In praise of fog

Berkeleysider Alan Tobey thinks those who grumble about summer fog are misguided.

Our friends and relatives may think we “suffer in the cold fog” all summer, but we know better.  Here are just some of the reasons we cherish our misty meteorological friend:

1. The money we save on sunscreen subsidizes our hot coffee requirement.
2. It’s never too warm to drink red wine.
3. While most of the country is paying up for air conditioning, cool Berkeleyans with solar panels are selling their peak power to PG&E at top rates.
4. It’s hard to get sweaty biking to work.
5. We can be precise about when real summer weather temporarily brings us over-90 temperatures. This year summer was on a Saturday.
6. On socked-in mornings the neighborhood roosters sleep late.
7. Any Berkeley restaurant with a wood-fired oven can succeed in July and August.
8. We can count on daily fun-filled breezes for kite flying, sailboarding and more-challenging bicycle workouts.
9. There’s no excuse for drinking light beer, which we don’t make here anyway.
10. Sweatshirt sales to freezing visitors reliably boost the city’s sales tax revenues.
11. Ice cream cones melt outside at a leisurely rate, prolonging the pleasure.
12. Outdoor barbecue parties are unpopular, so Berkeley men have to learn to cook more interesting food than just burgers.