Political Climate Change

[H2O Man]

Despite getting some rain last week, with more to come at the end of this week, it is dry here in rural upstate New York. My rain barrels are again low, and so when I water the garden in the evening, I'm not using as much as I'd like to. Still, I am getting more beans, cucumbers, and peas than I can eat, and so I share some with neighbors. And some will be canned or froozen.

My cousin called me last night. He had visited his 92-year old mother in the evening, as he does daily. They were talking about current events, and he commented that he cannot believe how stupid the republican base is. She said that there has always been about the same percentage of stupid people throughout her life, that it is just that television and the internet get them worked up, and expose us to their ignorance.

This got me thinking about the environment crisis that is here, on Earth, today. It is worse now for some people than others around the globe. I cannot, for example, compare seeing that the open spring that feeds my pond producing less water than in 27 years -- less than in 2016, the worst drought on record here -- to people losing their homes to wildfires in California. Or to the farmers in Central America not able to produce crops to feed their families due to the on-going drought.

I think of how many of us, including myself, can take things like water and electric for granted ..... until a storm causes the electric to go out for anywhere from minutes to days. In other places, such as parts of Kentucky, it will be out for a lot longer.

I, for one, tend to curse out loud if the television goes blank while I am watching something of interest. Then I think of my father, raised in a home with no running water or electricity. Or the people who lived in this house before electricity and running water. It's not that we have to go back to that. But we do need to consider how much we use, and how much corporations -- like those in the above video -- use.

And that is not dependent on if one believes that human beings are the primary cause of environmental changes. If your well runs dry, it isn't going to matter if you say, "I don't believe it." If your house is on fire, it doesn't matter if you are convinced it is a Chinese conspiracy. Burying one's head in the sand is not a good option at this time.

That includes all the forms of denial, across the board. This includes saying it isn't the number one issue voters list in polls, and thus not a good campaign issue. Climate change is real. It is here now. It's not pleasant to think about, but it will change society. And as LBJ said, "We must change to master change."

[Kaleva]

1. People are dying in parts of East Africa because of climate change

[H2O Man]

3. Yes.

I am in contact with a young guy who boxes, and who has described what is going on in his country. It is terrible. If it was happening in Europe, I suspect the media coverage would be different here in the US.

[cachukis]

2. We are in predicament. We are no longer able to control,

only respond. Those of us with tools will respond better.

[H2O Man]

4. Right.

[Saoirse9]

5. If this is happening in Mexico

Last edited Tue Aug 2, 2022, 11:11 AM - Edit history (1)

We’re next. And soon.

We’ve had ample rainfall here in Florida. This year. But we’ve lived through some scary droughts here and had wildfires that lasted for days. I don’t know why we’re lucky this year but it won’t last.

Hopefully this new bill finally passes and we can address the worst of the damage.

I sure hope the drought ends by you very soon H.

[H2O Man]

6. I think that

it is already under way in the southwest. And I think there are currently 54 large fires in the western states.

When it was bad in 2016, we went to the creek to get water for the garden. Not the easiest way, but I'll do what I must.

[Saoirse9]

12. At least you have another source

Many don’t.

[H2O Man]

14. Right.

It's starting to rain very lightly now. Possible thunderstorm. But there should be a good rain on Thursday.

Even when the creek gets low, there are a couple nice pools under the waterfalls that I can access. It takes me a lot longer than when my younger son lived here, as he is young and strong, and thus can carry much fuller pails than I can. But he is on stand-by to become a father this month!

[Saoirse9]

18. OMG

C is becoming a father! How exciting!

You’re gonna be a Grandpa!!

[H2O Man]

19. Yes.

(It's D, not C.)

[Saoirse9]

21. Oh so sorry

I thought C was younger than D.

Anyway such happy happy news! Amazing!

[H2O Man]

20. Also .....

[Saoirse9]

22. Oh this one better to mark the occasion

Really happy for you!

[H2O Man]

25. I shall send

this song to D today!

[Riverman100]

7. Oh yeah

The science isn't settled................... Fucking assholes

[H2O Man]

8. Right.

It's not settled on the dangers of smoking or gravity, either.

I suppose there are corrupt people in every field.

[panader0]

9. 'You Don't Miss Your Water (til your well runs dry)' The Byrds

[H2O Man]

10. Nice!

Thank you for that!

[spanone]

11. K&R

[H2O Man]

15. Thank you!

[Elessar Zappa]

13. I'm still hoping we can avoid worst case scenario temperature increases.

But it needs to be treated as an emergency across the world.

[H2O Man]

16. Right.

It's a global crisis. I find it curious how, when the shit hits the fan -- be it fires or floods -- people work together so well. That's the type of coordinated effort that should be going on now, before the extreme events.

[Elessar Zappa]

17. Right. In order to effectively address global warming,

we need a world-wide “Manhattan”-like project. We can accomplish this, we just need the will to do it.

[malaise]

23. How did I miss this?

Rec

[H2O Man]

24. It had likely sunk

to page 103.

Thank you!

[malaise]

26. I love your threads

[hunter]

27. The politics we discuss here on DU won't matter if we don't get a handle on global warming.

Quitting fossil fuels won't be easy but we must do it.

How bad do things have to get?

I compare this time to the period before the U.S. entered World War II. There were still plenty of U.S. Americans then who thought Hitler had some good ideas and that Japan was too far away to be a threat.

[H2O Man]

28. Exactly!

I wish I could "recommend" your post. You nailed it.

I remember years ago, when Onondaga Faith Keeper Oren Lyons said that the time is coming when clean water will be more valuable than oil. I think we are approaching that time now.

[Easterncedar]

29. Drought conditions in Maine

Thanks for this post, H2O Man. (But of course it’s in your name!) The water situation is not as bad as it was two years ago, when wells were running dry in the western mountains, but we are in our fifth year of drought conditions in much of the state. It’s easy to ignore if you’re not using a well; there are so many lakes, rivers and streams all around up here. And we keep getting short rain bursts here and there, which are welcome enough, but don’t do much more than disguise the deficit.

Folks are in denial everywhere, as the crises mount around the globe. The problem is so big that disbelief may seem the only sane refuge. How can we despair and continue to live? Bless the young folks; I don’t know how they manage to muster the optimism to bring children into this world. I dearly adore my grands, and I am terrified for their future.

This is the moment where humanity either falls, taking millions of our fellow species into destruction with us, or somehow turns and unites to solve this.

I agree with your cousin’s mother. As long as I’ve been paying attention, there has been a solid 30-35% of Americans who appear to be intractably ignorant. The rest of us have to rise above.

Thanks for your writing, as ever.