More Cape Erosion

The recent long lived nor'easter added to the damage from February's blizzard. Cape Cod is shrinking before our eyes. How many years until the Nauset Beach parking lot disappears completely? Five? Ten? All around its edges, from Sandwich to Provincetown, from Truro to Chatham, the Cape is smaller this year than last. We aren't as desperate as peoples in Micronesia who are watching their entire countires become submerged, but things are changing fast. In the not too distant future, roads that we use regularly will be regularly submerged at high tide. More and more homes built close to the water's edge will be abandoned. There's no question about it.

In the near future we'll likely see more blizzards, like the one we had in February, more hurricanes like Sandy.

In today's NYTimes Thomas Friedman writes yet again about the benefits of a carbon tax. I'm in whole hearted agreement. But even if we miraculously managed to implement such a tax, it wouldn't change much. The Chinese and the Indians want to live the same comfortable lives we live - they want air conditioning and cars and meat. Moreover, the thermostat dial has been reset, the heat pump is on and it will take a long time to turn off. Life on earth will fundamentally change if we wait for conservation measures and green energy alternatives to be implemented effectively.

Geoengineering solutions are risky, but if the alternative is waterworld, we earthlings will surely grab them. I'd like to see the topic of geoengineering come out of the shadows, beginning with serious discussion of carbon sequestration.

Nat'l Seashore Erosion

Erosion at National Seashore beaches from Feb 9-11 nor'easter:

A Big Storm

The power went out around 2am Friday night and came back on Sunday at 4:40pm. The plywood over the upstairs sliders kept my mind at ease when the heaviest gusts shook the house and the wood stove kept us warm. We cooked tuna melts, hot dogs and pancakes on top of the stove; we also reheated pizza there from the bottom up - that made the crust nice and crunchy and melted the cheese too. It was nice to have a break from our electronically saturated daily lives. We played 30 rounds of Blokus. OK - it wasn't a 100% break. The kids had their ipods and cellphones and a DVD player courtesy of regular visits to the car for recharging. In the absence of a generator, the lack of hot water for showers and electricity for the refrigerator are the things we missed the most. 24 hours without power is a treat. Beyond that it becomes a drag. Time to look past the noise and hassle and buy a generator. Spent about three hours shoveling out the driveway and feel very well exercised today. It looks like there was a lot of washover at high tide along Nauset Beach. The main parking lot was covered with sand. I'll try to get out and do a fuller inspection of the coastline tomorrow.

Nor'easter Weekend

The Weather Channel wants us to call this storm "Nemo." The National Weather Service calls it a "potential historic storm and blizzard." Whatever you want to call it, it's a massive nor'easter that will dump over 2' of snow around Boston and maybe a foot on the Cape. I rate the odds of losing power at 50/50.

Six or seven years ago there was a February storm that delivered 2-3' of heavy snow accompanied by winds that gusted 80 mph. I remember watching the glass on the NE facing sliders in the bedrooms bulge inward with every heavy gust. That's why I just spent an hour putting plywood over those same windows. I also remember shoveling snow over two days to clear the driveway. An hour or two spent shoveling snow is fun. Nine is too much.

The wind is rising.

N.E.Surf Beanies

by Mike Marks

December 1, 2012 - Roughly two years ago, together with Olaf Valli, MoreBeach took control of the website NESurf.com, a website dedicated to New England's surfing community. Through twists and turns that involvement has led to a Kickstarter project for N.E.Surf branded beanies. The beanies are hand made in New England with all natural yarn from Vermont sheep and alpaca. They're rugged, soft and warm.  

Here are the details for the First Edition Beanies made this Fall 2012:
- 70% alpaca / 30% wool
- Fiber from two farms in Addison County, Vermont
- A little bit of wool from Sally Mae (see her below)
- No acid, dye or bleach
- Yarn spun, beanies hand made in New England
- Edition limited to 400 beanies total

Join the project at Kickstarter

A little of Sally Mae's wool is in each of the beanies.

For people who've grown up in cities, the idea that there can be a face behind clothing is something new and nice. The beanies look great:

You can learn more about the project at Kickstarter.