FRANKE JAMES

It’s time for a holiday

by Franke James

It's time for a holiday. Forget about the ponds

Everybody, it seems, is thinking about taking a few days off to enjoy the beautiful warm summer weather. Worries about global warming seem so distant and such a drag…

And yet news that ponds in the Arctic are vanishing broke this week. Water that has existed for thousands of years is disappearing, and scientists are sounding the alarm in a new report. While I know that the toll from climate change is mounting, this news (as reported in the Globe and Mail) makes it even more real and present.

“A major threshold has passed,” Prof. Smol, one of Canada’s top Arctic climate researchers, warned. He cited their study as a sign that the Arctic is changing rapidly. “I think it’s worse than we thought it was,” Professor Smol, said. “It’s happening much faster than even we had anticipated. … It’s happening right before my very eyes.”

I’m going to enjoy today. But I realize how charmed our existence is and how easily man can upset the balance just by goofing around…

upsetting canoe

But there’s no longterm harm, right? We’ll adapt to climate change. We have to…

It’s time for a holiday © 2007 Franke James;
Photography and writing by Franke James, MFA

3 Responses: 3 Comments

  • Sarah G. says:

    Well done! A poignant reminder that so many of us are living for today and yet the climate crisis is never taking a holiday. Are we fiddling while Rome burns? I fear that is so.

  • John says:

    I’m paddling as fast as I can! Love the post. Brings back fond memories and yet reminds me of how fragile it all is. Keep up the great work.

  • James says:

    Who is that guy deliberately tipping the canoe? What a kid… ;-) James