Beaten by the weather but time to ask big questions about Sheffield's future
We were tricked this week. The great people of Britain fell into a trap which we never seem able to avoid.
It was a cruel move which saw our innocent little hearts open with joy only to so cruelly have it squeezed from them.
What is this moment of wonder which deceived us? The answer is simple - the arrival of spring.
I love all the seasons, or rather the changing of the colours and the extremes of temperatures. However, there is little that makes my spirits lift so naturally as the arrival of the golden banks of daffodils shining under the blue skies of March. It reaffirms that everything is alright with the world, that there are wild things going on beneath the surface even when we can't see it and that beauty is not created by humans.
This city is glorious when the cherry blossoms are adorned with their pink and white petals. They make a different but wonderous sight as they fall onto the soulless concrete below.
Spring arrived in Sheffield and it made our hearts sing. There was even a little bit of sunshine, warmer than we usually hope for at this time of year.
Then Mother Nature cruelly decided to whisk it all away. I saw the most gorgeous, tiny lambs a few days ago. They were partially skipping in their usual manner and partly cowering from the flurry of snow that descended. What on earth is going on?
The weather has always been a topic that we obsess about because it controls everything from what we wear to how we feel and whether we can even be bothered to step outside our front door. It isn't always this extreme though and, for that, we have to take some responsibility.
We are living through a climate crisis and yet our conversations about weather are rarely tempered with thoughts of what action we should take.
We turn up the heating when spring temperatures plummet, we jump in our cars to avoid getting wet in the rain and we spare little thought for future generations.
Is it even reasonable to expect anything else when the leaders of the free world and our own government clearly don't believe looking after our planet is a priority?
We are living through wars largely driven by greed and oil. We are fortunate, the impact we feel is financial. It is far, far worse for others.
It isn't easy to imagine that we as individuals can bring change. I know most people don't feel they have the power to even make their local council listen, let alone international politicians.
But don't we have to start somewhere? Shouldn't we be demanding that all new houses are built ready for a world that doesn't rely on fossil fuels? We need realistic ways to create the future and not put the cart before the horse. Building homes with no parking is ideal ... if you are living in a time where you don't need a petrol car. Doing it now is just creating problems elsewhere. All these issues need to be solved as a whole rather than piecemeal firefighting.
How about doing things that make electric cars tempting - yes, cheaper but also locally controlled ways to move people away from petrol?
And then there's recycling. We simply are not told enough about where our recycling goes. I know many people who worry that Sheffield's incinerators dominate our waste landscape too much. Concerns that all our efforts to put rubbish in the correct recycling bin is just a waste of time won't go away. If those at the top care, perhaps they should approach the issue with openness and honesty.
Is enough being done to encourage us all to shop local, to eat things grown right here in Yorkshire and to support a local economy that helps the whole globe?
The answers to these questions won't make you sleep easily. That's exactly why we focus on the weather - it is easy to talk. There is much that is beyond our control but we always have the power to apply pressure to those running our city. If we don’t, it is our families who will suffer.
What do you want to know about how Sheffield operates its green policies behind closed doors and what would you like to see? Email me, [email protected] and let's get asking the big questions - while still enjoying the daffodils and blossoms.