We all feel sorrow and compassion for the citizens of Maui. May we continue our effort to fight climate crisis denialism and do whatever we can to save our planet so we can keep fighting to save our democracy.
I have a dear friend who lives in Hilo on the windward (wet) side of the "big island". I knew she was safe but asked how she was coping. Her response: "Moving from deep sadness to action."
Knowing nothing of the charitable organizations in Hawai'i, I asked for a recommendation. Here is her suggestion:
"My preference is Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii
1727 Pali Highway, Honolulu, HI 96813. Mark it for Maui assistance."
Aloha to the residents of Maui. We see you, we hear you and all the creatures that perished along with your loved ones.
Let us also include the major cause for carbon dioxide imbalance between the atmosphere, terrestrial vegetation and soil microbes when we focus on the climate crisis. Yes, ending fossil fuel emissions matter, but the larger contributor is off-gassing of CO2 from our agricultural practices of tilling and leaving bare soils. Soil microbes, particularly AM fungi, hold on to 40% of the soil carbon. Historically, 70% of carbon was held below ground totaling more than the carbon stored in the atmosphere and above ground vegetation combined. We need to speak more about returning carbon to the soil through a massive transition to healthy soil principles of: no till, diverse cover cropping, mulching, and mob grazing of animals. Every gram of carbon we return to the soil holds 8 grams of water. This creates a soil sponge and resilience to drought, fires, and floods. End fossil fuel emissions - yes. But let's get down to work to restore balance in the planet's carbon cycle. We can reverse the ppm of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, increase soil nutrients, the nutrient density of foods, and improve our health by farming smart.
Whoa. Your heading took my breath away. We live only a short distance from Paradise, CA - the town wiped out by the Camp Fire in 2018, and we came 1/4 mile from losing everything in the Marshall in Colorado last year. My heart breaks for the Hawaiian people. It will be years before they see anything resembling "normal" and Lahaina will never be the same. 😢
YES - We are together and thanks for being part of the glue! The need for clear communication is becoming even more critical with climate in the headlines. Hawaiians need our support.
The kids see it and all the more reason to educate and support our next generation of LEADERS. David Hogg and United Student Leaders give me reason to believe.
Since you aren't here in Hell Lay today Robert, I'll let you know that we have had June Gloom In August the past three days and the temps went down from 99 to 81 for high of the day. But don't worry, it's going to be back up in the 90s next week when you return, so it'll be like you never left. :-)
There is a discussion about the brawl on the waterfront in Montgomery this week that misses all the years of Segregation that this part of the United States has had to endure. Most readers are pleased that the black co Captain of the ship was able to standup to the white racists on the dock.
But as an avid fan of Inland Waterway amenities available along the Gulf Coast, I am well aware of the difference between public and private moorings. When the co Captain decided he should leave his ship in the middle of the riverto confront the Bullies on the Private Dock, that speaks a powerful message about the Black population in Alabama and their relationship to Montgomery's Police Department.
I’ve been told I think too much. That causes me to write too much. So forgive. Until approximately when my fourth year of life began I remember vaguely life in Miami. I was too young to think of heat, cold and weather in general. Then with my family I spent just about that whole year in Putnam County, NY and witnessed the infamous 1947 or ’48 blizzard. It impresses four-year-olds at minimum. Back in Miami I don’t remember the weather except that I was able to be outside almost all the time. Before I was seven I remember days of monsoon-like rain and then moved to NJ where I lived until thirteen and saw more snow and freezes but also heat waves-just heat waves; not whole summer-long, death-dealing heat. I then spent another eighteen months in Miami. There was heat and sweat, yet also monsoon rains and even the cold days in mid-winter and some of those days overcast skies prevented hot water production in our solar water heater on the roof. I cut lawns for money and of course the heat was apparent and I endeavored to spend as much time at the City of Miami’s Curtis Pool where the sun was enjoyable as well the 80-something-degree water. After another six years in NJ I returned to Miami for thirteen years more and then moved up the coast so that since age 20, some 60 years ago I have been a full-time Floridian. I was a science major in college and graduated at the bachelor level and I paid close attention to weather since I also became an avid free diver on the Southeast Florida reefs where I brought home scores of fish and lobster for our table. As best I can recall, Miami was hot or balmy or rainy with temperatures in the low 90s all summer long except perhaps during those monsoons. Now some 120 miles north on the southeast Florida coast the temperatures everyday are in the high nineties with heat indexes over 105. Yesterday afternoon my car thermometer displayed 98 degrees outside while the Fort Pierce NPR affiliate reported a temperature of 91 and Trump’s lawyers were just getting out of the Federal Court House in town. I haven’t seen a hard freeze in winter in so long I cannot remember the year. Only once in the past five years have I seen frost on my lawn and then it was a small patch only. Contrast that to on or about Jimmy Carter’s Inaugural snow flakes fell as far south as Miami and a hard freeze the following morning caused all the vegetation to be brown until the first monsoons of summer that year. Each day I must do my yard work in my one-acre residence lot before 10 am. Then I’m done with being outside the remainder of the day. Contrast that with my cutting grass as a teen and even in my early twenties, even in mid-day when as a new father I tried to make ends meet for the three of us. OK, I’m an old man now but the statistics don’t lie. At 120 miles north of Miami, Fort Pierce summer temperatures are higher than in Miami 50 years ago and those are real stats. Meanwhile I get the media stories. My free-diving reefs I loved so much in my twenties are bleached out and the fish are gone. Large black groupers that were prevalent in the past in even ten-foot depths are only present at depths of a 100 feet or more where the water temperature is tolerable for these wonderful fish. My story is not very scientific but it’s hard for me to believe Global Warming is not real and that life on earth is not changing for the worse, at least for homo sapiens. How much more will Florida humans such as I be able to survive this? Maybe I need to move to Putnam County where I remember that infamous blizzard rained down snow.
