I've alluded to it a couple of times already, but I'm really going to take a break from blogging, as I have been struggling with an Arctic burn-out since 2012. On the one hand it's caused by everything that has been and still is going on in the Arctic. The learning curve, the excitement, but most of all the depression that comes with watching this steamroller just plough forward, is taking its toll.
On the other hand, for the past three years I've been trying hard to walk the walk as well by building a sustainable house with my wife and daughter, and we are now slowly entering the final phase. Just one more year to go to finish things and then fully focus on our garden (plant more trees, grow 50% of our food, etc). This also takes a lot of extra work to finance, and in this respect I want to thank everyone who contributed to the 17 thousand Euros in donations I have received over the years. It was a huge help.
Nevertheless, all this working, building and blogging has left me with little time do other things, and I feel I also need to reach out to my local community and do more things that help directly with dealing with AGW and other systemic problems our global society is facing. On top of that we are homeschooling our daughter, and as she enters puberty, I feel I need to jump in more to support my wife. In short: life.
I will be posting PIOMAS updates and maybe some occasional stuff (that I don't put on my to-do-list to stay on there forever), but I won't be covering the next melting season like I've done since 2010. Don't worry, the Arctic Sea Ice Forum is still there (HTTPS version, ignore security warning) and it's rocking hard, with over 1000 members and traffic records getting broken almost as often as Arctic sea ice records. You can find all the latest data there, and lots of interesting analysis, maps and graphs to explain what is going on up North. And I will also be updating the Arctic Sea Ice Graphs website on an irregular basis.
So, yes, a sabbatical, it all sounds great in theory, but in practice there's this:
It's called reality, and it's kind of hard to ignore.
But I'm going to try. For a while.
To end on a positive note (end of the song):
If it's gonna get better, it starts with a feeling
If it's gonna get better, it's gonna take time
If it's gonna get better, we've gotta start now
'Cause I know everybody can feel it
And I know everybody will see it
'Cause it shows, and that shows I'm not dreaming
'Cause you know, I know, it's time for a change
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