Instead of worrying about my frost-nipped buttocks, why not....
...grab ahold of Mr Blair, Mr Cameron, and whoever leads the other lot these days and smash their heads together and keep smashing them together until they stand up before Parliament, Queen and Country and say:
"We the leaders of the three main parties in Britain commit to a joint policy of cutting Britain's annual climate-changing gas emissions by 5% in the next 12 months, counting from tomorrow, and by 50% in the next 7 years.
"These reductions are both necessary and possible.
"These targets can be met without lowering the quality of life of the British people.
"And they can be met without overall harm to the British economy.
"The technology needed to achieve these targets is available. By introducing these targets, the technology will become affordable.
"Britain will take these steps unilaterally and immediately. Other countries, sooner or later, will follow suit.
"We will enjoy the advantage of being the first mover towards creating a genuinely sustainable economy.
"Individuals, businesses, and government will all need to make adjustments to meet these targets. We will provide the assistance necessary to make sure that these adjustments can be made painlessly.
"If we do not take these steps, Golmud's height above mean sea level will decrease by several metres, and its average winter temperature will no longer drop below -240 degrees Kelvin.
"Edward Genochio's attempt to cycle to the place will thereby become no more of a challenge than a springtime stroll in Trondheim Botanical Gardens, something that even PG might contemplate undertaking if he had a decent tent."
Ed,
ReplyDeletewhat I find so frightening is that you still have the ability to write with such wit and clarity even though your fingers must be pretty chilly.
If it's any consolation (probably not) they're predicting Arctic blizzards here in sunny Blighty over the next few days. What that means, of course, is a few flakes hitting the Met Office recording equipment in Bracknell, followed by the whole country shutting down owing to adverse weather conditions...
Have a Lemsip, or foreskin of endangered pangolin, or whatever they use out there to get over flu, and eat loads.
Take care
TFXE
I hope you've got bloke flu.
ReplyDeletehave you got symptomes like wanting to go shopping all day long rather than just buy what you want? Watch really rubbish films with hugh grant in title role? Finally has your ability to reverse park gone to heck?
ReplyDeleteIf so it's bird flew and no mistake and your in BIG trouble!
Ed! Just been on a long walk in the snow to a nearby mountain. At the top it was sunny and a few degrees minus. Don`t lose your sunglasses and preferrably get a spare. Snow blindness will make you helpless...
ReplyDeleteIt was windy at the top. I had forgotten how bad and bone chilling even modest wind can be. As a test I took my gloves off and one minut was all I could manage. It felt like fingernails,skin and flesh were pulled off my bones! How do you cope when it is cold and windy?
How is it going with the cycling pal search? Somewhere in Asia there should probably be someone currently on a bike tour ready to do something more challenging. But inviting someone is far more serious than meeting someone along the road. I left the three of you without a word of good-bye when you got(deliberatly?)slow. Later you left me when I wanted to camp in my little birch forest from 98. Pre appointed cycling companion is a committment you can`t easily breake. And would you really bring someone unfamiliar with desert cycling out on the next dangerously daring part of your trip? The 600 km with nothing untill Ruoqiang/Qarkilik. And then the next difficult ride "the highest highway in the world". If you make it to Golmud you probably can survive the mountains in Tajikistan as well. But how many cyclists do you think can cope with close to 6.000 meters altitude? You want to play with your own life,that is one thing. But you can`t play with any other lives!
Anyway a comittment to be in Golmud or Kashgar at a fixed date is the last thing you need right now. To survive the ride to Golmud,you need to take the time it takes to do it "safely". No rush!
Why it is so important to care about your own life and safety when the whole world is "falling apart"? This trip gives you a uniqe insight into the state of the world and some of it`s people. When you get back to England people will listen to what you have to say about both good and bad things. Maybe you manage to point out to your government that we have to live our lives now preparing and not destroying for those living a hundred,a thousand and yes even 10.000 years from now! If you manage to get that message across,then you have been doing really,really good. But don`t even think about this until you are back in Europe. Until then your main interest should be surviving and staying healthy.
Asmund.