Renewing Your Spirit On The Beach

Colleen in her post Beach Sketches talks about one of my favorite things, walking on the beach.

The ocean is a natural anti-depressant. I like to walk the beach in the evening when the setting sun casts a golden glow.

I have to agree with the ocean being a natural anti-depressant.  I'm more a fan of undeveloped beaches, ones like this shot of Cape Lookout where the sky, sand, and water seem almost limitless.

When I walk a beach I always get the feeling that past problems are being washed away as the waves remove my tracks.  I see the warm sometimes seemingly untouched sand and water as the boundless opportunities we face in our lives.  Walking the beach renews my spirits, and when I come upon something as unspoiled as Cape Lookout, I even get the feeling that maybe we won't destroy all of the earth with development.

I do worry about the oceans, and the Toronto Star article, "North Atlantic reaches record warmth," is a cause for concern.

Ocean temperatures in the North Atlantic hit highs last year, raising concerns about the effects of global warming on one of the most sensitive and productive ecosystems in the world.

Sea ice off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador was below normal for the tenth consecutive year and the water temperature outside St. John's Harbour was the highest on record in 2004, according to a report released yesterday by the federal fisheries department.

We're all getting a chance to see what early season warm water temperatures can do with the arrival of hurricane Dennis which is now a category 4 storm with winds in the 135-140 mph range.  With rising water temperatures, we're likely to see more damaging storms.  Also it will cause dislocation or death of some marine species as the Toronto Star article suggests.  At some point sea level will start to rise and our precious barrier islands will be threatened it not destroyed.

There are lots of things that bother me about our government's policies, but ignoring global warming while much of the rest of the world wants to at least acknowledge the problem ranks pretty high on the list.

I've been going to the Outer Banks since I was three years old. They've had a major influence on my life and every time I go my spirit is renewed.  From their popularity I would say I'm not the only one. I can only hope that there is still time to save special places like Cape Lookout, Ocracoke, Cape Hatteras, Pea Island, Assateague, and other magical places like them.

Somehow walking the shores near Jacksonville, NC (altitude 23 feet) won't be nearly as special.

I often wonder how much progress we could make in becoming a green country if we applied just half of the effort that we apply to building weapons of destruction