As Mr. Smith said in the Matrix, humans are like a virus, replicating and consuming everything until it's all gone and humans go the way of the Dodo bird. Earth will survive quite nicely without the Humans having dominium over the Earth. The jokes on us. Thank you, Sir Attenborough for the glimpse of how and why humans don't count in the grand scheme.
The scientists have warned us for a long time about climate change and many people have been slow to listen. It is unfortunate that people sometimes will only do something when a crisis knocks on their doors.
For years I’ve been talking to people who wave my concerns off, “Oh the scientists will figure things out”, but will they? How long will it take? How much will be lost and what saved?
Friends and family with grandchildren hope I will someday be a grandparent but I can’t wish to bring any more innocents onto this planet as the future looks so bleak.
I am reminded of the late great Tom Lehrer, to wit:
If you visit American city,
You will find it very pretty.
Just two things of which you must beware:
Don't drink the water and don't breathe the air!
Pollution, pollution!
They got smog and sewage and mud.
Turn on your tap
And get hot and cold running crud!
As with the also late and very great George Carlin, Lehrer's lyrics were prophetic. In every generation, I believe, there are those very few able to look at what's happening and extrapolate the eventual outcome or effects "if this is allowed to continue." Lehrer began wielding his wit as a PhD student at Harvard University in 1959 - 65 years ago! - and people have been talking about climate change seriously since Al Gore shared the Nobel Peace Prize with the IPCC in 2007. Yet here we are, halfway through 2023, stunned by the fact that large portions of Canada are burning and we are feeling the effects of the smoke from northern New York State to Anderson, South Carolina (and beyond, for all I know.) Our air and our water are fouled, our very lives are at risk (full disclosure: I have asthma and permanent lung damage), and yet our politicians still stall, mutter and prevaricate, complaining about the cost and 'damage to the economy' which would result from taking the known and scientifically sound and recommended actions necessary to deal with climate change.
Sigh. Same as it ever was. During the administrations of John Fitzgerald Kennedy and William Jefferson Clinton, I felt glimmers of hope, of possibility, that true change was possible. That we might see the wisdom of becoming real stewards of our planet, adopting policies which would allow the planet to heal and thus allow our species to survive. Today, I am fearful for the world my granddaughter, who just graduated from high school last week, will have to deal with. I have seen great enthusiasm from blaming my generation for the social and environmental ills of today, but I firmly deny such claims. Government policies declared long ago that it was better to foster and support individual automobiles and build enormous networks of highways (thus creating, enriching and embedding firmly the American auto industry) than to encourage good and well-distributed public transportation systems. Government policies encouraged the building of vast tracts of one-family houses rather than encouraging denser populations centers surrounded by vast green swaths of park systems, to be accessed and enjoyed by all. Eventually it was going to catch up with us, and so it has. Cars and long-haul trucks produce enormous amounts of pollutants compared to more efficient public transportation and delivery systems such as those in most of Europe. There have been any number of times in our history when we could have reversed this trend, taken steps to turn our economy toward a more livable course for our country and the world, but no.
The air in New York City will clear before long, and people will forget the day the climate crisis knocked on their doors and leered through their windows, and we will lurch on toward the next crisis. We will get used to wearing masks which allow us to breathe safely - but all the time, every day we go outdoors this time. And who among us has not seen one of the apocalyptic sci-fi movies where people have to wear gas masks to go out of doors? Time has come today, my friends. Tomorrow is going to be worse. And in the words of the inimitable Tom Lehrer, "We will all go together when we go."
This choking haze is news only because it affects New York. I grew up in Los Angeles--we invented smog. Running laps after a sports practice often caused us to throw up. You are right to mention Beijing and Delhi, which are often subject to such conditions. I have also seen them in Mexico City and Istanbul. We are indeed all in this together.
I'm amazed that even the articles I read with a serious subjects leave me feeling more informed and calm. Thank you for sharing your intelligent perspective on current events.
Thank you for once again telling the truth about the climate crisis. Perhaps this time a few more key leaders will listen and do something substantive.
In addition, however, when and where can we longtime and Steady fans see the documentary about you?
"We have become accustomed to such hellscapes in places like ... the American West." What 'we' do you speak of?
Maybe east coasters have 'become accustomed' to hearing about it, but those of us who live through it every year have not become accustomed to the idea that we may never again be able to enjoy summertime activities outdoors.
We should buy Canada with other people's money, level the mountaintops to extract and burn all the coal, cut down the trees, drain all the swamps and turn the whole place into a golf resort. Next, we declare bankruptcy, cheat on our tax returns and smugly smile all the way to the bank. Problem solved.
What more is it going to take to convince our fellow Americans that the WORLD has a climate change problem AND that WE are part of the solution, namely, STOP BURNING FOSSIL FUELS. Not just New York, the whole world needs to be able to breath CLEAN AIR. (Period).
(1) "Best AIR PURIFIERS" Good Housekeeping, 6-7-23. (2) "Best Air Purifiers for Wildfire Smoke," Consumer Reports, 6-7-23. If you encounter a paywall but can't pay, go to your library.
I don't personally give a rip what Faux News is saying about the Canadian wildfires, but if i had to guess they're probably saying it's because the Canadians didn't cut enough trees down, and on top of that, they should have had all their convicts and those on public assistance be required to earn their pay and go out and rake up all the wilderness before it caught on fire. While we're at it, we should build a firewall 100' tall from coast to coast along our border, and make the Canadians pay for it.
