I'm Melting!

If this continues,
I am going to need a swimming pool!
(Whether or not it continues, I regret all the
[warm] days where a pool has been available
and I didn't swim!)

While I am probably on record somewhere saying that I would never complain about heat, it has been unprecedentedly hot lately. I was just opening the blog page and it took longer to load than normal which meant that it was stuck on the picture of water which is my background. I wanted to dive into my computer screen. Yesterday was a landmark day for me because I voluntarily closed the blind of my office window which you will know is crazy behaviour for me (don't worry - the slats are sideways so I can still see outside). 

We know that this is El Nino driven and exacerbated by climate change. The news is full of stories about droughts and Operation Hydrate (great initiative) and how expensive maize and rooibos are going to be. I do have to wonder why, when we knew an El Nino was predicted, we didn't plan in advance? I know drought doesn't seem like a thing you can plan for, but when it is predicted? Could the water restrictions been enforced before the drought started? Could South Africans not have invested in water tanks? I think we all realise that these hot temperatures and low rainfalls aren't going anywhere - yes, there will be respites - BUT we do know what the climate change predictions for South Africa will be so can we start planning ahead?

Can we start to start to anticipate instead of react? I know there are already some great initiatives but I think we need to keep the momentum from the days leading up to COP21 going. I hope all the climate change deniers are realising that this isn't just a patch of weird weather... these El Nino years are a practice run for the future.

My brain doesn't work in 40C heat and my skin definitely can't cope so what can we do? Some of you might, but I don't have the budget for solar panels and water tanks (and I live in a block of flats with very different priorities - not super proud of my block lately) but, leading up to the local elections later this year, I can ask our local politicians what they are doing in their neighborhoods to a) decrease carbon emissions and b) to mitigate against the impacts (especially if you live in Fishhoek + surrounds) - but take what ever they say with a pinch of salt because it is an election year so keep the pressure on!


P.S. This is the most important issue - Cartoons capture it all