"Instead, PragerU claims that climate change is natural, and the evidence is inconclusive about the role of humans in accelerating global warming and extreme weather."
I note that at least this assessment of the PragerU message doesn't counter the fact that we face an existential crisis. All they're doing is misdirecting the conversation to take the pressure off their supporters in the fossil resource extraction and related industries. We can debate for days the cause of the changes we're experiencing and accomplish nothing positive. What needs to happen is to follow through on the changes that the current administration has begun and make everyone responsible for their actions including the externalities that allow for huge profits and enable stale wells and mines to keep polluting for years after they're played out.
Those who reject the changes needed to manage the climate crisis will be remembered among the villains of history. Just as we remember the Nazis and the Communists, the disrupters of the Third World from Pol Pot to Saddam Hussein to Idi Amin, we will remember those who have made the world destructive, who created the extreme forest fires and the extreme weather events that now bring us death and destruction.
Denialism is certainly a deadly preoccupation. As Alex Haley writes, "Either you deal with what's the reality or you can be sure that the reality is going to deal with you." It is a horse race though, as to whether the exhaustion and antipathy towards the deniers reaches a peak before reality deals with us all is some tragic, irreparable way. Americans seem worn-out by 'wokeness'; tired of Tommy Tuberville; done with Ted Cruz; limp from lies...and it goes on. All playing out while the Earth is burning, raging, howling, and flooding. If it seems apocalyptic, no worries, it's just reality getting your attention...playing its hand.
May the folks on the islands affected by this tragedy be safe and sound.
We all feel sorrow and compassion for the citizens of Maui. May we continue our effort to fight climate crisis denialism and do whatever we can to save our planet so we can keep fighting to save our democracy.
I have a dear friend who lives in Hilo on the windward (wet) side of the "big island". I knew she was safe but asked how she was coping. Her response: "Moving from deep sadness to action."
Knowing nothing of the charitable organizations in Hawai'i, I asked for a recommendation. Here is her suggestion:
"My preference is Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii
1727 Pali Highway, Honolulu, HI 96813. Mark it for Maui assistance."
Blessings and thanks to all.
Aloha to the residents of Maui. We see you, we hear you and all the creatures that perished along with your loved ones.
Let us also include the major cause for carbon dioxide imbalance between the atmosphere, terrestrial vegetation and soil microbes when we focus on the climate crisis. Yes, ending fossil fuel emissions matter, but the larger contributor is off-gassing of CO2 from our agricultural practices of tilling and leaving bare soils. Soil microbes, particularly AM fungi, hold on to 40% of the soil carbon. Historically, 70% of carbon was held below ground totaling more than the carbon stored in the atmosphere and above ground vegetation combined. We need to speak more about returning carbon to the soil through a massive transition to healthy soil principles of: no till, diverse cover cropping, mulching, and mob grazing of animals. Every gram of carbon we return to the soil holds 8 grams of water. This creates a soil sponge and resilience to drought, fires, and floods. End fossil fuel emissions - yes. But let's get down to work to restore balance in the planet's carbon cycle. We can reverse the ppm of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, increase soil nutrients, the nutrient density of foods, and improve our health by farming smart.
Whoa. Your heading took my breath away. We live only a short distance from Paradise, CA - the town wiped out by the Camp Fire in 2018, and we came 1/4 mile from losing everything in the Marshall in Colorado last year. My heart breaks for the Hawaiian people. It will be years before they see anything resembling "normal" and Lahaina will never be the same. 😢
Thank you for your honesty and your compassion for our people who are suffering from the fires everywhere!
YES - We are together and thanks for being part of the glue! The need for clear communication is becoming even more critical with climate in the headlines. Hawaiians need our support.
The kids see it and all the more reason to educate and support our next generation of LEADERS. David Hogg and United Student Leaders give me reason to believe.
Since you aren't here in Hell Lay today Robert, I'll let you know that we have had June Gloom In August the past three days and the temps went down from 99 to 81 for high of the day. But don't worry, it's going to be back up in the 90s next week when you return, so it'll be like you never left. :-)
To help the people of Maui, go to:
https://www.hawaiicommunityfoundation.org/maui-strong
Mahalo!
There is a discussion about the brawl on the waterfront in Montgomery this week that misses all the years of Segregation that this part of the United States has had to endure. Most readers are pleased that the black co Captain of the ship was able to standup to the white racists on the dock.
