Cold weather

Not very long ago the clever Climate Change scientists told us that we were going to have a Mediterranean climate and to plan our gardens accordingly. I did, and the cold has killed the lot. Please can I have my money back.

 

Drought tolerant plants my 'eye'.....now if we'd been told to get Bog plants and garden accordingly then fair enough

 

It's not as simple as that though. The ice caps are melting, the mean temperature of the of the earth is rising at an alarming rate, this is based on hard scientific evidence not a bloke in the pub who moans about it if it effects the price of his beer.
We pump far too much greenhouse gas into the upper atmosphere and we're not going to get away with it.
Truth is we don't know yet just how serious the problem will become, but it will, one day hit home.

 

what exactly is greenhouse gas

 

When you've ate to many Brussels when potting up in the greenhouse

 

Are these gases a deterant to white fly

 

It is well known (if you study climate science) that the UK and Northwestern Europe cools down as the world warms up, this has always been the case.. similar happened in the little ice age, however it's a little different now in that the global net temperature is warmer.

Climate scientists never say anything about British gardeners going for a more Mediterranean approach, this is instead preached by headline grabbing tabloid papers spouting rubbish.

That said the globe is warming, and the last 10 years, globally have been in the top 10 warmest years on record, in most cases. However the Earth must regulate itself and maintain an equilibrium, and it seems NW Europe is the place where that equilibrium occurs, so here it is much cooler than elsewhere, relatively speaking. To be honest this cooler pattern could last a while, but when the Earth 'calms' down, then we will see further warming in the UK.

Basically although even in the this cool spell it is warmer than the long term average, but on a relative scale, this is completely normal, and temporary.

 

Its a good job too. If the ice caps hadn't started to melt 20,000 years ago, and slowly receded towards the poles, none of us would be here to have this debate.

The scientists also tell us of sea level rising due to human activity since the industrial revolution. Nearly 2000 years ago, which is more than 1600 years before the industrial revolution, Britain received a massive influx of migrants from northern Europe, after they had to flee their land and search for somewhere else to live because the sea came in and submerged their land. Those immigrants brought us most of our lineage and language. I can't remember the name of the people, I think it might have been the goths (not the teenagers in their black uniforms that listen to Emo).

 

It's worth remembering, that here in the UK, we have 'weather', as opposed to climate, like other countries. It's easy to just look at our own back yard, and just take references from that. The world climate is much more complex than that. I think that when the scientists say the average temperature is rising, I have no reason to argue. Am I totally convinced? No. But, some time ago they did say that we could expect more wild variation in our weather.....noticed our summer lately?

 

It is worth noting that in my personal records, the town records, and going off Bidston (the old official station which ran for over 150 years), 2011 was the warmest year on record in this locale.. that's despite a relatively cool summer..

 

Old mother Shipton said all the seasons will eventually merge into one. Or so I'm told. The poor old girl had to live in a cave don't you know.

 

As we are enjoy all this rain , the south of Europe is facing warm records , reaching 40C at the end of june , many crop are dying and there is no water for irrigation .
Is it better that nothing is growing or everything it`s dying?
By March they predicted a sizzling summer and one of the worst drought ever , they where wrong and like bankers they got them bonuses.
the bad weather is not affecting just gardeners , but all the economy is doomed because of it , summer clothes are unsold , no one is going out , insurance getting up , holiday are getting more expencive and so on.

 

Blimey, might as well end it all now then!

On a serious note, I see that the US is suffering a drought too, looks like corn will be in short supply. More price rises on the way...

 

On the other hand, if we, as a global society, can get through this in top of a poor economy, then we can pretty much get through anything (and so can the plants!)