Dramatic warming of Great Lakes

The impact of climate change is readily observable in our Great Lakes, as noted in a recent article in the Duluth News Tribune: "Report: Great Lakes winter ice cover has decreased 71 percent since 1973". This report doesn't include the current winter, when a mere 5 percent of the Great Lakes surface froze over.  During an "average" winter 40% of the lakes are ice covered.

Mother nature's icy artwork

While we continue to realize dramatic climate change there appears to be no appetite in Washington DC to make a change in the gas tax.  A StarTribune article, "Highway funding stuck in reverse", describes how it is highly unlikely that politicians will raise the taxes necessary to support mass transit and transportation infrastructure needs during an election year.  Seems their interests in being elected and catering to those who fund their campaigns get considerably more attention than the long-term viability of the planet.

Minnesota Congressman Chip Cravaack has expressed opposition for taxes to support transportation needs, noting that the cost ultimately gets passed down to the consumer.  Seems to me "the consumer" is the operative word. People are rapidly consuming way too much and leaving behind a planet that may soon no longer be livable for future generations. Taxes on consumption would provide clear incentives to conserve energy and change our wasteful behavior. Gas taxes in the US are far less than most all of Europe, where conservation efforts are more advanced.  Norway has a fuel tax both for road use and CO2 impact.

Gas prices and changing habits

Pileated Woodpecker

An article in the StarTribune, "Gas prices drive new habits", noted how more people are carpooling, biking, walking and combining trips to save fuel.  While the cost of gas in the US heads up toward $4/gallon, it is still cheap compared to most parts of Europe.  In Europe they've begun to understand the environmental costs of pollution caused by gasoline engines. In response they heavily subsidize public transportation through added taxes on fuel.  Without government intervention the environmental costs of our habits are often undervalued in a free market system.

Red-winged Blackbird

Switching gears, from driving cars to walking...  while hiking around the park earlier this morning with a friend, we saw some Red-winged Blackbirds and much to our surprise, a Pileated Woodpecker. The woodpecker sounded like a bird coming out of an African rainforest.  It reminded me of an ancient pterodactyl.  A pleasant surprise I certainly wouldn't have received were I in a car ;-)

More people using less gasoline in US

City of Crystal snow blower



While the population in the U.S. grew by about 10% this past decade, to nearly 309 million, our consumption of gasoline these past four years has actually fallen.  The diminished gas use is attributed to vehicles with better mileage, less driving and increased use of ethanol. 




BIG TIME snow mover!



I fought the urge to use a gas powered snow blower to clear the driveway from the last snowfall.  Shoveling was good exercise, and thankfully my back seems no worse for the wear. 

Though I'm typically not one for making New Year's resolutions, this year I plan to commit to being more contentious about saving fuel; be it by car pooling, riding my bike/walking or simply clustering travel for shopping needs and other errands when possible.