We've all seen the scientific statistics, heard the dire predictions and watched a rather rotund Al Gore wobble around the world, powerpoint presentation at the ready.

Who among us hasn't heard about global warming, the Greenhouse Effect and the apparent rise in temperature of our Mother Earth? This 'inconvenient truth', as Gore called it in his Oscar-winning documentary, is all around us, as we are bombarded with stories about icecaps melting and squabbles about whether our federal government should or shouldn't respect the Kyoto Accord.

There certainly seems to be plenty of evidence from all those scientific types who study these issues, and we're certainly not pooh-poohing the notion that our environment is facing some pretty stiff challenges. With all the carcinogens and poisons we so casually dump into the air and oceans, it's no wonder the planet seems to be going straight to environmental hell in a toxic handbasket.

But honestly, how many of you, as you walked down the street last Thursday, were thinking about a rise in temperature at the Earth's core? The core of the matter is that while you were being pelted by big wet globs of mushy snowflakes, the question many of who were probably asking is, "Global warming? What global warming?"

For gosh sakes, it's almost mid-April! Remember that Al Jolson classic, with the lines, "Though April showers may come your way, they bring the flowers, that bloom in May." Well lately, all we've been seeing is bloomin' snowploughs and shovels. What happened to spring, warming temperatures and those sweet, gentle April rains?

For now, at least, they have been replaced by Old Man Winter, who seems to have taken a healthy dose of Viagra this year. The old fella has been pretty potent, leaving all of us feeling rather impotent when it comes to the weather.

You might say, it's only a little snow, get over it, spring will be here soon enough. And that's all probably true. But the late snow will have its negative effects on those of us in the West End. Local business probably aren't seeing as much foot traffic, with some people, especially seniors, staying home until the weather gets a little warmer. And how about all those soccer and baseball players who are waiting to get outside to start that spring ritual of tryouts? OK, they'll have to wait a little longer, but the added snow and cold weather will also probably mean their fields will be in even worse shape than usual when they get onto their pitches and infields. Considering all the trouble these two sports have with field conditions, the snow is definitely an unwanted nuisance.

In the end, the snow is just miserable and a damn depressing reminder that we live in this Siberian wonderland with a climate that can drive you nuts. The late snow is making more people sick — both physically and mentally — and generally just bringing everybody down.

We know summer is coming, and pretty soon we'll all be complaining about the heat, the humidity and the mosquitoes. Still, we wouldn't mind seeing a taste of that global warming, sooner rather than later.