Putting the Big Girl Pants On

There are days when I would rather not have to pony up to the keyboard and throw words onto the screen.  Today is one of those days.  Much like last Saturday when my post was something more for comedic value than anything of actual value, today's post is probably just going to end up being a bit of a ramble.  But as my mom says, sometimes you just have to throw on your big girl pants and soldier on.  So here we are.

Of course, it doesn't help that everything I wanted to read and perhaps share today ended up in a closed google browser full of opened windows; so...  this will probably be really short today.

Of note, I saw they have swallow-able cameras that they're testing to help detect cancers and such in the UK.  I hope this works, as swallowing a camera rather than having something shoved up inside of me sounds way more pleasant.  Also, the one year anniversary of everything shutting down because of COVID-19 happened last week, but we also hit the milestone of 1 in 10 Americans now having been vaccinated.  So the end of the tunnel and the light there is slowly becoming more of a reality than merely a hope.

I'll be taking up the arts scene next week for celebratory causes, and I'm really looking forward to sharing some of my favorite finds.  I'll also be posting up my weekly letter to the President tomorrow--the contents of which at the moment remain elusive.  Thanks, Google.

John has brought me beer and cake now, though; so, I'll leave you with a picture I found when I started this year--something that I kept to share when I got the chance.  Motivation, go!

Catch up with you all tomorrow!

Causes to Celebrate: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

While the idea of atomic energy may not seem like it relates much to the environment, there are a lot of environmental impacts and human impacts that the discovery of radioactive materials set into motion.  And some of these are very much an environmental issue--the struggle to figure out what to do with our radioactive waste while continuing to maintain outdated nuclear power stations instead of working to close them and build from the newer science and data that we currently possess, for instance.  But it's not just nuclear power that we need to be worried about; we also need to consider the impacts that our scientific marvels and technologies can have on the world around us, as well.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, as it has been known since 2003, understood the need for those considerations all the way back in 1945.  Over the years its mission expanded to include all man-made, existential threats, including those of climate change and disruptive technologies.  But in the 1940's nuclear technology, and specifically the nuclear bomb, were foremost on the minds of some of the most prominent scientists of the day.  They worried that the dangers of these newfound discoveries wouldn't be shared with the public, and they knew that if they were going to influence and change governmental policies and laws, they were going to need that support.

Over the years, while their mission has expanded to include other man-made threats besides nuclear energy, their vision has remained constant:

The Bulletin equips the public, policymakers, and scientists with the information needed to reduce man-made threats to our existence.

Now in its 76th year, the Bulletin continues to build upon that vision with the annual reveal of the Doomsday Clock, their print publications, their online site, and by sponsoring various grants and initiatives through their non-profit organization.

Growing up as a kid in the 80's I watched a lot of educational shows with my parents--National Geographic, Nova, the Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, and any other PBS nature program (one of which was actually Nature,) that happened to catch my parents' interest.  I remember most the discussions of acid rain, and recycling became a talking point--and something of a political topic as resistance for having to separate out the trash, or having to use separate trash cans for recyclables was something done mostly in liberal California but not in the mid-west and southern states.  I also recall my dad and I kept our aluminum cans separate to take to the recycling center--something I think his mom did, as I recall having to do that at my grandparents' house, too.

I also have vague recollections of hearing about the Doomsday Clock, but our elementary school drills out in Kansas were for tornados--not nuclear bombs.  Living in Houston, Texas during the "Space Shuttle years" and during, and then after, the fall of the Berlin wall, the idea of there being a nuclear threat seemed distant, even as movies like War Games sought to popularize the idea of computing technologies being the harbinger of our nuclear demise.

It wouldn't be until the last several years that I began to really consider nuclear technology once more and found the Bulletin and its articles ready to catch me up to the present day of man-made threats.

I think we would often rather not look at the bad things out there in the world--especially if they're not threatening us in the here-and-now.  We've grown skeptical of government figures who tout scientific theories as fact and want to dismiss them as mere charade and personally motivated.  And while that may be true in many cases, the science shouldn't also then be thrown out because of the politician.

