sustainability

Final Exam

This isn’t

the apocalypse

now.

From crisis

to crisis,

it’s obvious

that the matrix

of destructive

forces

forces

us

to confront

the unimaginable,

uninhabitable

once-impossible-

except 

in the bible-

series

of conditions

that some

claim

to be 

premonitions

in the name 

of “The Lord”.

If this

is the end,

it sure is 

slow moving,

and improving

is still

within reach.

It’s our 

judgement

and reckoning,

not super-natural

beckoning

that alters

reality,

really.

The broken

covenant

between

government

and constituent

has us

almost drowning

in the flood

of mud

slung

at the innocent,

guilty

of being

a participant

in

the American

experiment.

The fear

that the end

is near,

if not

already here,

is not

unreasonable.

It’s not 

infeasible

with the 

Artificial

Intelligence

emergence

and the

resurgence

of the popularity

of populism

and faux

democracy-

or democracy

practically

in name 

only.

And the changing

climate

for the worse

only adds

the worst

verse

to this

curse

of bad poetry

where

history

rhymes.

Crimes

are normal

for the dictatorial

and other

abusers

with greed.

But their

end days

are near,

despite

the fear

they impose

upon us. 

I suppose

any crisis

could be

a catastrophe

like you see

in a movie,

but the apocalypse

is a partial,

if not

total,

eclipse

of the good

that still

exists.

Horror

insists;

but good

persists

in spite

of it.

And there

are more

of us

than

there are

of them.

So,

sure,

condemn

the mayhem,

but be part

of a solution

to this pollution

that makes

it so hard

to breathe

freely.

This test

is really

challenging,

and managing

is arduous.

But I believe

the best

of us

is not

past,

but passed

generationally

intentionally,

representationally,

changing

from an ending

to finally

remembering

the right

questions.

El Niño

A marine

heat-wave

seen

forming 

in

the Pacific

Ocean

confuses

global 

weather systems

and produces

more intense

drought,

rain,

and flooding,

disrupting hurricane

and monsoon 

seasons-

reasons

for extreme

heat

and agricultural

retreat

and failure.

With the coming

Super

El Niño-

the fear

this year

is that a 

warming

climate

will exacerbate

an already

monstrous

El Niño fate,

already difficult

to navigate.

With higher

temperatures

expected

this summer,

and weather

systems

becoming

chaotic,

our sclerotic

governmental

attempt

to preempt

disaster

will be tested

faster

than expected.

What to expect

when you’re

expecting

El Niño

in an already

overheated,

defeated,

depleted,

political

climate?

When 

an 

over reliance

on business

to lead us

without

government

to co-invent

a clean

energy

environment,

we are left

with 

insufficient

preparation.

Meanwhile,

AI Data Centers

are being built

without

regulation

as their demand

for water

and electricity

hurts

each nearby

community,

as tech companies

seem to have

immunity

from everything.

Nurturing

is not just

for mothers.

For Mothers’

Day,

I say,

start to be

a citizen

who takes

action

beyond

a ballot.

The climate

is in crisis.

Think of it

like Isis:

we can’t

just

be victims

in waiting.

I know

the threats

to democracy

are 

an emergency

we see

playing out

each day.

But this 

El Niño

on the way,

is a brutal

warning

of what

global

warming

plus natural

disaster

at a rate

much

faster

than expected

means

when unprotected.

The El Niño 

prediction

of infliction

of serious

threat

should get

you to do

what you can

for collective

action.

Building

political will

will require

your energy

and money

for green energy

policies,

and government

assurance

that insurance

will be there

when

and where

it’s needed.

This Mothers’ Day,

I say,

write a letter

to the editor

and/or

your 

legislator.

Connect with

another 

activator.

Here’s a toolkit

that could fit

most any

climate

issue:

https://www.beyondplastics.org/tools

And here’s a way

(for Mother’s Day)

to contribute

to candidates

to flip the house

towards

climate stewards

(and other helpful

policies):

https://app.oath.vote/

And working

to pass 

reasonable legislation

is the 

Citizens Climate

Lobby 

organization:

Homepage

These are just 

a few

I hope 

you

will explore,

but I implore 

you to 

do something

for Mothers’ Day,

as 

El Niño

is on the way

and the climate

crisis

is already

here.

The antidote

to fear

is action.

Please,

in honor of 

your mother

and earth,

your actions

are worth

it.

We can

make progress-

even now,

despite

that monster

threat.

Resiliency

and sustainability

are a possibility

but require

communal responsibility.

Now go 

to your room

and do

your homework.

Happy Mothers’

Day!

Going Greene?

Could this climate

change

be more strange

since

a faction is 

going Greene?

That anti-

Epstein

lean

lead by

Marjorie Taylor

Greene,

the conspiracy

theory

machine

amplifier,

is taking

a higher

road 

and putting

the load

on Trump.

The sport

of support

of a politician

becomes ammunition

in the next

election

round.

Support

is substantial

when it’s

financial;

it need not

mean

moral or

emotional

approval.

Still,

money spent

is acknowledgement 

and a willingness

to abide

on the side

of what 

money will 

buy.

Just look

at the guy

who will try

to get

in bed

with any

(and every)

naughty

Saudi.

