Everyone can break out the shorts and t-shirts: climate change has arrived. “Ha ha,” snort the East Coasters who are still entombed in gray snow. But it’s true, the “norm” of weather doesn’t exist any more. If change is the only true constant then the only thing we can do is have parkas and gloves in the closet next to Hawaiian shirts and flip-flops. On that note, San Francisco used to be foggy and chilly for much of the year. Especially right on the ocean in the Sunset and Ocean Beach neighborhoods. Last weekend I went for a walk on the beach in bare feet and had to weave between throngs of Franciscans who streamed to the beach and stripped off almost all their clothes to soak up warmth and sun. The scenery looked like something from the Dutch West Indies:
You couldn’t find a cloud with an atlas and a spyglass. The Golden Gate, so used to misty cloaks, got to stand proud in the sun.
I’m thinking we need to embrace climate change, now that we’ve farked up our planet for the next few millennia. If it’s going to be hot and swampy and malarial, let’s embrace it! Turn that sweaty frown upside-down! We need to plant as many giant leafy plants as possible. We’ll turn this into a garden planet: towering tropical trees, plants with leaves like golf umbrellas, every surface sheathed in moss and crawling with flowering vines. Benefits? We can reduce our CO2, have more oxygen, have more natural habitats, shade more of the earth, and enjoy looking at greenery. So get planting, folks, we are in the Neo-Eocene Epoch!
Writer, architect, father, husband.
As a native San Franciscan, I take for granted how geographically beautiful San Francisco is. The route I took you on are normal driving paths when doing errands and what nots, and though I see the beauty of SF, I must go into your awe of what you are seeing and experiencing to come to my own realization. Thank you for a wonderful day, Peter, it was great fun, and let’s do it more often, but with Cristina and the kids.