Snowy MoGreena

Epic snow.  For children, snow totals and school closings this winter are mounting up to exceed their wildest dreams.   Conversely, for many business owners, the recent weather events are nothing short of nightmarish.  On a broader scale these events leave me to wonder why there is such harsh weather during a winter that was predicted to be mild compared to the sizeable storms experienced in 2010.  

Cold temperatures and increased snowfall are arguments used by many to discredit the existence of global warming even after 2009 was declared the second warmest year in the history of global temperature recording.  NASA’s Goddard Institute also reported that the past decade spanning from 2001 thru 2010 was the hottest ever recorded.  These facts may be hard to wrap your head around when standing in 2 feet of snow but have been documented: check out NOAA's Arctic Report Card Update for 2010 (http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/reportcard/).   Personally, standing in all this snow makes my toes cold, but also prompts me to question why this winter and the last have included one storm after another, and why I didn’t have this many snow days while I was in school.

NOAA scientists have reported that decreased ocean ice has led to the seas absorbing more heat, which in turn effects air currents from north to south and contributes to extended time periods of harsh cold weather moving further south.  While this is not the only cause of extreme weather, it is certainly a contributing factor.

What to do about all this weather, well the short game plan is to deal with it, and try to have some fun.   In MoGreena Shop Manager Fran made coffee using snow the other morning to mix things up and in-between work there have been a few snowballs flying.  The borough has been working hard to keep roads passable and the scenery is amazing.  As far as dealing with it, WOR’s dedicated drivers have been combating difficult conditions to get to grease with a bevy of creative solutions including giving up their weekends to collect grease whenever the weather allows.  The big picture plan is to keep doing what we do here every day to combat climate change.  In 2010 Waste Oil Recyclers offset over 8 million pounds of Carbon Dioxide through processing waste vegetable oil collected into fuel, with plans to make a greater positive impact in 2011.  And is doesn’t hurt to dream of spring when the days get longer and the grease flows easier.