Comments

Hands up all those people who find the late spring weather a complete disappointment. It isn't exactly a wash out as there hasn't been all that much rain. However you do not need me to rehearse the meteorology of the past month. Lousy, with cold damp days, even colder nights and the added rigours of brisk chilling winds. A special disappointment was the need to cancel the May Fair on the Green. The Fair organisers performed minor miracles transferring the event to the Memorial Hall, but we missed out on regular spectacles such as the Maypole dancing, and the Sumo wrestling.

So what does this do for "global warming"? Are all the members of the climate change lobby bidding a hasty retreat into their fall-out shelters? Well, no actually they aren't, because they will be at pains to point out the difference between the terms "weather" and "climate". It is a fallacy to confuse one with the other. It is the overall effect of global weather conditions over a prolonged period that contribute to given climates and every sign is leading towards a steady warming of world-wide conditions. However, I bet I am not alone in wishing just a little bit would rub off our islands right now. The old saying "Britain doesn't have a climate, it just gets weather" certainly looks about right from where I sit huddled in the sort of clothes I have worn all winter. It's enough to give you the shivers and a snivelling cold.

What's that I hear you say? Swine 'flu? I sincerely hope not. Has that just been a storm in a teacup or a really serious forerunner of what we can expect in the autumn? It's hard to separate solid fact from media hype.

However, there's one point I would like to make on the subject. First it was bird 'flu and now swine 'flu. What are we to make of that? Well, I have no scientific knowledge of the subject, so anything I say here is merely surmise. However, both hosts of the virus are animals which are farmed particularly intensively in many parts of the world. They are reared in very large numbers and in conditions which although acceptable to many do raise questions from people who wonder about the wisdom of such agricultural practices. Changes to the virus can occur under conditions where there are large numbers of host animals. On the other hand, there are millions of mouths to feed and intensive farming provides meat at a lower price than extensive methods.

We have a choice, smaller amounts of more expensive meat raised in traditional ways, or cheaper food produced intensively. There is also a third way, vegetarianism. Whichever way we choose there is no getting away from the fact that modern agriculture is using high energy inputs. One estimate is that every calorie of food produced uses 10 calories of energy to produce, process and distribute. Growing some of your own food, shopping locally and buying fewer processed foods are offered as a ways of cutting down this energy input. Try it. It's tastier anyway!

Reg Eivinson  (Spring 2009, first published in the Fleet Magazine, Collingham, Notts)