed limits set on our roads, then why don't manufacturers produce more electric cars? Such vehicles could be just as stylish, and at the same time, they would be a perfect foil for all those people who never go out of the town when they drive. (This must run into millions of you?)

Now, before all you drivers start blowing your tops at such suggestions, the alternative to cutting down on CO² emissions drastically, and I do mean drastically, is far more widespread flooding during our winters, where people will lose their lives and their homes, followed by much longer periods in summer where our reservoirs will dry up more often and water shortages will prevail. The water tables will lower, but because of periods of less rainfall, it will simply not replenish itself. You only have to look at what is happening in India to see what I'm talking about. This is no longer a case and question of "if". Because situations like these and other conditions more terrible to speak of, will rule our lives if we don't put and end to our incredibly greedy, selfish attitudes. In froggy's own words, don't say that I didn't tell you so...


Once again, it's time for me to be getting inside.

So, I hope to see you all in the garden next time, bye for now!


Bob (For Froggy)