Those programs that I watched as a kid might not have been perfect, but it did help us to learn about threats which we did combat--CFC's and acid rain and prolific garbage piles (though we've still got a lot of work to do on that last one.)  Worldwide conservation efforts sought to save rhinos and rainforests and endangered species.  And it is organizations like the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists that help to promote better ideas and better ways of doing things.  They brought the conversation of nuclear power and nuclear weapons into our homes--even, and especially, when we didn't want to think about them.  And now they remind us that we need to take care of this place we call home, and that it is with our own voices and our own choices that we can and will do that.

That they have acknowledged that climate change is caused by man is important, and it isn't something we should take lightly.  Science is a tool that can be used for many purposes, but when there are scientists trying to warn us about the dangers of something, it's important that we listen.  Because while scientists may not have all the answers right now, choosing not to ask the questions--choosing to discount the science, is a surefire way to our own demise.

So, while I do not often like to ponder my own end, I think doing so is important for not only my own continued existence, but that of the world's in turn.  And as the Bulletin says, "We are an early-warning system, but we are also determined to inject hope into the conversation by offering achievable actions. We are not a debating society; we strive to fix problems."  And it is that hope, and that commitment to finding solutions that I believe makes the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists a cause worth celebrating.

Causes to Celebrate: The Resilience Shift

While today's organization was created by two companies whose influence includes world markets and international architecture and engineering, and while their projects involve working with groups and companies that may not be environmentally minded, The Resilience Shift is dedicated to creating more environmentally conscious building practices and helping to promote climate change solutions that will be sustainable as the shifting pressures of climate change begin to take its toll on humanity.  They understand that the damage has already been done while maintaining that the way we've been doing things is no longer the way we can continue to do them if we want to promote real change and save ourselves and the Earth.  The Resilience Shift is also working to promote new ways of thinking about problems by providing grants to engineers and scientists looking to create a resilient future and to cultivate existing local ideas to study their efficacy for larger-scale projects.  In short, they're trying to find better ways for us to do things that don't harm the environment and last longer so that we spend less energy and materials over the long-term, thus creating a cleaner and safer world for all.

Created by two companies, Lloyd's Register Foundation and ARUP, The Resilience Shift began its mission in 2016; though, I didn't find them until 2019 which is when I first signed up to start receiving their newsletters.  I think at the time there was a lot of activism going on regarding climate change, and I likely learned about them through one of many stories I was reading at the time.  While I don't keep up with them as much as I used to (their work is more written for those working in the industry rather than for people like me,) from time to time, I will still find a story that catches my eye and excites me about the future of our planet.  They understand that climate change isn't just the responsibility of one country but rather all of them and have worked to ensure that they have international partners in their endeavors.  It's a fine line to walk considering many of our political and ideological differences, but if we don't work with the rest of the world, the problem of climate change can't and won't be solved.  Fortunately, creating better ways of building and planning can forgo many of these political and ideological divides as every nation has need of such things.  (This also, once again, cements in my mind the ability of science to create partnerships across the world--and that is important.  It's an in-road that can forge pathways to discuss those more thorny subjects of humanitarian rights, biological warfare deterrence, the abolishment of nuclear weapons, and so many other things.)

The Resilience Shift also offers tools, holds conferences, and has, to date, dispersed more than 40 grants totaling over £2 million.  And the blog, combined with their YouTube channel continues to document and support their mission, which they state as:

The Resilience Shift is a catalyst for positive change. Our mission is to help ensure the safety and continuity of the critical infrastructure and services that make our lives possible. From water and transportation through to communications and energy, it is essential to everything we do. We’re working globally to help define this and provide pathways from theory to practice.

This thinking underpins the founding of the Resilience Shift initiative. We are not just a think tank, not just a grant-making body, and not just a convening network. Our impact is achieved through a proactive approach combining all three of these.

One of their latest projects is to create a best-practices for implementing resiliency into ideas, thus making them last longer and have more value or sustain value over that longer time scale.  Likewise, the offered guidance will be both environmentally friendly and consider our changing climate while seeking to minimize further impacts upon it.  But with almost every idea ranging from building new things to creating new ways of getting things from one place to another, this sounds like a lot to digest.  I've included their latest video which better explains their intentions.

