climate

How’s Your Weather?

Learn to see

the forest 

through trees,

behind

the curtain,

certain,

while consumption

without assumption

of consequence

or sequence

of events

systemic,

seemingly

endemic

in our culture,

ignoring

nature

in danger,

due to

the illusion

of control.

Learn to see

blindspots;

hot spots

of regions

and reasons

for how we

unintentionally

perpetuate

this state

of climate 

crisis

for us

which 

we may not

be able

to reverse,

could relieve

this perverse

curse

of disconnection

between

decisions

and ramifications.

We have

solutions;

paths that 

we’ve proved

to behoove

us.

Technology

and policy

combined

with the necessity

of accountability,

helps us solve

what we’ve 

yet to resolve

without

yet

being able 

to see

clearly.

We need

the creativity

and participation

of everybody.

Use your

resources

and proclivities

for activities

where 

the priorities

engage

others

to bother

to do

more

than weather

current

conditions.

A New Habit for Humanity

I endured hurricanes

and horrible rains

for many, many years.

But the fears

I have

from my 

current perch

as Helene

then Milton

top the Google

search

before,

during,

and after

landfall,

all

point to

whether

we will

whether

the weather

together. 

It feels 

surreal

to witness

such storms

over 

and over

and over

and over

without

pleas

for policies

for these

emergencies

that are crises

each week.

We used

to seek

solutions

for pollution

and violence,

the environment,

and toxic waste.

But our taste

has changed

for the worse;

and our climate

has changed

for the worse. 

We are so blind

and unkind

to our world.

But I know you

would do

something 

if you

could,

and you should,

so would 

you…?

go to

https://www.climateactionnow.com/

I thank you

in advance

for taking 

a chance

with me

to enhance

your citizenry

and get

opportunities

to support

policies

to mitigate

the climate emergency

we are ALL

in.

There is no

climate

haven

now,

but there

are solutions

for how

to mitigate

the worst

effects.

So many

facets

to our

climate

problems,

from clothing

to agriculture

to fossil fuels

to our plastic

culture;

carbon capture,

and diet shifts

among

other pivots

are available.

Disaster relief

won’t dismantle

the belief

that we

don’t need

to change 

course.

This is 

the time,

so grab

it:

A new habit

for humanity

to live

more environmentally

sustainably.

https://www.climateactionnow.com/

* I get nothing from this other than providing what I think is an accessible and simple means to participate effectively. I hope you will activate yourself and others.

Triage

No more

space

in the emergency

room

filled

with demanding

needs

commanding

immediate

attention.

Rarely a mention

of the ailing

failing,

yet still

magnificent

grande

dame,

mother

to all,

left

aside

hiding 

in plain 

sight,

frighteningly

sick

but still

looks good

until

she storms

away

flooding

us 

with concern.

Whose

turn

is first

when systems

that nurture

require

sutures,

and fractures

compound

all around

us?

Stabbed

in the heart,

we realize

we must

prioritize

this immediate

wound

stat.

Inside 

this ER

that we 

now are,

we mostly

just take

in 

information.

I see you

already

know

the urgency

each

emergency

requires.

But mired

in crisis

since 

the time

of Isis

is narrowing

our arteries

and capacities

for healing.

We can’t

simply

be 

angry,

fearful,

and depressed.

Nor 

can we

ignore

what’s in store

with more

of the same.

Crises

of democracies

and the climate

across

the earth

are worth

your efforts

beyond

news intake.

What’s 

at stake

demands

urgent

care-

a bit

here 

and there

in addition

to the 

momentous.

What

are you

doing—

not just

reviewing—

in order

to make us

better?

Do the Right Things

Now

a days,

the craze

on the right

is amazingly

cynical.

And yet

in spite

of spite

from the wing

on the right,

Speaker

Johnson

held tight.

An aid

bill 

was passed

long past

due

due to

bogus

focus

on spending,

practically

upending

alliances

with defiance

and reliance

upon

noncompliance.

In an ecosystem

governed

by climate

change,

creating

crisis

after crisis

after

crisis,

invites

us

to assess

how we 

address

this long 

term

condition.

What 

long

ago

was our

nature

has become 

abused

when 

government

was accused

of being

the problem.

Both right

and left

have

at times

been

reckless,

and feckless

leaders

or worse

have worsened

us.

But now

the right

can not

claim

righteousness

or

correctness

or validity,

much less

acceptability.

A country

of rights

abdicating

responsibilities

and civilities

creates 

possibilities

for horrible

vulnerabilities

and instabilities.

