Water Water Everywhere

From crippling drought to crippling flood, will we never learn that it’s not nice to fool Mother Nature. There is one thing I accept from the more conservative pundits: It’s always something (or was it Roseanne Roseannadanna?). Fact is, climate change is a key element in the current explosion of “once in a century” weather events.

However, does no one remember the Feather River Project? When I was young, heavy flooding in California was an annual event until science and engineering harnessed the powerful rivers coming out of the Sierra Nevada. And it was common that a family visit to Los Angeles was forced to avoid the more flooded areas after a strong rain. But even the insanely great Los Angeles sewer system is just a manmade attempt to control nature and, as we are seeing, nature is winning.

When the concrete bunkers of the Los Angeles River crumble and mankind is washed off the surface of the Earth, Nature will survive and this planet will live on. But more importantly, will I significantly reduce the number of scary texts I have designated in my personal Bucket List?

So, for the next couple of months I will dedicate most of my reading to those Big Fat Books that have lingered, many for years, on my bookshelves. I have selected eight books but realistically, I’ll be lucky to read five. How many of these books have you read already?