Читать книгу Shaped by Snow. Defending the Future of Winter онлайн

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This book is my love song for snow; a way of sharing something that has shaped so much of this world and has made life on earth possible. It may also be my eulogy for snow; a way for me to remember it if it fades from my life, perhaps the only way for my great-grandchildren to experience it. This book is also a call to action: with my words, I fight for the survival of snow.

I. Blooming Season

Dreaming

On the longest day of the year, I wake up shivering. The brazen light of the solstice sun seems to nudge the nearby curtains aside as if they are nothing but a thin veil of smoke, drawing me out of a dream that I fight to hold onto. For a moment, my mind straddles two worlds at once. The brisk, frozen landscape I left in my sleep is much more familiar than the sweltering one I am waking in, with its pale yellow walls, gauzy curtains, and bright white cliffs in the distance.

My body tenses for a moment, my heart tapping in the hollow where throat meets breastbone. My chest rises and falls beneath the thin, white sheet. I struggle to remember why I am waking up here, and why I feel so cold despite the imposing summer heat.