Reclaim what 

is right!

Our climate

crisis

requires

innovation

and

restoration

of what 

is right

and wrong.

The warming

of the planet

is overwhelming

us

just as 

the heated

rhetoric

in politics

is stifling

us.

Worse,

it is killing

us.

We know

what is

right,

but

complain

it became

too hard

to sustain.

Tomorrow

is Earth Day

and soon

Mother’s

Day,

sentiments

that deserve

acknowledgements

all year.

As

our democracy

needs us,

so does

Mother Nature.

The climate

crises

among us

and around

us

need us 

to do 

the right

things.

Mother

nature,

inside

and out. 

I mean,

as a verb:

to curb

what 

has been

unfathomably

disturbed.

Nature 

needs

mothering;

nurturing

to thrive.

Our twin

climate

crises

demand

each 

of us

to do 

the right

things-

even when

difficult-

to nurture

what’s

left.

Track and Field

I track

my body’s

expenditures–

tallying

steps,

REM,

and deep

sleep.

My  convenient

device

provides

advice

to keep 

me resilient.

Physically,

it’s working;

I’m doing

better 

than expected.

But my

field

of vision

is narrowing,

as the harrowing

crises 

overwhelm these

data points.

In order 

to prevent

sleeplessness

and foster

resilience,

I need 

to care

less.

But I can’t.

We need 

to engage

in ways

that are 

interactive

and creative;

that address

the mess

from fossil

fuels

and plastic.

Truly drastic

measures

require

forgoing

pleasures

to which 

we have

become

accustomed.

Losing

trust,

witnessing

those 

intended

to see a

democracy

upended

is exhausting

to track.

And depressing.

The alienation

in this nation

is in part

caused by

a conflation

of news 

and entertainment

—infotainment—

and cruelty

so that duality,

not plurality,

is insisted

upon.

We are lost,

and the cost

is literally

killing

the country

(and others)

and the planet. 

Helplessness,

more than 

sleeplessness,

is the urgent

and important

crisis to meet.

As we track

our daily

routines,

we are 

far

afield

from living

from what

we’ve been

given.

We have 

retreated

to repeated

tasks

when what

is actually

asked

of us

is to heal

each other

and our

environment.

Whine and Cheese

We have come to expect

Elections 

As traditions

Despite each one

More existentially

Significant

Than ever.

We know 

The show

Must go

On

And on and on

So money

Can roll

The dicey

Game of politics

That is performance

Without art.

It’s a total 

Drag,

(And that’s

Not allowed

Anymore

In some places),

Watching candidates

Dress up 

And exaggerate,

Mugging

For cameras

At cheesy events,

Whining about

Who’s

Destroying us

And how

The stakes

Have never

Been higher.

Do voters want

The Cheese Wiz?

Not just the ersatz 

Savory goo topping,

But a master of faux

Sentiment?

Or the whining

About witch hunts

And hoaxes?

The Deep State

Pedophiles

And Alien

Invaders

Across 

The boarder?

As candidacies

Launched,

Horrible Haze

Enveloped

Much of the 

Country.

Toxic air

Emanated from

Canadian fires,

A result of dry 

Earth, 

A result of

Climate Change. 

Our political

Climate has

Changed 

Profoundly

While the same

Whine and Cheese

Is served

As though

They will persuade

Or reassure

Donors 

If not

Voters

That politics

Ages well

Like

Whine

And cheese. 

Urgent Care

Today this

hurts.

And yesterday’s

ache

is still 

tender.

My tracker

indicates

sufficient

sleep 

and oxygen,

yet I

gasp

each day

and 

am terribly

aware

of threatening

conditions.

According

to my 

data,

everything

ranges from

good to

optimal.

Apparently,

this is accurate

information

when sleeping.

The data

does not

describe

my being

awake.

Sure,

I can 

see my

heart

rate

at any 

time

of day.

It races,

which 

could become

a hurdle

in itself. 

I am 

unaware

of my 

nocturnal

gasps

for air, 

but I cringe

and tense

myself

with news

with open

eyes

feeling

compelled 

to be 

awake.

I don’t 

really matter

to the news,

but think 

it matters

to me.

Doesn’t it?

I want 

to be

awake

to act

as necessary.

Every day

feels 

urgent

and filled

with issues

about which

to care.

The aches

and pains

and gasps

from each

news

cycle

are symptoms

of a deep

love

and loss

of functionality

of humans.

And nature.

What could be

more urgent

than us

and our

environment

that nourishes

our insides?