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Copyright © 2017
ofthisandthat.org. All rights
reserved.
ofthisandthat.org. All rights
reserved.
| Questions and Comments backfire@ofthisandthat.org |
INAUGURATION, January 20, 2009
Drunk in its stale air
For two hundred years.
Fettered in mind and body,
The soul, the safe escape
To let me breathe the cries
Of my heart singing
Tears of mel-an-choly.
Drunk in its stale air
For two hundred years.
Fettered in mind and body,
The soul, the safe escape
To let me breathe the cries
Of my heart singing
Tears of mel-an-choly.
The tears flow free today
Washing the stains of blood
And sweat in brotherhood.
Raise the curtain then an'
Let the world look in
On this promised land --
We breathe free today.... almost.
--- Arshad M. Khan
We will be known forever by the tracks we leave.
--- Native American proverb
--- Native American proverb
April 24, 2020
Mr. President: Although celebrating its fiftieth birthday, Earth Day (April 22) this week
lacked the usual demonstrations around the world to publicize its purpose. That is, a
focus on responsibility towards the earth and on adjusting our lives to respond to
climate change. If the lockdown across many countries due to COVID-19 stopped the
demonstrations, it also had a beneficial effect: no planes in the air, few cars on the
ground, few trains, and fewer factories running meant that demand for fossil fuels
evaporated.
The effects were evident in many smoggy cities when the air suddenly cleared. And
then a startling consequence ... the price of oil dropped precipitously. For the first
time in history, it turned negative reaching as low as -$40 a barrel as wholesalers
contractually obligated to receiving the oil from producers ran out of storage tanks
and were paying to have it taken away. Why? Lacking demand the refineries had
shut down and were no longer buying.
Countries are ending lockdowns although China had been threatening to reimpose
one as a second wave of infections seemed to appear. Eventually it will be over and
the world will gradually return to its usual state of pumping record amounts of CO2
into the air.
One of its devastating effects now is the hot, arid Australian summer resulting in
forest fires. The unbelievably devastating fires in the 2019-20 season cost the lives
of an unprecedented 800 million animals in New South Wales according to estimates.
Melting ice sheets are raising ocean levels and coastal flooding has become more
common. Yes, it is a matter of millimeters and inches in our reckoning, but it is also
worth remembering that 14,000 years ago the Eurasian ice sheet melted raising sea
levels by some 8 meters.
One of the worst culprits for global warming is beef. As ruminants, cows produce vast
amounts of gas (methane, more potent than CO2 for warming) as they digest their
feed, and it has been suggested that if cattle were a country, they would be the
world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases. The coronavirus is closing some
meat processing plants, eventually affecting the producer end of the chain, a positive
for the earth if temporarily.
Salmon and the herring family increase good cholesterol and lower blood pressure
while beef and pork do the reverse. Fish in general are good for us as are
vegetables and fruits. That people on a Mediterranean diet (less red meat, more fish,
fruits and vegetables) live longer is an established fact, yet habits die hard.
The effects were evident in many smoggy cities when the air suddenly cleared. And
then a startling consequence ... the price of oil dropped precipitously. For the first
time in history, it turned negative reaching as low as -$40 a barrel as wholesalers
contractually obligated to receiving the oil from producers ran out of storage tanks
and were paying to have it taken away. Why? Lacking demand the refineries had
shut down and were no longer buying.
Countries are ending lockdowns although China had been threatening to reimpose
one as a second wave of infections seemed to appear. Eventually it will be over and
the world will gradually return to its usual state of pumping record amounts of CO2
into the air.
One of its devastating effects now is the hot, arid Australian summer resulting in
forest fires. The unbelievably devastating fires in the 2019-20 season cost the lives
of an unprecedented 800 million animals in New South Wales according to estimates.
Melting ice sheets are raising ocean levels and coastal flooding has become more
common. Yes, it is a matter of millimeters and inches in our reckoning, but it is also
worth remembering that 14,000 years ago the Eurasian ice sheet melted raising sea
levels by some 8 meters.
One of the worst culprits for global warming is beef. As ruminants, cows produce vast
amounts of gas (methane, more potent than CO2 for warming) as they digest their
feed, and it has been suggested that if cattle were a country, they would be the
world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases. The coronavirus is closing some
meat processing plants, eventually affecting the producer end of the chain, a positive
for the earth if temporarily.
Salmon and the herring family increase good cholesterol and lower blood pressure
while beef and pork do the reverse. Fish in general are good for us as are
vegetables and fruits. That people on a Mediterranean diet (less red meat, more fish,
fruits and vegetables) live longer is an established fact, yet habits die hard.
The coronavirus and the lockdown drove Earth Day celebrations to the virtual world
where millions gathered. The digital landscape was filled with performances for Earth
Day -- teach-ins, global meets and so on. The Pope joined in with a special Earth
Day catechesis dedicated to human responsibility to care for our earth. Political
leaders including Senator Elizabeth Warren and celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio
joined in with the latter making a bold plea for leaders convening on Friday at the UN
to go beyond the Paris Agreement in their ambitions. Greta Thunberg advocated a
'real sarcastic clap' for the corporations destroying our world, while climate warming
was generally agreed to be a worse emergency than the coronavirus scare.
What can we do to help planet earth?
Aside from being parsimonious with meat, one can also walk or bike for short trips.