As you can see, The Resilience Shift is trying to find better ways of doing things to help protect our environment, slow the effects (and perhaps reverse them,) of man-made climate change, and build things that are going to last longer and weather changes more efficiently.  They're forward-thinking and future-looking, and that is why today I believe they are a cause worth celebrating.

Causes to Celebrate: The Phoenix

Continuing with our climate causes today, I wanted to highlight a publication by Eric Holthaus.  A meteorologist and a climate journalist, Eric also published a book last year, The Future Earth: A Radical Vision for What's Possible in the Age of Warming.  He has been featured in many publications including Rolling Stone and the Wall Street Journal, and is the co-founder of Warm Regards, a climate podcast about people.

Photo Credit: Karen Edquist
Photo taken from this Rolling Stone article

I first encountered Eric during his stint at The Correspondent, and I was excited to see someone willing to talk about the human costs that climate change is having on our world.  Rather than simply seeking to convince people only with science, he sought to put a face and a name to the climate emergencies that continue to threaten the globe.  He also offered a view of what climate activism means and shared ways in which we can help center the discussion on the people affected by climate change so that we  can create meaningful solutions that preserve a future for humanity on Earth.

While he often talks about the effects of climate change and its toll on us humans, he also wants to help us imagine new ways of thinking about our future in which we meet the challenges of climate change and build forward with resilience and environmental kindness--both to our fellow humans, and the natural world around us in which we live.

These qualities are what drew me to his writing and kept me invested after his departure from The Correspondent.  So when I learned that he was launching a new site where he was going to share his thoughts, ideas, and reporting, I jumped right in with both feet and haven't looked back since.

Phoenix logo by Tara Slade

The Phoenix continues Eric's journey to share this human side of the climate emergency, and as he puts it: 

Here at The Phoenix, I’m focused most closely on humanizing this planetary emergency: being transparent about the challenges we’re facing and the complex emotions we’re all feeling, and being honest about what we need to do to radically transform our society.

I chose the name The Phoenix because the world is on fire, and we’ve got to create a new one from the ashes.

This is the place where I'll share with you stories from frontline communities and voices from the most affected people and places enduring the climate emergency.

This is the place where we’ll create space for each other to process the shared trauma and grief and joy and elation that comes along with doing this world-building work.

This is the place where we’ll help teach each other about what’s happening in this transformative moment, and how we can be a part of it.

I'm so excited to share this with you as I truly believe that it's important that climate change isn't seen as just an emergency, or an issue, or a political talking/sticking point.  There are real people experiencing real problems (as many Texans well know from just a few weeks ago.)  And we can't just pretend these things don't exist.  We can't keep putting off the hard work simply because we want things to go back to "normal."  It's time to have these conversations; it's time to look into the human faces of our changing climate and remember that we have a say in how our world moves forward.

And so, that is why I am so thankful that I get a chance to share The Phoenix with all of you as today's cause worth celebrating.

Causes to Celebrate: DeSmog

One of my favorite sites about climate disinformation is called DeSmog.  I found them a few years ago when I was looking into the idea of climate change and trying to learn more about it; so that, I could hold my own in a discussion (or argument.)  The articles produced by their team and their Global Warming Disinformation Database are incredibly well-written and well-researched.  But like many sites of this sort, much of it is done by independent journalists who likely work elsewhere but are passionate about protecting the environment and calling out lies and misinformation when they see it.

Based in Seattle, WA, the site was started in 2006 and has since won numerous awards for its reporting.  Their findings and research have also featured prominently in other national publications, and they've helped several major news networks create compelling stories that highlight the problems with climate change denial.  Here is their stated mission taken from their About page:

DeSmog exists to clear the PR pollution that is clouding the science on climate change.

An overwhelming majority of the world’s climate scientists agree that the globe is warming — the world's climate is changing — and that the indiscriminate burning of fossil fuels is to blame. We know that the risks are incalculable and, increasingly, we understand that the solutions are affordable.

