And to adding to your thinking…Neil Young's 'Colorado' is a hauntingly beautiful reminder of the climate crisis, with lyrics that paint a vivid picture of a world on fire. Meanwhile, Ford's policies seem to be stuck in a perpetual state of 'denial is a river in Toronto.' Someone needs to tell him the planet isn't a partisan issue... yet. It's time for our leaders to trade in their talking points for actual solutions and start treating the climate crisis like the emergency it is.
I would like to coop the term "survivalist" bc that is the mentality we need to bring to the climate change conversation. Not in a prepper kind of way (there is nowhere to hide) but as a daily challenge: what can I do / what do we have to do as a species to avoid the calamity not-so-far-down-the-road? Our way of life and many of us will not survive if we don't take action to change the direction we are now headed.
I live in Arizona 2.5 hours (and 15º F cooler) from Phoenix. It was 100º two days last week but more than heat relief we are praying hard for our annual monsoons. It last rained on June 1st, a wonderful teeming rain, but we need the kind of regular, daily afternoon monsoons from July to end August we used to have even 11 years ago.
If anyone is fool enough, hotel prices in Tucson and Phoenix are way low in the summer. But just know--there's a very good reason for that. Even before Emperor Trump took the throne, Tucson and Phoenix were not places you'd want to visit between May and October.
I just clear my mind of all the negativity with almost 50-year-old memories of kind, cheerful Wendy at Rye High and other happy thoughts. I figure this generation has to re-learn some of the things that are forgotten: burning rivers, killer smogs, that kind of thing. Lord knows, we tried to keep them informed. And don't beat yourself up because you can't climb over car seats anymore. They're not the same as they were, um, back in the day. You're not getting older. They made them taller. Really.
Folks use “climate emergency” but it gets labelled as “alarmist” as a means to dismiss it as Chicken Little flapping in panic.
Corporate shareholders with piles of money rolling in, and their boardroom bullies, will do anything keep it rolling. If someone else threatens that massive flow, well, the countering propaganda is just the most visible of their actions. And the good people that prioritize short-term comfort above ungraspable concepts like the survival of the planet (which they likely resent having to take any responsibility for) will happily adopt the talking points of “big oil” to preserve their comfort. Fear of loss is the greatest motivator apparently.
The current trend, among those that have shared their full awareness of the emergency and a desire to be part of the solution, to take seemingly contrary actions, may stem from recognizing the futility of a more direct approach (e.g. carbon tax). Just like “caving” to Trump on a new tax that most see as fair, reasonable, and our right, I think the new tactics are a calculated risk that may or may not pay off. Let the belligerent dominators have their victories and their victory parade - but try to manage it all such that the best achievable outcomes are still realized.
Yes, I’m wearing my rose coloured glasses today but it’s Canada Day and I’m entitled.
And to adding to your thinking…Neil Young's 'Colorado' is a hauntingly beautiful reminder of the climate crisis, with lyrics that paint a vivid picture of a world on fire. Meanwhile, Ford's policies seem to be stuck in a perpetual state of 'denial is a river in Toronto.' Someone needs to tell him the planet isn't a partisan issue... yet. It's time for our leaders to trade in their talking points for actual solutions and start treating the climate crisis like the emergency it is.
I would like to coop the term "survivalist" bc that is the mentality we need to bring to the climate change conversation. Not in a prepper kind of way (there is nowhere to hide) but as a daily challenge: what can I do / what do we have to do as a species to avoid the calamity not-so-far-down-the-road? Our way of life and many of us will not survive if we don't take action to change the direction we are now headed.
I live in Arizona 2.5 hours (and 15º F cooler) from Phoenix. It was 100º two days last week but more than heat relief we are praying hard for our annual monsoons. It last rained on June 1st, a wonderful teeming rain, but we need the kind of regular, daily afternoon monsoons from July to end August we used to have even 11 years ago.
If anyone is fool enough, hotel prices in Tucson and Phoenix are way low in the summer. But just know--there's a very good reason for that. Even before Emperor Trump took the throne, Tucson and Phoenix were not places you'd want to visit between May and October.
I went there for work in July once. The hotels were cheap, but it was soooo hot!!!!!
“Climate Emergency” is the term in use now.
better!
(but afraid climate change is still widely used)
And California, with bipartisan agreement in its legislature, just gutted the environmental laws passed in the 1970s bu the Reagan administration.
and here we go...
I just clear my mind of all the negativity with almost 50-year-old memories of kind, cheerful Wendy at Rye High and other happy thoughts. I figure this generation has to re-learn some of the things that are forgotten: burning rivers, killer smogs, that kind of thing. Lord knows, we tried to keep them informed. And don't beat yourself up because you can't climb over car seats anymore. They're not the same as they were, um, back in the day. You're not getting older. They made them taller. Really.
Folks use “climate emergency” but it gets labelled as “alarmist” as a means to dismiss it as Chicken Little flapping in panic.
Corporate shareholders with piles of money rolling in, and their boardroom bullies, will do anything keep it rolling. If someone else threatens that massive flow, well, the countering propaganda is just the most visible of their actions. And the good people that prioritize short-term comfort above ungraspable concepts like the survival of the planet (which they likely resent having to take any responsibility for) will happily adopt the talking points of “big oil” to preserve their comfort. Fear of loss is the greatest motivator apparently.
The current trend, among those that have shared their full awareness of the emergency and a desire to be part of the solution, to take seemingly contrary actions, may stem from recognizing the futility of a more direct approach (e.g. carbon tax). Just like “caving” to Trump on a new tax that most see as fair, reasonable, and our right, I think the new tactics are a calculated risk that may or may not pay off. Let the belligerent dominators have their victories and their victory parade - but try to manage it all such that the best achievable outcomes are still realized.
Yes, I’m wearing my rose coloured glasses today but it’s Canada Day and I’m entitled.
Perhaps there is more than one way to understand climate change? https://wamiller.substack.com/p/on-the-reality-of-climate-change