January 2008 Archives

As I sit here in Massachusetts it is in the 50's outside (and partly sunny). Yesterday it was 64 and gorgeous. Yet it's the beginning of January.

Today my father-in-law got a call from Iran. Tehran has 2-3 feet of snow. Temperatures have been below freezing for days. The schools have been closed for a week. The gas lines have no pressure because of the unexpected demand for heating*. The orange groves in the north have been demolished, the trees broken by heavy wet snow.

Welcome to our new planet.

* For those who wonder why Iran would be short on gas, the answer is simple. Lack of refineries. When the middle east was under western colonization, it made more sense to ship crude to Europe and America, where it would then be processed. Processing requires a substantial technological infrastructure. The middle east has that infrastructure now, and refineries are being built, but most of the technology comes from the west, and from American companies in particular. And of course the U.S. won't allow it to be exported to Iran. So Iran sits on huge deposits of oil, but can't actually use that oil themselves.