But as an avid fan of Inland Waterway amenities available along the Gulf Coast, I am well aware of the difference between public and private moorings. When the co Captain decided he should leave his ship in the middle of the riverto confront the Bullies on the Private Dock, that speaks a powerful message about the Black population in Alabama and their relationship to Montgomery's Police Department.
Thank you for this powerful message-- about our climate and how we can affect change in what we have created.
Jessica (Chop Wood Carry Water) recommends the app Climate Action Now - get it!!! it's great!!!!
I’ve been told I think too much. That causes me to write too much. So forgive. Until approximately when my fourth year of life began I remember vaguely life in Miami. I was too young to think of heat, cold and weather in general. Then with my family I spent just about that whole year in Putnam County, NY and witnessed the infamous 1947 or ’48 blizzard. It impresses four-year-olds at minimum. Back in Miami I don’t remember the weather except that I was able to be outside almost all the time. Before I was seven I remember days of monsoon-like rain and then moved to NJ where I lived until thirteen and saw more snow and freezes but also heat waves-just heat waves; not whole summer-long, death-dealing heat. I then spent another eighteen months in Miami. There was heat and sweat, yet also monsoon rains and even the cold days in mid-winter and some of those days overcast skies prevented hot water production in our solar water heater on the roof. I cut lawns for money and of course the heat was apparent and I endeavored to spend as much time at the City of Miami’s Curtis Pool where the sun was enjoyable as well the 80-something-degree water. After another six years in NJ I returned to Miami for thirteen years more and then moved up the coast so that since age 20, some 60 years ago I have been a full-time Floridian. I was a science major in college and graduated at the bachelor level and I paid close attention to weather since I also became an avid free diver on the Southeast Florida reefs where I brought home scores of fish and lobster for our table. As best I can recall, Miami was hot or balmy or rainy with temperatures in the low 90s all summer long except perhaps during those monsoons. Now some 120 miles north on the southeast Florida coast the temperatures everyday are in the high nineties with heat indexes over 105. Yesterday afternoon my car thermometer displayed 98 degrees outside while the Fort Pierce NPR affiliate reported a temperature of 91 and Trump’s lawyers were just getting out of the Federal Court House in town. I haven’t seen a hard freeze in winter in so long I cannot remember the year. Only once in the past five years have I seen frost on my lawn and then it was a small patch only. Contrast that to on or about Jimmy Carter’s Inaugural snow flakes fell as far south as Miami and a hard freeze the following morning caused all the vegetation to be brown until the first monsoons of summer that year. Each day I must do my yard work in my one-acre residence lot before 10 am. Then I’m done with being outside the remainder of the day. Contrast that with my cutting grass as a teen and even in my early twenties, even in mid-day when as a new father I tried to make ends meet for the three of us. OK, I’m an old man now but the statistics don’t lie. At 120 miles north of Miami, Fort Pierce summer temperatures are higher than in Miami 50 years ago and those are real stats. Meanwhile I get the media stories. My free-diving reefs I loved so much in my twenties are bleached out and the fish are gone. Large black groupers that were prevalent in the past in even ten-foot depths are only present at depths of a 100 feet or more where the water temperature is tolerable for these wonderful fish. My story is not very scientific but it’s hard for me to believe Global Warming is not real and that life on earth is not changing for the worse, at least for homo sapiens. How much more will Florida humans such as I be able to survive this? Maybe I need to move to Putnam County where I remember that infamous blizzard rained down snow.
Ironically, I just started reading a book in which the author quotes Wendell Berry, farmer and poet:
" To damage the earth is to
damage your children"
"Instead, PragerU claims that climate change is natural, and the evidence is inconclusive about the role of humans in accelerating global warming and extreme weather."
I note that at least this assessment of the PragerU message doesn't counter the fact that we face an existential crisis. All they're doing is misdirecting the conversation to take the pressure off their supporters in the fossil resource extraction and related industries. We can debate for days the cause of the changes we're experiencing and accomplish nothing positive. What needs to happen is to follow through on the changes that the current administration has begun and make everyone responsible for their actions including the externalities that allow for huge profits and enable stale wells and mines to keep polluting for years after they're played out.
Those who reject the changes needed to manage the climate crisis will be remembered among the villains of history. Just as we remember the Nazis and the Communists, the disrupters of the Third World from Pol Pot to Saddam Hussein to Idi Amin, we will remember those who have made the world destructive, who created the extreme forest fires and the extreme weather events that now bring us death and destruction.
Denialism is certainly a deadly preoccupation. As Alex Haley writes, "Either you deal with what's the reality or you can be sure that the reality is going to deal with you." It is a horse race though, as to whether the exhaustion and antipathy towards the deniers reaches a peak before reality deals with us all is some tragic, irreparable way. Americans seem worn-out by 'wokeness'; tired of Tommy Tuberville; done with Ted Cruz; limp from lies...and it goes on. All playing out while the Earth is burning, raging, howling, and flooding. If it seems apocalyptic, no worries, it's just reality getting your attention...playing its hand.
May the folks on the islands affected by this tragedy be safe and sound.