Natural History

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1. on November 28, 2013 at 6:56 am chervilmeadow

   First light falls of snow are pretty but, when it gets icy, British drivers invariably get stuck even on the relatively gentle hills around here. This may be largely because we never get really prepared for it maybe understandably because in very recent years we’d had virtually no snow in the south of England for twenty years.
   However, especially with our long snowy experience last winter, we begin to appreciate that the concept of global warming is complex. Even though Britain’s average temperature has gone up, I believe, by about 2 degrees C over recent years we seem to get even more shortlived weather shocks, but of course absolutely nothing like so many other places around the world. Nevetheless, yesterday we were told there were between thirty and forty thousand additional deaths in Britain last winter.
   After three disappointing summers in a row many butterfly species, for example, were in immediate danger of becoming extinct on these islands. However,fortunately most species recovered in this 2013 glorious summer of record warmth. Britain of course is at the at the very northern edge of eurasian butterfly range, although species from across the channel are quick to return at the first good weather opportunity.
   Anyway, with an ageing human population, it is good that our government programme of insulating the houses of older people, virtually for free, has been in operation for several years. It must be cheaper than funding extended stays in hospital, says he he slightly cynically.

   
   

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