Big Rain

I have neither the time nor the energy to write a full post this week, however, I would like to draw your attention to the “atmospheric river” that just parts of the west coast of North America.

An atmospheric river is a very long and thin bit of moving, wet air. Unlike land-based rivers, they are temporary but can recur. The bring huge amounts of rain and snow. This one was driven by a very intense low-pressure zone over the Pacific.

Two things to be aware of:

1. This river broke multiple precipitation records and caused a great deal of damage and at least two human deaths.
2. It did not come close to ending the drought out west.

And of course there is the third thing:

• 3. Yes, this IS climate change.

To Answer Your Question

Over the summer, at an author talk in support of my novel, Ecological Memory, somebody asked me how and why the post-fossil-fuel world I call for will be worth the inevitable hassle involved–certain things becoming more difficult an expensive.

The question becomes even more urgent when applied to my book specifically, in which the end of fossil fuel use is precipitated by disaster. I do not advocate disaster, but it seemed a plausible way to write the story.

So what’s good about that story?

Here’s a passage from a work in progress that expresses it well–bear in mind this is fiction, characters looking back on a history that hasn’t happened yet.

Not that the new society was post-apocalyptic in any but a technical sense. There was once again justice and order and mixed drinks served with little paper umbrellas, not that Elzy liked those. There were careers and national elections and stuff posted on the internet that shouldn’t be, and if none of it worked exactly the same way as it had before, that was alright with Elzy, who didn’t remember much from back then anyway.

There were even a few advantages. For example, when the fossil fuel industry collapsed in the economic chaos of the pandemic, switching to local, sustainable energy sources suddenly got a lot easier. Since then, conservation had, for the first time, become more than the art of losing slowly. People grieved their past. They no longer needed to grieve their future.

They no longer needed to grieve their future.

Sounds nice, doesn’t it?

The Revolution Won’t Be in the Papers, Either

It has come to my attention that on September 17th, members of Extinction Rebellion used street theater, glue, and various non-violent shenanigans to temporarily shut down the New York headquarters of JP Morgan Chase, Citibank, and Bank of America, in protest of the fact that all three are heavily invested in fossil fuels. After police dispersed the demonstrations (a process that took several hours, thanks to the glue and what-not), the demonstrators left and joined a protest march to the UN headquarters, where they staged a mass “die-in.” That is, a large group of people lay down on the ground, pretending to have died, to illustrate the consequences of inaction on climate change. 36 protestors were arrested that day.

I found out about it because I got a peak an an as-yet-unpublished Extinction Rebellion newsletter. The newsletter is free, so you can go read it yourself once it’s published later this week.

I did not hear about it through the mainstream news media, and an online search confirms there were no mainstream American news stories about it–though a major protest in a major city would seem to be news-worthy. I did hear about Nancy Pelosi having a security issue in Milan recently, but the reason she was in Milan was never mentioned. Could the Pre-COP meeting held from September 29th to October 3rd have anything to do with it? But the Pre-COP, held to shape negotiations for the upcoming COP26 (a major international meeting on climate, billed as the “last, best hope to save the world”) hasn’t been in the news, either.

We’ve got to accept that as regards popular demands for climate action, we are under a media black-out.

I will not speculate as to whether the black-out is intentional or whose intention it may be, but the effect is undeniable; we aren’t getting news about climate demonstrations, so we can’t see how many people really care about the issue.

What does make the news? The rally held by Donald Trump in Iowa, where he hinted his intention to run for president again.

Pay attention. Make noise.

Head-Cold

Hi.

So I’m mildly depressed right now. It will pass. I’ll be OK. But at the moment, I can’t really do much. It’s like having a head-cold, the kind where it’s not like you’re in any real danger, but you can’t really do much but sit on your couch wrapped in a blanket and sniffle for a couple of days.

So, no post this week.

If any of you live near me (and are up-to-date on your COVID vaccine), you might consider coming by with tea and we’ll binge-watch Star Trek: Next Generation and eat soup.

-C.