Commentary by Jeff Burgar Spring is a month late. But, I thought I heard birds flying North a few days ago. My mistake. Carrying suitcase and with a small birdie trailer in tow, the flock was heading south. Yes, this winter was hard on the hardiest of us all. So, even as the sun struggles to shine, I find myself in the throes of cabin fever. Fishing is closed. The ice hut is off the ice. The deck is still three feet deep in snow, making spring cleaning pretty well a wipe out. I have no place to pile stuff while I clean and spring. The yard is mostly in snow too, although a very large pool of water is building. I can’t even get to the greenhouse so that’s another wipeout this year. With nothing to do, my thoughts turn to global warming. Is this the result? The expert who said weather patterns would be “unpredictable’’ and “unsettled’’ at least made this call right. Keep in mind, this is one of the same experts who can’t predict next week’s sunshine or rainstorm. But, they are telling us what the world will be like 50 years from now. Oh well. They say we are in the middle of polar bear extinction. Arctic villages are sinking into the not-so-permafrost. Treelines are moving north, and up mountainsides. Glacier fed rivers are drying up. We have mountain pine beetles and the possibility of tornadoes in our backyards. In all this, it is nice to see some people in British Columbia are looking on the bright side. Last week, we learned the politicians of Lillooet are excited about global warming. They see new opportunity for wine growing to become a big industry there. Farmers and landowners will cash in. Land sells for “only’’ $4,000 to $10,000 per acre. That compares well to Okanagan vineyards at $100,000 per acre. An added bonus is that global warming will pretty well put an end to California wine country. Besides the cost of water, California will be just too hot. Now, we wouldn’t put to rest those crafty Americans. We’re pretty sure they will outsmart those BC folks. And, as charming as our friends to the west are, we often think they are a tad addled by being around one of Canada’s biggest cash crops, marijuana. But, it’s interesting to think that in the midst of gloom and doom over global warming, some souls are optimistic.We have to wonder, is anybody even considering making local plans for our future? Personally, I haven’t seen any meetings called. Probably, that will happen in 2050. About twenty years after the water pipeline south from the Peace River and Lesser Slave Lake is built. Plenty of time, right? It’s also too early to start thinking grapes. But, I’m wondering if corn or tomatoes, or other crops, will soon be doing very well in a couple of years?

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