Timothy Eagan, New York Times columnist and my fellow Seattleite, sees our dry weather this summer as a frightening sign of catastrophic climate change. Writing of our lovely, verdant Northwest he declares: “We may lose this. The current heat is a precursor, an early peek at a scary tomorrow.” Actually, we’ve received 16 inches of rainfall since January 1^st of this year, compared to 19 inches in an average year – not really a shocking difference. What’s more, last year by this time we’d received 27 inches of precipitation – a full 8 inches above average. More rainfall than usual one year, then slightly less than usual the next year, isn’t indication of a worrisome long-term trend. Leave it to the left to decry pleasant weather in a beautiful section of the country in order to advance their political agenda. Now, when it comes to weak batting by the disappointing Seattle Mariners, I can join Tim Eagan in deep concern.