Puddle Jumping in DC

Tornados, Fish Farms, and Barbie vs Orangutans - Recently on Care2

Don't Make Connections Between Extreme Weather Events (VIDEO)

. . . because that might might lead you to conclude that global warming is already happening, warns Bill McKibben in a Washington Post oped.

In the wake of the devastating tornado's in Joplin, MO, and a record year for tornados, floods, and wildfires worldwide, author and environmentalist Bill McKibben makes the case that the extreme weather patterns predicted by climate science models look awfully like what we've been experiencing . . . (more)

June 12, 137 comments

NOAA OKs Factory Fish Farming for the Gulf of Mexico

That the U.S. government agency responsible for managing the nations fisheries falls within the agency responsible for international trade is painfully clear with Thursday's announcement that NOAA will finalize regulations for open ocean aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico. The press material accompanying the announcement leads with the Commerce Department objective of closing the seafood trade gap, not with the importance of managing a stressed natural resource, fisheries, or ensuring the health of an ecological and biological wonder, the world's oceans . . . (more)

Jun 10, 62 comments

Ken Dumps Barbie to Save the Rainforest, Protect Orangutans and Tigers

Would you ditch your girlfriend of 50 years if you discovered she was complicit in the deaths of endangered orangutans and tigers? That's the call Ken made when he discovered the boxes in which Barbie dolls are packaged contain mixed tropical hardwood from Indonesia's rainforests. At least that's back story to a campaign stunt by Greenpeace on Tuesday calling on Mattel to set corporate policy eliminating rainforest sourcing of paper for packaging . . . (more)

Jun 7, 70 comments

 

 

Snowmageddon 2010

Some mornings

can seem rather cold and uninviting.  But compared to

yesterday morning?

Not so much.

Passing on a love of wild weather

Just a couple of photos from a Sunday morning walk in the rain.

Muddy puddle. Muddy bottom. More by Flickr user Studiojmm.

Seems sitting is required to examine the mud between one's toes.

Have I mentioned that I like to be out* in wacky weather?

I was thinking about that as I was playing in traffic riding home this evening while the rain got harder and harder. Being out in the weather can be really invigorating; it makes you realize how lucky you are to be alive, how very amazing nature is, and how little control we have over so many things (how very Zen).

I was having so much fun tonight that it was a challenge to make myself pay attention to all of the things** you have to pay attention to while biking in DC if you'd like to stay alive.

     

I guess I have mentioned          running in the rain   running in below freezing weather   running after a big snow   running in heavy winds   running in the heat (although that's really not as fun) . . .                Watch for the new blog theme.

Photo by CNN. Now tell me that doesn't look fun?

* Safety first, of course.
** Moving cars, parked cars, drivers in cars, pedestrians, other bikes, traffic lights, dogs, holes, bumps, stray objects, the occasional heavy thing swinging overhead on a crane . . . .

Rain In Xi'an

We were expecting Xi'an to be one of the hottest places we'd visited.  We couldn't beleive our luck when we found it to be cold and rainy.

We all enjoyed Xi'an and found it to be a pleasent, attractive city.

Fog in Beijing

Again, the weather was unbelievable cooperative.  Instead of a heat wave, we found rain and fog (mostly fog).  After standing in an orderly and quite line of thousands and thousands to view the Mao mausoleum (yes, he's in there, under glass) we headed for the old imperial palace.

The (Not-So) Forbidden City

We found that by the time we hit Beijing, we were a bit glazed by more Ming and Qing architecture and temple-like structures. A wildly overpriced frozen coffee from Starbucks (yes, you read that right) revived us a bit and we tackled some excellent exhibits within the palace museum including some absurdly complicated clocks made in England and France in the 1800's and given to China as gifts.

. . .. . .

The private quarters of the palace were fun though – lots of more intimately sized corridors and courtyards and a great garden in the back.

 

The Summer Palace

The following day, we headed for the outskirts of Beijing to check out the palace into whose renovation the Dowager Emperess Cixi funneled money intended for the Imperial Navy at the end of the 19th century.

. . .. . .  
It is truly lovely, even in a steady drizzle.

The Wild Wall

Last, but far from least, we boarded a tour bus bound for JinShanling – a semi-restored section of the great wall about 110 km to the north east of Bejing

We hiked the 10 kilometers hiked from JinShanling to Simatai

It hasn't all held up equally well or been equally restored.

Here, it's barely wide enough for me to walk on it. Mac went around.

Pretty cool, though.

Look, wildlife!

I Got Wet, Really Wet.

It's finally raining in Washington. It took me all day to muster the resolve to go run but I really enjoyed it once I got going. There's something about running in crazy weather . . . over coming the elements and such that I find rather invigorating. So much so that I ran my normal 3.5 mile circuit 5 minutes faster than usual.

Now, if only he would stop bringing home

Feels like 94°

87°F Feels Like 94°F UV Index: 3 Moderate Wind: From SW at 8 mph Humidity: 63% Pressure: 29.98 in. Dew Point: 73°F Visibility: 8.0 miles
	I ran on the mall over lunch today. Oh, my was it hot and sticky. I was forced to stop at a snack stand to snag napkins to wipe the sweat out of my eyes. All that remains of the 4th of July extravaganza on the mall is the snow fencing and an empty Folk Life Festival pavilions. It's been left to your run-of-the-mill tourist and jogger. I'd missed a whole week of running due to a cold that Mac brought home. Honestly, I've been overdoing it and think I was a bit run down. I don't know if today's run was hard because of the heat or the training interruption. Either way, I took it slow. We have a 14 mile run scheduled Saturday - just past half way!

You know it's cold when . . . .

• The wind makes you to cry as you run and the tears freeze as they roll down your cheeks
• You think of truck exhaust as a welcome blast of warm air.

The amazing thing about the human furnace is that after about 15 minutes, my eyes had adjusted and I was so warm that my hand were sweaty and I was considering removing my gloves.

Runners World can help you decide what to wear too. Although I always add a neck gater (in periwinkle, please) if it's cold enough for gloves and a hat. There's something about not having wind hit the back of my neck that just makes me much happier.

The mall was desolate tonight

Usually when you run on the national mall in Washington DC, there are dozens of other runners out there with you. I don't know why, but not tonight.

It wasn't that cold; 32° is lovely for running. The park service plows the paths so after a snow fall, it's one of the only off-road paths that's certain to be cleared. The mall was in pretty good shape tonight (packed snow and gravel, no ice) but only a few hardy tourists milled about among the office workers hurrying across the mall to the metro.

When I say the mall was desolate, I mean that I only counted 6 other runners.