WEATHER...ISN'T EVERYONE TALKING ABOUT IT?!
Take a look at this great article in a March 7th newspaper in South Africa:
March 7 2014 at 08:32
No skirting around the issue of rain dancing here
In antediluvian times – I speak of last month – we, in Gauteng, were happy with our idyllic climate. We were having our usual totally reliable and glorious summer – a 15-minute storm every afternoon at 4.15pm followed by a balmy evening.
This week the system broke down.
We are not used to consecutive days of heavy rain. Not like the Brits where the weather has been reliably lousy since Cretaceous times and where it has now been downgraded to “rather awful”.
Across the world the weather is behaving badly. Look at America with its “hercanes” sending trailer park caravans bowling across the prairies like tumbleweed and leaving thousands of overweight caravan owners in singlets and string belts, homeless.
In North America last month, old ladies were snap-frozen in funny postures as they bent down to pat their |little dogs.
And now look at us.
Not far from Gauteng, drought-stricken farmers had been praying for rain for weeks. Now, I hope, they’ll pray for it to stop.
The very act of praying for rain always suggests to me that we are assuming the Lord isn’t aware of what’s going on. Anyway, if we had total faith, why not specify just how much rain we want? And where?
(“Lord, I need 10mm on the cabbages but hold off on the mealies, please.”)
The world’s funny weather will be a major topic on March 23 when we celebrate World Meteorological Day. This year the theme is ‘Weather and climate: engaging youth’.
This is because today’s youth will experience the increasing effects of climate change. The World Meteorological Organisation wants to encourage young people to learn more about weather and climate “and to contribute to action on climate change”.
I will spend World Meteorological Day as I normally do, letting myself go only when I get home and can celebrate with a scotch, just as I do when marking World Potable Water Day.
I have suggested to the World Meteorological Organisation that it should debate whether praying for rain is tantamount to conspiring to alter the weather pattern because we, in South Africa, have an act of Parliament that specifically forbids interfering with the weather in any way whatsoever.
Well, in any way except “seeding” clouds from the air with ice crystals to make them drop their load of rain. And I doubt this will remain legal for long because it has led to understandable friction when one farmer who does not receive rain claims his rain was stolen by his neighbours who seeded the clouds.
The law forbids anybody to “accelerate, aggravate, impede, suppress, retard or alter the natural occurrence of rain, snow, fog, hail or similar atmospheric precipitation, or lightning, or tornado, or cyclone, or similar atmospheric phenomenon”.
Even producing a little zap of lightning without a permit from the minister could land one in chookie.
Significantly, the law came into effect soon after a certain Reverend Gert Yssel declared that the miniskirt was causing a current severe drought.
He also blamed the miniskirt for the poor performance of the Springbok rugby team.
It was, he said, God’s punishment for being so wayward and allowing young women to show off their legs.
People laughed. Yet when hemlines dropped the rains came back. And we beat the All Blacks.
The Weather Modification Act does not mention skirts.
Another topic this month will be, of course, climate change. I don’t doubt the climate is changing.
Last Autumn, you might recall, summer went on and on and the leaves, which should have been on their way groundwards in May, remained sticking to the trees like election posters.
Contact Stoep: E-mail: jcl@onwe.co.za; Website: www.jamesclarke.co.za
March 7 2014 at 08:32
No skirting around the issue of rain dancing here
In antediluvian times – I speak of last month – we, in Gauteng, were happy with our idyllic climate. We were having our usual totally reliable and glorious summer – a 15-minute storm every afternoon at 4.15pm followed by a balmy evening.
This week the system broke down.
We are not used to consecutive days of heavy rain. Not like the Brits where the weather has been reliably lousy since Cretaceous times and where it has now been downgraded to “rather awful”.
Across the world the weather is behaving badly. Look at America with its “hercanes” sending trailer park caravans bowling across the prairies like tumbleweed and leaving thousands of overweight caravan owners in singlets and string belts, homeless.
In North America last month, old ladies were snap-frozen in funny postures as they bent down to pat their |little dogs.
And now look at us.
Not far from Gauteng, drought-stricken farmers had been praying for rain for weeks. Now, I hope, they’ll pray for it to stop.
The very act of praying for rain always suggests to me that we are assuming the Lord isn’t aware of what’s going on. Anyway, if we had total faith, why not specify just how much rain we want? And where?
(“Lord, I need 10mm on the cabbages but hold off on the mealies, please.”)
The world’s funny weather will be a major topic on March 23 when we celebrate World Meteorological Day. This year the theme is ‘Weather and climate: engaging youth’.
This is because today’s youth will experience the increasing effects of climate change. The World Meteorological Organisation wants to encourage young people to learn more about weather and climate “and to contribute to action on climate change”.
I will spend World Meteorological Day as I normally do, letting myself go only when I get home and can celebrate with a scotch, just as I do when marking World Potable Water Day.
I have suggested to the World Meteorological Organisation that it should debate whether praying for rain is tantamount to conspiring to alter the weather pattern because we, in South Africa, have an act of Parliament that specifically forbids interfering with the weather in any way whatsoever.
Well, in any way except “seeding” clouds from the air with ice crystals to make them drop their load of rain. And I doubt this will remain legal for long because it has led to understandable friction when one farmer who does not receive rain claims his rain was stolen by his neighbours who seeded the clouds.
The law forbids anybody to “accelerate, aggravate, impede, suppress, retard or alter the natural occurrence of rain, snow, fog, hail or similar atmospheric precipitation, or lightning, or tornado, or cyclone, or similar atmospheric phenomenon”.
Even producing a little zap of lightning without a permit from the minister could land one in chookie.
Significantly, the law came into effect soon after a certain Reverend Gert Yssel declared that the miniskirt was causing a current severe drought.
He also blamed the miniskirt for the poor performance of the Springbok rugby team.
It was, he said, God’s punishment for being so wayward and allowing young women to show off their legs.
People laughed. Yet when hemlines dropped the rains came back. And we beat the All Blacks.
The Weather Modification Act does not mention skirts.
Another topic this month will be, of course, climate change. I don’t doubt the climate is changing.
Last Autumn, you might recall, summer went on and on and the leaves, which should have been on their way groundwards in May, remained sticking to the trees like election posters.
Contact Stoep: E-mail: jcl@onwe.co.za; Website: www.jamesclarke.co.za
posted by Connie Genger | 1:50 AM
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