Unfortunately, a well-funded and highly organized public relations campaign is poisoning the climate change debate. Using tricks and stunts that unsavory PR firms invented for the tobacco lobby, energy-industry contrarians are trying to confuse the public, to forestall individual and political actions that might cut into exorbitant coal, oil and gas industry profits. DeSmog is here to cry foul — to shine the light on techniques and tactics that reflect badly on the PR industry and are, ultimately, bad for the planet.

But perhaps their most valuable resource for learning about those involved with perpetuating climate disinformation is their Global Warming Disinformation Database.  It links various organizations, clubs, and companies to those that support them, following the money trail to shine a light on where there are obvious conflicts of interest.  It also lists the names of prominent men and women who are being paid to perpetuate lies or promote bad science regarding the climate--some of them scientists themselves, but many of them just simply part of the grift that surrounds the energy industry.

Causes to Celebrate: Poetry Coaltion and Inernational Women's Day

I am so excited to start off this week by highlighting not only environmental projects, but also to be celebrating International Women's Day.  And today I get to highlight a woman whose poem has inspired this year's Poetry Coalition AND their mission to explore the theme of Poetry and Environmental Justice.  This is a trifecta for me, as it includes three things that really embody this week's theme but also includes one of my true loves: poetry.

The poem is called "Map" and was written by Linda Hogan, an acclaimed poet and teacher.  She is also a member of the Chickasaw Nation, a Native American Indian tribe, and she's written several essays, books, and even wrote the script for a PBS documentary on American Indian religious freedom titled Everything Has a Spirit.  I'd definitely recommend checking out her Biography page on her website if you're interested in learning more about her.  On this International Women's Day I feel she is the prefect embodiment of what it means to be a woman here in America.  She is part of our cultural past, but also a thriving member of that cultural present.  She is striving to create a space for her people in this world while sharing with us the spirit of what it means to be a woman through her own perceptions and also through Chickasaw traditions.  It is a powerful legacy that lends a greater meaning to womanhood in the world, and I find myself bolstered by her love and her passion for her native culture and traditions that are a part of this nation's own history--something I am grateful she is striving to preserve for future generations.

Her poem, Map, was chosen as the inspiration for this year's Poetry Coalition theme of Poetry and Environmental Justice.

Map
by: Linda Hogan

This is the world
so vast and lonely
without end, with mountains
named for men
who brought hunger
from other lands,
and fear
of the thick, dark forest of trees
that held each other up,
knowing fire dreamed of swallowing them
and spoke an older tongue,
and the tongue of the nation of wolves
was the wind around them.
Even ice was not silent.
It cried its broken self
back to warmth.
But they called it
ice, wolf, forest of sticks,
as if words would make it something
they could hold in gloved hands,
open, plot a way
and follow.

This is the map of the forsaken world.
This is the world without end
where forests have been cut away from their trees.
These are the lines wolf could not pass over.
This is what I know from science:
that a grain of dust dwells at the center
of every flake of snow,
that ice can have its way with land,
that wolves live inside a circle
of their own beginning.
This is what I know from blood:
the first language is not our own.

There are names each thing has for itself,
and beneath us the other order already moves.
It is burning.
It is dreaming.
It is waking up.

Linda Hogan from her Biography page

Dear Mr. President

 Dear Mr. President,

I noticed you've been pretty busy again this past week, and now that you've gotten at least something through the Senate for pandemic relief you can start looking forward to future, likely non-bipartisan, fights that are already underway.  Like, for instance, the fight over voting rights, which from everything I've heard has to do with Republicans wanting to curtail the ability for minorities and normal people to vote.  I especially enjoyed the message you sent to Congress by way of your Executive Order.  I don't expect the Order will stand for long, but hopefully by the time it wends its way through the courts, our lawmakers will have decided whether voting rights are important enough to get rid of the filibuster.  That said, I think it's probably about time, since the way current filibusters work is a load of crap anyway.  Maybe they can figure out how to actually make the filibuster be what it was intended to be rather than a simple impediment to actually getting any legislating done.

That said, I do hope you'll turn your attention toward infrastructure in our country and consider a Green New Deal Works Program.  It's something I really think we need.

