Traveling, Climate, and Love

I’ve been on the road for over 2 weeks. Was in New York when the fires in Canada were making the air dangerous. The sky was orange. Then I had to cancel a trip to Atlanta to spend time with my grandson because cyclones were predicted and I risked not being able to return to NY for an event I could not risk missing. Then, a week later, I was stuck at JFK overnight because all flights to Minneapolis were delayed and then cancelled due to weather. I was supposed to spend 2 days in the Twin Cities to support the U.S. Senate campaign of Peggy Flanagan. Peggy is Minnesota’s Lieutenant Governor who is running for the U.S, Senate. Her candidacy excites me. She is an Ojibway woman who is the opposite of the corporate Democrats who legislate like Republicans in disguise, and by that, I mean they appear more loyal to the corporations that seem to currently run our government (and have a real responsibility for the climate crisis) than to their own struggling constituents. Peggy understands her constituent’s struggle because she has shared it and she has the long view of Indigenous peoples--- how will what I vote for today impact children seven generations from now? Imagine if all our electeds thought this way! – I could go on about Peggy but the point I was making was how travel challenges are becoming the new norm as are the unprecedented fires in Europe, Canada and California.

Do you know that from 2022 to 2024 in the U.S. alone, there were 73 extreme weather events, which cost us an estimated $461.6 billion. Trump calls the climate crisis a hoax. Call it what you want, but please notice what’s happening, please connect the dots. Please understand how what’s happening weather-wise is behind the huge increase in refugees. In many parts of the world already, people cannot grow food, earn a living, escape the epidemics being spread as disease-carrying vectors (mosquitoes, ticks, rodents) move out from their usual habitats. The UN Refugee Agency estimates that more than 250 million people have already been displaced due to climate and that 100 million more will join their ranks by mid-century. We in this country have a responsibility to address their plight instead of treating them like non-humans. Afterall, the U.S. is the largest cause of climate warming.

This existential challenge along with the erosion of our democracy which is also an existential challenge are what most occupy my time and thoughts because I believe we can do something about them if we refuse to accept what’s happening. I am not depressed –scared, yes, but not depressed—because I’m taking action, doing things about it. I hope you will too.

Okay, here’s a major change of subject --