Global Warming or Not?
I sometimes wonder what to believe when it comes to speaking about Global Warming. I just finished reading a very disturbing but not unbelievable story about polar bears becoming cannibalistic because of the ice melting and contributing to their losing their natural habitat, which in turn messes up the ecologically available food supply.But then I read the Farmer’s Almanac which paints an entirely different picture for the United States. It says we had one of the coldest winters in a long time last winter and that we can expect another cold winter this year.
It’s not ‘global’ warming then is it, if we are going to be colder? It sounds more like the continents are switching roles. Are we not going to be considered ‘sunny California’ in the future? Will it become ‘sunny Antarctica’?
Also another ecological dilemma I do find curious (although it has nothing to do with global warming) is a shortage of salt. Because I live in the East Bay, not far from the local salt ponds, it has become a ritual to remember to turn on the inside air circulation of my car as soon as I approach the Dumbarton Bridge and not turn off the inside circulation until I am well past Sun Microsystems and on Marsh Rd., ready to merge onto 101 because of the smell of the salt ponds (especially in summer) which is where you find brine shrimp (aka: Sea Monkeys, remember them?).
It is mind-boggling to see all the salt there now, especially in the bay right next to Sun Microsystems. When I worked there it was beautiful blue sea water and now it is blinding white and yucky muddy brown salt. I preferred the water, but what the hey!
On my trip to Bonaire last summer there was a nice big salt mine operation going on there. Where does that salt go? They have apparatus for loading up ships to haul it out. Although I do admit it is a very small island and probably expensive to ship the salt out of there, Bonaire looks like it could use the money because I would guess that the island’s income depends mostly on tourism. Do they use the salt in Venezuela which is just 50 miles off the coast of Bonaire? I think I will investigate where that salt goes, just out of curiousity.
I have been to the salt factory in Newark and it is fascinating. Plus there are some geocaches (one of my favorite fun outdoor activities) there that I have found. There are a lot of houses for sale in the Fremont, Newark, and Union City areas of the East Bay right now and because they are close to the Bay these cities have a pretty temperate climate all year round. Not too hot in summer and not too cold in winter. Plus the prices do tend to be cheaper than on the Peninsula. You just have a bit of a commute if you work on the Peninsula and live in the Tri-Cities. But with the temperate climate (whether it is helped/hurt by global warming or not) we certainly do not need the salt for our roads right now.
REAL ESTATE TERMINOLOGY:
Frontage – A term used to describe or identify that part of a parcel of land or an improvement on the land that faces the street or a body of water. The term is also used to refer to the lineal extent of the land or the improvement that is parallel to and facing the street.
