Let’s talk about the weather
Let’s talk about the weather
“Rosamund: What do you think makes the English the way we are?
Violet: I don't know. Opinions differ. Some say our history, but I blame the weather.”
The weather is a perennial obsession here at Highclere – and the certain uncertainty means at any planning meeting, John the Castle Manager immediately questions what is the wet weather plan? I might hardly have begun to sketch out my bright idea…
As a geographer, my husband would note that the UK is an island and thus close to the path of the polar front jet stream, there are often frequent changes in pressure which means unsettled weather is rather typical. Every day we may experience different fleeting moments of sunshine or cloud, warmth or cold eddies of wind and Geordie will remind me that the enchantment of spring blossom and flowers may yet go into a sudden reversal.
I have to remain undaunted and retain some optimism.
As a result, watching the weather is something of a national preoccupation in the UK and many of our TV weather forecasters are household names to whom we pay much attention: they are both scientists and seers. Added to this is our new worry for the environment.
Every month I hold a book club at Highclere and like all of you, the concerns and consequences of climate change are never far from my thoughts. Laura Tobin is a meteorologist and physicist who has written a book about how we can do our part for climate change: Every day ways to save the planet.
It is a very practical and readable book, one to keep by your bedside and it details what we can do to help in our everyday life from the food we eat, the clothes we wear and how we travel.
It is full of advice, facts, tips and suggestions on how each of us can live in a way which is more sustainable for the planet on which we live. From the outset it is about what each of us will gain, rather than about making sacrifices or finger pointing. Furthermore, many of the ideas are simple, free and some even save us money.
Why does it matter? It is the speed of change not just the change that is the problem though at least we are not in the position of the Marshall Islands which may have disappeared or have to be abandoned within 12 years.
Yet we cannot look away and Laura’s book explains why. Further away the Arctic is warming 2 to 3 times faster than elsewhere on earth which means that the ice shelves are melting and breaking up. The oceans matter as they cover 70 % of the world, absorb 25% of C02emissions and are responsible for producing 50% to 80% of the oxygen produced on earth. More C02 makes the oceans more acidic which in turn makes them less able to absorb the very CO2 that we need them to. If distant islands will be lost to rising sea levels, so too will parts of the Scilly Isles as well as other low-lying areas of the UK.
Trees absorb 30% of the CO2 but an area of forest the size of a football pitch is destroyed every SECOND. Consumption from goods we import “taxes” our world by 37% more than emissions from UK based products. Furthermore, 40% of UK emissions are from our homes so if everyone of us was only a little more efficient we could achieve 11% of our carbon emission target just by that alone.
Some of the points I gleaned from the book include:
Turn the thermostat down by 1 degree (save money); close the curtains; use LED’s; eat more vegetables and fruit (meat is more of a treat); plan meals and waste less as food waste accounts for 10% of global emissions;
If I turned my computers off at night, over a year it would save me money and stop me filling a double decker bus with CO2.
Transport in the UK accounts for 27% of emissions. 56% of car journeys are under five miles and 20% under 1 mile. Walking would be better for us physically and take cars off the road. I know I drive less and take the train where I can and walk in London rather than take the bus or tube.
Laura asks us all to Rethink, Reuse, Recycle, Repair, Reduce, Rehome and Rot down (where appropriate) and she begins her book with a letter to her daughter Charlotte promising her that she will do what she can. I too hope to do what I can (promise) and have started to look at the little changes I could make in my life. If you have time, you might enjoy the podcast Laura and I made together and I know you would enjoy her book.
“Look after the land and the land will look after you, destroy the land and it will destroy you.” —Aboriginal Proverb
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38 Comments
THANK YOU for raising this topic. There cannot be a more important one.
Thank you for reminding us of the part we play in safeguarding our beautiful planet.
Love that the both of you are doing good. Bring on the weather. Let’s all start making changes.
All the best, Christina
Thank you, dear Lady Carnarvon, for reminding us that the earth is the home of all of us and our responsibility to keep to maintain properly!
I totally agree
Such an important task!
What a succinct and doable list of what we can all do. Shared on a gardening page and it is ideal for the first day of spring. Yes, we can all compost, grow and maintain organically, and do what we can. The United Nations has dire climate change warnings and China and Russia are increasing coal mining. But here, today, I revel in seeing crocus, snowdrops, and hellebores and am grateful for wise women like you, Lady Carnarvon, who spread the word so we can slow impacts.