As Mr. Smith said in the Matrix, humans are like a virus, replicating and consuming everything until it's all gone and humans go the way of the Dodo bird. Earth will survive quite nicely without the Humans having dominium over the Earth. The jokes on us. Thank you, Sir Attenborough for the glimpse of how and why humans don't count in the grand scheme.
The scientists have warned us for a long time about climate change and many people have been slow to listen. It is unfortunate that people sometimes will only do something when a crisis knocks on their doors.
I am mildly bewildered why this is news. We in the Pacific Northwest have had weeks of these conditions for the last several summers.
For years I’ve been talking to people who wave my concerns off, “Oh the scientists will figure things out”, but will they? How long will it take? How much will be lost and what saved?
Friends and family with grandchildren hope I will someday be a grandparent but I can’t wish to bring any more innocents onto this planet as the future looks so bleak.
It’s our responsibility to protect our environment.
I am reminded of the late great Tom Lehrer, to wit:
If you visit American city,
You will find it very pretty.
Just two things of which you must beware:
Don't drink the water and don't breathe the air!
Pollution, pollution!
They got smog and sewage and mud.
Turn on your tap
And get hot and cold running crud!
As with the also late and very great George Carlin, Lehrer's lyrics were prophetic. In every generation, I believe, there are those very few able to look at what's happening and extrapolate the eventual outcome or effects "if this is allowed to continue." Lehrer began wielding his wit as a PhD student at Harvard University in 1959 - 65 years ago! - and people have been talking about climate change seriously since Al Gore shared the Nobel Peace Prize with the IPCC in 2007. Yet here we are, halfway through 2023, stunned by the fact that large portions of Canada are burning and we are feeling the effects of the smoke from northern New York State to Anderson, South Carolina (and beyond, for all I know.) Our air and our water are fouled, our very lives are at risk (full disclosure: I have asthma and permanent lung damage), and yet our politicians still stall, mutter and prevaricate, complaining about the cost and 'damage to the economy' which would result from taking the known and scientifically sound and recommended actions necessary to deal with climate change.
Sigh. Same as it ever was. During the administrations of John Fitzgerald Kennedy and William Jefferson Clinton, I felt glimmers of hope, of possibility, that true change was possible. That we might see the wisdom of becoming real stewards of our planet, adopting policies which would allow the planet to heal and thus allow our species to survive. Today, I am fearful for the world my granddaughter, who just graduated from high school last week, will have to deal with. I have seen great enthusiasm from blaming my generation for the social and environmental ills of today, but I firmly deny such claims. Government policies declared long ago that it was better to foster and support individual automobiles and build enormous networks of highways (thus creating, enriching and embedding firmly the American auto industry) than to encourage good and well-distributed public transportation systems. Government policies encouraged the building of vast tracts of one-family houses rather than encouraging denser populations centers surrounded by vast green swaths of park systems, to be accessed and enjoyed by all. Eventually it was going to catch up with us, and so it has. Cars and long-haul trucks produce enormous amounts of pollutants compared to more efficient public transportation and delivery systems such as those in most of Europe. There have been any number of times in our history when we could have reversed this trend, taken steps to turn our economy toward a more livable course for our country and the world, but no.
The air in New York City will clear before long, and people will forget the day the climate crisis knocked on their doors and leered through their windows, and we will lurch on toward the next crisis. We will get used to wearing masks which allow us to breathe safely - but all the time, every day we go outdoors this time. And who among us has not seen one of the apocalyptic sci-fi movies where people have to wear gas masks to go out of doors? Time has come today, my friends. Tomorrow is going to be worse. And in the words of the inimitable Tom Lehrer, "We will all go together when we go."
You are a national treasure, Dan Rather.
This choking haze is news only because it affects New York. I grew up in Los Angeles--we invented smog. Running laps after a sports practice often caused us to throw up. You are right to mention Beijing and Delhi, which are often subject to such conditions. I have also seen them in Mexico City and Istanbul. We are indeed all in this together.
I'm amazed that even the articles I read with a serious subjects leave me feeling more informed and calm. Thank you for sharing your intelligent perspective on current events.
Prissy school marm
Thank you for once again telling the truth about the climate crisis. Perhaps this time a few more key leaders will listen and do something substantive.
In addition, however, when and where can we longtime and Steady fans see the documentary about you?
"We have become accustomed to such hellscapes in places like ... the American West." What 'we' do you speak of?
Maybe east coasters have 'become accustomed' to hearing about it, but those of us who live through it every year have not become accustomed to the idea that we may never again be able to enjoy summertime activities outdoors.
We should buy Canada with other people's money, level the mountaintops to extract and burn all the coal, cut down the trees, drain all the swamps and turn the whole place into a golf resort. Next, we declare bankruptcy, cheat on our tax returns and smugly smile all the way to the bank. Problem solved.
What more is it going to take to convince our fellow Americans that the WORLD has a climate change problem AND that WE are part of the solution, namely, STOP BURNING FOSSIL FUELS. Not just New York, the whole world needs to be able to breath CLEAN AIR. (Period).
(1) "Best AIR PURIFIERS" Good Housekeeping, 6-7-23. (2) "Best Air Purifiers for Wildfire Smoke," Consumer Reports, 6-7-23. If you encounter a paywall but can't pay, go to your library.
I don't personally give a rip what Faux News is saying about the Canadian wildfires, but if i had to guess they're probably saying it's because the Canadians didn't cut enough trees down, and on top of that, they should have had all their convicts and those on public assistance be required to earn their pay and go out and rake up all the wilderness before it caught on fire. While we're at it, we should build a firewall 100' tall from coast to coast along our border, and make the Canadians pay for it.