Plastic bottles are an enormous waste problem. Filtered tap water costs less, is just
as safe in developed countries and avoids the plastic waste. A car carries us plus
another 3000 lbs or so of its weight propelled by fossil fuel combustion, together
being one of the planet's worst polluters. Using public transit adds little more to what
scheduled services already generate in pollution and adds some exercise since
service is seldom door to door. These simple measures are not impossible. For
Earth Day can we at least adopt the Mediterranean diet for a week? We might like it,
live longer and do the earth a world of good.
Mr. President: Although celebrating its fiftieth birthday, Earth Day (April 22) this week
lacked the usual demonstrations around the world to publicize its purpose. That is, a
focus on responsibility towards the earth and on adjusting our lives to respond to
climate change. If the lockdown across many countries due to COVID-19 stopped the
demonstrations, it also had a beneficial effect: no planes in the air, few cars on the
ground, few trains, and fewer factories running meant that demand for fossil fuels
evaporated.
The effects were evident in many smoggy cities when the air suddenly cleared. And
then a startling consequence ... the price of oil dropped precipitously. For the first
time in history, it turned negative reaching as low as -$40 a barrel as wholesalers
contractually obligated to receiving the oil from producers ran out of storage tanks
and were paying to have it taken away. Why? Lacking demand the refineries had
shut down and were no longer buying.
Countries are ending lockdowns although China had been threatening to reimpose
one as a second wave of infections seemed to appear. Eventually it will be over and
the world will gradually return to its usual state of pumping record amounts of CO2
into the air.
One of its devastating effects now is the hot, arid Australian summer resulting in
forest fires. The unbelievably devastating fires in the 2019-20 season cost the lives
of an unprecedented 800 million animals in New South Wales according to estimates.
Melting ice sheets are raising ocean levels and coastal flooding has become more
common. Yes, it is a matter of millimeters and inches in our reckoning, but it is also
worth remembering that 14,000 years ago the Eurasian ice sheet melted raising sea
levels by some 8 meters.
One of the worst culprits for global warming is beef. As ruminants, cows produce vast
amounts of gas (methane, more potent than CO2 for warming) as they digest their
feed, and it has been suggested that if cattle were a country, they would be the
world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases. The coronavirus is closing some
meat processing plants, eventually affecting the producer end of the chain, a positive
for the earth if temporarily.
Salmon and the herring family increase good cholesterol and lower blood pressure
while beef and pork do the reverse. Fish in general are good for us as are
vegetables and fruits. That people on a Mediterranean diet (less red meat, more fish,
fruits and vegetables) live longer is an established fact, yet habits die hard.
The effects were evident in many smoggy cities when the air suddenly cleared. And
then a startling consequence ... the price of oil dropped precipitously. For the first
time in history, it turned negative reaching as low as -$40 a barrel as wholesalers
contractually obligated to receiving the oil from producers ran out of storage tanks
and were paying to have it taken away. Why? Lacking demand the refineries had
shut down and were no longer buying.
Countries are ending lockdowns although China had been threatening to reimpose
one as a second wave of infections seemed to appear. Eventually it will be over and
the world will gradually return to its usual state of pumping record amounts of CO2
into the air.
One of its devastating effects now is the hot, arid Australian summer resulting in
forest fires. The unbelievably devastating fires in the 2019-20 season cost the lives
of an unprecedented 800 million animals in New South Wales according to estimates.
Melting ice sheets are raising ocean levels and coastal flooding has become more
common. Yes, it is a matter of millimeters and inches in our reckoning, but it is also
worth remembering that 14,000 years ago the Eurasian ice sheet melted raising sea
levels by some 8 meters.
One of the worst culprits for global warming is beef. As ruminants, cows produce vast
amounts of gas (methane, more potent than CO2 for warming) as they digest their
feed, and it has been suggested that if cattle were a country, they would be the
world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases. The coronavirus is closing some
meat processing plants, eventually affecting the producer end of the chain, a positive
for the earth if temporarily.
Salmon and the herring family increase good cholesterol and lower blood pressure
while beef and pork do the reverse. Fish in general are good for us as are
vegetables and fruits. That people on a Mediterranean diet (less red meat, more fish,
fruits and vegetables) live longer is an established fact, yet habits die hard.
The coronavirus and the lockdown drove Earth Day celebrations to the virtual world
where millions gathered. The digital landscape was filled with performances for Earth
Day -- teach-ins, global meets and so on. The Pope joined in with a special Earth
Day catechesis dedicated to human responsibility to care for our earth. Political
leaders including Senator Elizabeth Warren and celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio
joined in with the latter making a bold plea for leaders convening on Friday at the UN
to go beyond the Paris Agreement in their ambitions. Greta Thunberg advocated a
'real sarcastic clap' for the corporations destroying our world, while climate warming
was generally agreed to be a worse emergency than the coronavirus scare.
What can we do to help planet earth?
Aside from being parsimonious with meat, one can also walk or bike for short trips.
Plastic bottles are an enormous waste problem. Filtered tap water costs less, is just
as safe in developed countries and avoids the plastic waste. A car carries us plus
another 3000 lbs or so of its weight propelled by fossil fuel combustion, together
being one of the planet's worst polluters. Using public transit adds little more to what
scheduled services already generate in pollution and adds some exercise since
service is seldom door to door. These simple measures are not impossible. For
Earth Day can we at least adopt the Mediterranean diet for a week? We might like it,
live longer and do the earth a world of good.