Happy Spring. Looking forward to hopefully meeting you in May - tour and picnic!
A very important topic these days! I also have been a recycler since the '70s and still am daily. It is sad to see so many glaciers melting away and arctic and antarctic ice and snow land coverings. Also strange how what has been our Earths standard four seasons seems to be changing this decade as here in the USA tornados took place in January and February which has never happened before in winter states. Good luck to trees and perennial flowers and plants with Climate Change taking place.
My daddy, who was a pilot, taught me at an early age how to be an avid weather watcher. We live on the coast of WA state in USA. Our meteorologists have a tough time predicting what's coming our way as systems come at us from all directions! I am so fascinated with the advancement of technology - satellites and radars - which help them in their forecasts. Your topic today is an excellent reminder of how we can each do our part and should all be responsible to care for our common home - Earth. Thank you for a great topic Lady Carnarvon.
Weather ... during my youth many years ago, I was in the Merchant Navy and weather certainly
controlled our movements - rough, calm, stormy, equatorial heat and all uncontrollable, It made
life exciting. How dull our world would be without it. Diana.
I look forward to meeting you at Highclere
Yes we all need to do our part
Lady Carnarvon.......Climate change is a hot topic of conversation these days. You are correct that doing little things can make a difference. I wouldn't mine a little climate warming right now. Our low Saturday morning was -9° with 3 meter drifts in my back yard and garden. It may be a late planting season here in North Dakota USA. How are things going with castle renovations?
A gorgeous new photo for my screensaver rotation!
And I will be checking out Laura Tobin's book, too.
I grew up with a WWII-veteran father who applied Laura's "7 R's" as a life motif, and I have continued living that life for 70 years now. A city guy, he never threw anything away just because it was "old;" if broken, he first tried to repair it. An approach that explains his life-long marriage ....
Me? I have "classic" shoes and knit suits that I bought 40 years ago that I still wear, and which still look new thanks to exceptional dry cleaning & shoe repair service providers. I love them! "Mr. Brown" at Fortuna's refers to my shoes as "friends," he has come to know them so well. Quality pays (amortize!), as does attentive care.
Was it Agatha Christie who said that an archeologist was the best husband a woman could get because the older she got, the more interested he was?
Thank you for another interesting and thoughtful posting.
I am going to order a copy of Ms. Tobin's book. I'm sure that many of her ideas will work on this side of the pond.
Wonderful
I would be very interested in getting a copy of this book for each of my children and for my granddaughters’ schools. Do you know if it is available in Canada ? Thank you for sharing this valuable information. I hope to travel to Highclere some day from my home in Victoria, British Columbia. I enjoy all your posts !!
Lovely of pictures of let’s talk of the weather did you and lord Carnarvon have a nice weekend and lovely to visit highcelere castle and fan of Downton Abbey
Keep doing good!
Dear Lady Carnarvan,
A very important topic! We are avid recyclers in my family. In fact, my daughter and son in law are environmental scientists. Ms. Tobin’s book sounds excellent so I will add it to my reading list. Thank you for the recommendation!
Have a lovely week.
Your Ladyship,I would one day enjoy exploring Caste Highclere.
I don't care how the weather may be,I grew in the Pacific Northwest in the Evergreen State. I am used to wet and wonderful weather.
You are very welcome
" No one can do everything but everyone can do something!" (Laura Tobin).
That's a great truth
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
We can never talk too much about the need to do things concerning climate change. Our weather is changing around the island I live on. This year we have ice in St. John's Harbour. It has been a long time since I have seen that. You have suggested a number of things we can do which will help. Some people think they cannot do anything to help. Everything helps. I keep the thermostat at 15 duringvthe cold months and put on a sweater or use a blanket. Watching the weather can be an amazing thing. Last Thursday we has a small snow storm and Friday it rained. Today we have a wind warning. Never a dull moment here on "The Rock".
Take care
Susan
I belong to a Stewards of Creation group at my church in Spokane, Washington (USA) and will use the 7 ways to be mindful of our world. Thank you.
