Spring Break
Joanna Friedman
Issue date: 4/23/07 Section: Opinion
While walking along Nassau Street, I passed by a shop window with a sign declaring "let it snow!" Given that it was January and I was strolling outside in a t-shirt, I couldn't help but agree. I often joke that I suffer from seasonal affective disorder - except in reverse: I get depressed in hot, sunny weather. You would think that someone who grew up in Texas (where the heat index can exceed 100 degrees for months on end) would be accustomed to sweltering heat. I suppose I am somewhat acclimated to such temperatures but that doesn't mean I enjoy them. When I came to Princeton almost four years ago, I was excited at the prospect of witnessing a sizeable snowfall every winter and building snowmen taller than a foot high. For the most part, I haven't been let down; however, this winter season was different: it's been a disappointment for me, probably a welcome change for others, but certainly an aberration for us all.
To be sure, we've seen (or felt) warm years before. From a global perspective, the warmest year on record is 1998 (well within the memory of the current student body) but 2006-2007 is on track to become the hottest period yet. If we analyze climatic data country by country, we encounter some fairly startling results. For instance, 2006 was England's warmest year since 1659. I'm guessing that no one living almost 350 years ago contemplated the possibility of global warming. Today, however, the topic increasingly pervades popular culture. Perhaps the most notable example is Al Gore's film, An Inconvenient Truth (released in 2006), which propelled the threat of global warming into the spotlight (incidentally, the companion book of the same title reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list on several weeks). But one hardly needs to keep abreast of documentaries or PBS nature shows to be reminded of global warming's palpable effect on public opinion. The other side of the debate is well represented, as evidenced by the recent South Park episode, "Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow", parodying the alarmist view of environmental activists with respect to the dangers posed by rising global temperatures. One wonders if even young kids watching "Ice Age" and "Ice Age 2: The Meltdown" are now vaguely aware of the importance of climatic change in the adult world. It seems that in this era of widespread political apathy (at least compared to the tumultuous 60s), one of the few issues that does spark our interest is the weather - the often mundane, yet universal, staple of polite conversation.
To be sure, we've seen (or felt) warm years before. From a global perspective, the warmest year on record is 1998 (well within the memory of the current student body) but 2006-2007 is on track to become the hottest period yet. If we analyze climatic data country by country, we encounter some fairly startling results. For instance, 2006 was England's warmest year since 1659. I'm guessing that no one living almost 350 years ago contemplated the possibility of global warming. Today, however, the topic increasingly pervades popular culture. Perhaps the most notable example is Al Gore's film, An Inconvenient Truth (released in 2006), which propelled the threat of global warming into the spotlight (incidentally, the companion book of the same title reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list on several weeks). But one hardly needs to keep abreast of documentaries or PBS nature shows to be reminded of global warming's palpable effect on public opinion. The other side of the debate is well represented, as evidenced by the recent South Park episode, "Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow", parodying the alarmist view of environmental activists with respect to the dangers posed by rising global temperatures. One wonders if even young kids watching "Ice Age" and "Ice Age 2: The Meltdown" are now vaguely aware of the importance of climatic change in the adult world. It seems that in this era of widespread political apathy (at least compared to the tumultuous 60s), one of the few issues that does spark our interest is the weather - the often mundane, yet universal, staple of polite conversation.
Be the first to comment on this story