Okay, Mother Nature. You can lay off
the U.P. for a while.
Between the massive windstorm and power
outages we had around Marquette Wednesday, the unexpected flooding in
Ironwood Friday, and then the unprecedented destruction in the
Copper Country yesterday, you'd think that Mom N has something
against our little piece of paradise. I don't know if we did
something to piss her off, or if we just happened to be the lucky
target when she decided to unleash a little fury on the planet, but
the past four or five days have just been something around here.
And it can stop any time.
If you haven't seen the pictures or
video of what happened in Houghton, Hancock, and (particularly) Lake
Linden yesterday, it's worth your time to check some out. I've
spent a lot of time in those areas, and I'm just stunned by the
destruction that occurred. The National Weather Service in Marquette
has called this a “once in a thousand year” event, and I hope for
the sake of our friends in the Copper Country it is just that.
Unfortunately, I don't think it will
be.
With the way we're inexorably changing
the planet's climate, predictions made by smart people are coming
true. Climate scientists say that, as the planet warms, weather
events will become more extreme, which was proven by the “hurricane”
we had here last October and the mass devastation yesterday in the
Keweenaw. And it's not just happening around here. In Europe,
they're setting records for heat each and every year. In Germany,
flash floods destroyed several towns and killed a couple of people;
the storms also closed the gorge through which Loraine and I were
supposed to start our day-long hiking expedition when head over there
in a few months. Of course, by the time we're supposed to leave to actually start the hike, who
knows what the weather will be like?
Snow here so we can't leave? Flooding
that inundates Munich, where we're supposed to land? A plague of
locusts somewhere in the middle? I have no idea. I just have this
feeling that at least one strange thing will happen.
After all, it seems like we've broken
the planet. Mother Nature's just lashing out in anger.
I hope our friends in the Copper
Country have been through the worst of it, and that as morning dawns
today their skies are clear. I hope that the damage looked worse
that it really was, and if not, I hope repairs are quick and
relatively painless. No one should have their lives ripped apart,
especially by torrents of mud & water. If there's anything you
need, just let us know. And to Mother Nature, you can move on now.
We really like you up here. It'd be a
shame if that changed.
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