Good Morning, Lady Fiona,
I started a Youtube channel a couple years ago called Peggy Helbling's Garden What You've Got because I wanted people to reuse, recycle, reduce their waste. At 72 years old, I've been a recycler since I was in my early 20's. This year I decided to challenge myself to save 1,000 pounds from going out to the trash (or recycling) and compost or feed my worms and have it return to my garden in a full circle. There are so many little things we can add back into our own garden. Eggshells, shrimp shells, coffee grounds & tea leaves, toilet and paper towel rolls, expired dry foods (cereal, crackers, flours, cornmeal, etc). Quite a few items that get tossed away without a second thoughtl
I hope your young author's book is a best seller because we really can use all the help we can get.
I've been reading your blog since Day 1 and have all of your signed books in my personal library. I'm so glad that you are keeping Highclere Castle alive and prospering.
Fondly,
Peggy Helbling
PS. So far I have single-handedly diverted 219 pounds of kitchen, house and garden waste from the trash can back to feed my composting worms or add to my compost pile! It's a very rewarding challenge!
Thank you for writing about this. I actually messaged you a couple years ago over IG when we were experiencing terrible smoke from horrendous wildfires for months in CA (I was wishing I was in England and could breathe air outside). I was quarantined to a single room with an air purifier for literally weeks because the smoke was so bad. You were so kind in your response about what we were experiencing over here in the western US.
Now we are experiencing severe storms over and over here in CA. The climate crisis is only at the start and it’s very terrifying. I live in fear and I’m trying to find hope that world governments will change and actually get to zero emissions in ten years, as this is absolutely necessary. I hope politics will stopped being played with all our lives, as people all over the world are dying because of emissions heating our planet.
Thank you again for talking about this, please don’t stop talking about it publicly ❤️.
She was such a delight!
Lady Carnarvon,
The info you have shared is easy to implement - perhaps not in every way, but in so many ways. You have given not only many helpful hints but also the consequences of our splurging lifestyles.
Part of the beautiful and oldest coastline in North Carolina, Rodanthe, recently made national news when lovely beach homes on stilts have been washed away by rising tides just recently.
Thank you very much for continuing to educate as well as entertain us, as in “What’s our wet weather plan (as the tables and decorations are being taken out to the lawn)?”
Martha G
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
thank you for bringing this book to the fore, it sounds amazing and I will definitely buy it. Cheeky question for you, are there any plans to put car charging points at Highclere?
Jane
Having missed a tornado by about half a mile last week we are definitely obsessed with weather here in North Texas ! Others nearby were not so lucky. There is a joke here about a couple one of whom says "Hey Honey, come and look at this!". His last words, but we all rush out to look at the weather nonetheless! I remember how frustrating it was when I was a child in Hertfordshire and I woke up to a rainy day, but how happy I was when sunshine streamed in. The beautiful and peaceful landscape is only because of the gentle rain and pale sunshine. I love hot weather but eventually even I am weary of leaden blue skies and unrelenting heat, night and day.
I love the pictures of the spring flowers and trees with bright leaves at Highclere. Enjoy them for me !
We can charge our own car but the castle is as the very end of a wiggly electric line and there is no spare capacity for anything.. we cannot add them .. what would be more sensible would be for the government to allow us to put solar panels in the roof where they could not be seen of course and at the back of buildings. That is not drawing on fossil fuel but properly acting..
Thank you so very much for all of your always so educative pages and the book??? Definitely 5 need to buy for now and keep on counting for future bdays gifts!!!!
Read your columns every month!!
Always waiting to show up in my email!!!! I read everything with such gusto!
Sensational!!!
Chicago IL the States
Taking care of our beautiful amazing planet is an absolute must .
Lady Carnarvon's theme is excellent and these words in response are worth repeating:
"A city guy, he never threw anything away just because it was “old;” if broken, he first tried to repair it. An approach that explains his life-long marriage …."
"Quality pays (amortize!), as does attentive care.
Was it Agatha Christie who said that an archeologist was the best husband a woman could get because the older she got, the more interested he was?"
Dear Lady Carnarvon:
Thank you for this Monday's blog.
The weather at Highclere Castle is similar to that in Southeastern Michigan. Close your eyes, and it will surely change.
I did watch the Highclere Book Club interview with you and Laura Tobin.
Very informative and timely presented.
Until next time, keep on reducing, reusing, and recycling.
Perpetua Crawford
We can only hope!
I have been an avid recycler since the 80’s. It warms my heart to see people from across the globe and different walks of life give practical actionable tips on reversing climate change.
Thank you for sharing the book and making responsible consumption part of Highclere!
Kind regards,
Karen