CLIMATE EXERCISE

Climate change fans appear to be drilling down to some fine details. A recent newspaper (remember those?) article reported on a new study suggesting that more mild winter months will cause people to get more exercise outdoors--an apparent benefit of global warming.

I'm not sure. Warmer winters could mean less snow, thereby reducing time for exercise by shoveling snow. It also could encourage people to get out and sit in their cars and drive more, particularly to stores, and to restaurants to eat more.

Frankly, I am likely to stay indoors regardless of winter temperatures in order to watch other people exercising in televised football, basketball, and hockey games. I would have mentioned golf, also, but is that exercise?

Warmer winters could also mean more indoor exercise, chasing after more spiders, ants, stinkbugs, beetles and other crawling varmints running around my feet due to reduced hibernation.

Maybe the real benefits of winter warming are in the lower gas and electric bills for heating and lower credit card bills for coats, sweater and boots. It may not be good for the economy but will be for the wallet.

According to the article, the limiting factor for people spending time outdoors is a high temperature of 84 degrees. I'm not sure about that either. My limiting factors are mosquitoes, biting flies and ticks. Warmer weather suggests more of them, which again likely will cause me to stay indoors, watching televised games--even golf, if necessary.

So, what is the point of all this climate exercise conjecture? You decide!


© 2017 Daniel J. Kucera