This coming week I'll be making use of my blog to highlight some voices that I've found that have helped me to make sense of the climate debate over the years.  I'm excited to talk about them in no small part because as our climate has begun to change, it's important that we consider those changes as we put forward new laws and new ideas for building and transportation, and a host of other issues.  I expect it's something the Department of Defense has been doing for a while now, and if they haven't, then I think we're are pretty likely screwed until they do.

There was something that caught my attention this past week, though--something that the Republicans decided to harp on, but is something that interested me more for what I learned from it than anything else.  It has to do with the fact that your administration, like many administrations before it, has decided not to release the White House call logs.

Now, at first, I had no idea if this was something new or just business as usual, and when I found out that this really isn't anything new, I was almost content to let it slide.  But hear me out here: I don't know if there was a debate around this very issue when phones were installed in the White House, though I have to imagine there were.  All that aside, things have changed since the first days of those early telephone calls.  In a lot of ways, during the pandemic, phones and video chats and the like were some of the only ways we had to communicate with one another safely.  So this prompted me to consider that perhaps we should reconsider these ages-old precedents regarding phone logs.  I don't think every call should be noted, but when someone from outside of the White House calls to discuss business that is related to the running of the country, I do think it's important that we, the people, get to know about that business--maybe not all of the specifics, of course.  But it doesn't seem fair to hide business behind a smoke-screen any longer, Mr. President.  I don't know what sharing those phone logs would entail, or how much work it would be, but I do hope that you and your staff will revisit this stance and consider setting a new precedent for future generations.  If you do manage it, I will happily await the next thing that makes Republicans irate.

I wasn't able to find your wife's appearances in full on the internet, and while I have cable, rummaging through the cable mess in order to watch the programs she's been on has been...more time consuming than it was worth in all honesty.  I hope you'll consider letting her do her own little bit on the White House Facebook page--as I've really been enjoying those little snippets from various members of your WH staff.

The call you made to an essential worker on Friday was pretty touching, though I have to wonder what her son's expression meant.  I feel as though, having watched that, that her son, like many other black Americans, probably doesn't have a very good opinion of you right now.  I can't say I know what to do about that, but it's something to consider.  I know you can't be everything to everyone, but Black America seems unwilling to trust the government in a lot of ways these days, and if we want this country to succeed, I think that's something that needs to be addressed.

I don't think we'll talk about the Cuomo stuff tonight, Sir, but I think your party really needs to sit down and have a talk with itself.  The days of the "good old boys" club is over; things are changing, and either the Democrats change with the times, or they're going to get left behind.  People make mistakes; they're not always great at their jobs.  But that doesn't mean they get to abuse their power; that's part of what causes distrust in the government--no matter what party you're in.  Maybe remind your fellow democrats that they are meant to serve as examples of what is best in our country.  Maybe if they start doing that, they'll get more respect.

I have lots of other idea floating around in my head right now, but I think I'll leave it here for this week, Mr. President.  I know you're doing the best you can, and I hope these letters are finding their way to you in some small fashion.  But even if they're not, I feel a lot better for having written them.  It helps me to focus on the things that I believe are important to me and for the country, and that, in my mind, can't be anything but good.

I'll catch you next Sunday, Sir.  Until then, I'll be looking forward to seeing your roadmap going forward--COVID-19 plans and all.

~~ Jenni

P. S.  I watched a press conference by your COVID team this last Thursday (was it?)  Anyway, it had been a while since I'd watched one of those.  And while I thought your team did a good job, I found it troubling that your team lead, Acting Administrator Slavitt felt like he wasn't willing to be honest with the reporters asking questions of him.  In some cases, it felt like he was skirting issues, and it just didn't feel good watching that.  I was impressed with Dr. Walensky, even though she sadly didn't have much of a speaking role at the conference.

All in all, I feel like many of your staffers aren't doing a good enough job of actually listening to the questions being asked of them, and often they don't actually give answers to questions that were asked.  This can lead to a lot of frustration and spark conspiracies where there likely aren't any.  So, remind them to listen, take notes of the question if they need to in order to be sure they answer it, and not to be in such a hurry to give "an" answer instead of a good, thoughtful one.