But back

to Marjorie,

who can

see

with

laser-like

efficiency

the value

of the spotlight.

She just might

be

the perfect

thorn

as she persists

her endless

scorn

with seeming

righteousness

against the hideousness

of the monstrousness

of sexual predatory

behavior.

Once her enabler,

he’d now like

to disable her,

but Marjorie

Taylor

sees GREEN.

If you feel torn

about watching

with popcorn

this ick-fest

contest,

I suggest

you just

let it

rest.

The best

you can do

is to

continue

or start

to be part

of real

greening

solutions. 

All conclusions

point to

intrusions

of human greed

and the need

to live more

sustainably. 

Understandably

daunting

with disaster

ever 

haunting,

environmental

concern

should earn

more 

of your

attention

and support.

This Giving

Tuesday

I hope you’ll

pay gratitude

and/or express

your attitude

of stewardship:

Climate Action Now

Home

BeyondPlastics.org

https://www.beyondplastics.org/

Citizens Climate Lobby

Homepage

Fashion Revolution

Home

These are 

some orgs

with which 

I regularly 

engage,

helping

to assuage

my rage

and fear

and to use

the tools

of democracy

for a more healthy,

greener

place 

for humanity

to thrive.

Urgent Care

Crisis centers

focus 

upon disaster

faster

than the usual

perusal

of a concerning

issue.

Discerning

misuse

or abuse

from the obtuse,

while trying

not 

to confuse,

we use tools

of expedience

for the 

triage experience;

a quick

fix,

if temporary.

Contrary

to ordinary

problems

of persistence,

when resistance

to change

allows for a range

of ways 

to cope,

the end of 

the rope

of crisis

invites us

to pivot;

to  apply

a tourniquet

to stop

the flow.

The distinction

between

an emergency

and urgency

may be

unclear.

The fear,

however,

is whether

or not

we’ve got

enough

stuff

to manage

the damage.

Just how deadly

is this?

The persistent 

quality

of urgency

insistently

demands

attention

for mitigation

of a critical

situation.

An emergency

emerges

more quickly

than urgency,

yet

both insistently

demand

intervention.

But convention

sometimes

clouds

the urge

to purge

the toxic

ways

that delays

imagined

discomfort.

With no

more room

for emergencies

or crises

imposed

upon us,

we retreat

in defeat

and claim

self preservation,

without realization

that earth’s

land, sea, 

and air

can’t self

repair

without

urgent care.

Urge your legislators:

Home

Change of Life

Get rid of our Tesla.

Get rid of our Kindle.

Drive much

much further

than Whole Foods,

which is closer

than the other

grocer.

Get rid

of delivery

from Amazon

Prime,

though

I can’t find

basic stuff

as there 

isn’t enough

stock;

and what is 

present,

is

locked

away

in every 

brick

and mortar

store.

Get off 

Facebook,

so the Zuch

can’t monetize

what I publicize

only to

my friends.

The ends

may justify

the means

against

the mean

guys,

but I realize

the compromise

has already

given them

the prize. 

Blue Sky’s

attraction

as the alternative

faction

needs

to be

fun,

which,

in the long

run,

is why

we comply

in the

viral

virtual

spaces.

Meanwhile,

with traces

of plastic

everywhere

in everything

we are consuming

and doing,

abandoning

plastic

may seem

drastic,

but it’s fantastic

to think

we’ll not sink

further,

as we murder

our only

home.

Our way

of life

that you

see dismantling

quickly

by Elon’s

Department

of Government

Efficiency

is theatrical

cruelty

and insufficiency,

when 

the way we

live

is also 

driven 

corporately.

The real

collusion

is the intrusion

of his

and his

and his

and his………

businesses

in our government

when they

have no 

business

doing so.

These seemingly

adolescent

guys

with whom

we’re forced

to compromise,

have their

eyes

on the prize

of unending

wealth 

and power.

But they

won’t stay

fertile

forever.

Their periods

will stop.

They’ll get

the sweats,

as is characteristic

of the climacteric

time.

Past

their prime,

they’ll decline,

but we must

begin

to refine

and change

the way we 

engage

while

they’re on

and in

the current

stage.

Gulf Club

A deep ravine

between

sides

abides

enflaming,

blaming,

renaming

gulfs.

Engulfed

in fire,

raging

politcal

and actual,

as of now

uncontainable

and utterly

unsustainable,

what 

are you doing

to be helpful?

The worst

disaster of the

catastrophe

era

in which

we live

in fear

is here.

Renaming

gulfs

as flames

engulf

LA,

while some

sneer

at the wealthy

who have lost

their homes,

and others

blame

diversity 

policy

in the current

polity-

this climate 

calamity

is a conflagration

of such 

enormity

and each

abnormality

is a part

of the new

normal.

Meanwhile,

Meta

made a new

formal 

mega

change

that feeds

the MAGA
base range

by no longer

checking

facts.

Social media

enacts

the euphemism

“freedom”

to further

enflame

the game.

The Tech Bro

Club

joined the MAGA

frat

and spat

once again

on truth.

The youth

deserve

for us

to preserve

nature

and nurture

humanity.

The club

mentality

that has engulfed

and enflamed

(and wants 

to rename)

everything

is worsening

a very real

and deadly

climate 

change.

HELP!! 

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.