I lived in Ireland for a time and never ceased to be astonished by the unfailing optimism of the locals who hung their laundry out to dry despite the fact that it was nearly always about to rain. Wet, dry, whatever–life’s too short to worry about such trivial things, and, besides, the sun’s bound to shine, sooner or later. How I envied their angst-free approach to laundry, and life in general.

But global warming threatens to turn Ireland from a place that’s pleasantly drizzly all year round into a land of winter floods and summer droughts, according to a study released just in time for St. Paddy’s Day.  Reuters reports:

Entitled “Changing Shades of Green,” the report by the Irish American Climate Project twins science gleaned from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the musings of a poet, a fiddler, a fisherman, a farmer and others with deep connections to Ireland.

“The lush greens could turn to brown and the soft rains that people talk about as a blessing — ‘May the rains fall soft upon your field’ — those soft rains could turn harsh,” said Kevin Sweeney, an environmental consultant who directs the climate project”

“”The nickname Emerald Isle is a legacy of Ireland’s steady rainfall,” the report said. “By mid-century, winters could see an increase of more than 12 percent and summers could see a decrease of more than 12 percent. Seasonal storm intensity changes will increase the impact of these changes.”

This may not sound drastic, but it might mean an Ireland where potatoes would not grow well and hills would turn brown, leaving parts of the island with a more Mediterranean climate, according to the report.

Sweeney noted that other countries, such as Africa, face far worse consequences from climate change. Ireland may lose its potatoes and its lush hills, but it won’t be unlivable:

“People can raise their children, they can make a living, they can find sustenance in Ireland, but it will look and feel and be different. And that’s the subtlety we want to explain here. We don’t want to project that this is catastrophe. What it is, is it’s heartbreaking.”

If only the rest of us could learn to hang our laundry out, rain or shine, maybe we could keep climate change from spiraling out of control. Sadly, there are ordinances that prohibit hanging one’s laundry out to dry in towns all over the U.S., giving rise to a growing “Right to Dry” movement.  

Would you like to see Ireland stay green? Then read more about the virtues of air-drying your laundry and making other simple changes in your own life at Project Laundry List.