Bloghound

Conferences on global warming are being held throughout the world this week, from Alaksa’s meeting among 32 mayors of U.S. cities to a conference at the UK’s University of Leicester among global scientists to Al Gore’s speech yesterday at New York Univeristy of Law.

Facing this enormously serious issue, perhaps it’s time to stop calling it “global warming” and rename the issue “global heating.” It’s a small step amid the needed significant policy and scientific actions, but heat is a much more powerful and descriptive word for the problem than “warming.”

In fact, in an interview with The New York Times last week, scientist and planetary diagnostician James Lovelock said he uses the term global heating because “warming is something that’s kind of cozy and comfortable. You think of a nice duvet on a called winter’s day. Heating is something you want to get away from.”

Over heating is serious business —whether it’s a child with a high fever, a dehydrated athlete, or a disintegrating planet.

Heating vs. warming. What a difference a word can make.

Note: Picture is the Eiger, one of my favorite hiking spots, which is shrinking due to global heating, causing tons of boulders to fall off the glacier this summer. The worst threat is that glaciers are an important source of water and as they shrink, so does the water source for crops.

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