Hot globally, cold locally

It is getting colder in Boston.

When it's cold, I hear jokes about global warming (and there not being enough of it). I am well aware of the complexity of understanding human impact on the environment, but these jokes no longer sound funny to me. My work with Hazon is one reflection of my concern, but that work has many facets, and I am well aware that Hazon's impact is unlikely to register on the global warming thermometer.

As an optimist, I hope that new technologies will both slow the speed of our impact and ameliorate the damage that has already been done. The speed with which large developing economies are increasing their energy usage will overwhelm all our efforts to use energy efficient lightbulbs. Breakthrough technologies seem to me most likely to provide the biggest opportunities for change ... Just as some late-developing countries went from no phones to all mobile phones (without landlines in between), perhaps we can hope for escaping ahead with new infrastructures built on low-carbon energy sources.

Think globally, act locally: I got on my bike today for some carbon neutral exercise.

I rode 30 miles with Guy in the middle of the day, through Needham and Dover, and we could definitely feel the chill in the air (low 40s). The ride was great, nonetheless, with beautiful fall foliage lit by sun from a cloudless sky. The talk was of French cinema and cold weather gear. My thoughts are about staying fit in the winter, and I am glad of the new spinning center that has opened in Newtonville. Now, I just have to find time to get over there on a regular basis.