“I see a safe journey, I see a safe return.” ~ Kundun, 1997, about the 14th Dalai Lama. A Martin Scorsese film.
“Do not be distracted,” a Buddhist master says to the young Dalai Lama as he comes into the enlightenment. Well, friends and neighbors, I say this to the American public when discernment of the truth is critical among America’s voting public. We ARE the ones standing and acting at a dangerous turning point where how we vote, who we vote for will determine whether America holds together, as it was intended to be – a country of mutually crafted laws and norms, the rule of law and freedom to participate in governance and a free exchange of ideas.
Gnawing at the gates of Freedom are wolves, artful dodgers, hoodwinkers, and cowards. Don’t let them in!
“If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, its probably is a duck.”
Liberty Bell – oh ring, ring clear!
National Consitution Center in Philadelphia is a treasure trove of discussions that can help us stay clear on what our Founders established and how we strive to perfect and interpret it through each generation of Americans. Check it out!
We must recognize the danger and come together as an electorate.
U.S. Capitol Building photo by Susan Feathers
The Nature of This Election
There is an important misunderstanding among many of us about the nature of this Presidential election. Normally, the debates bring to the voter’s attention the policies of their respective political party which form a Presidential platform of ideas and legislation for voters to consider and then vote.
Instead, the Far Right is proposing a new form of Govenment.
This so-called Republican party openly endorses Putin and Ormand as examples of leadership they admire. The Far Right plans to end democracy and replace it with an autocracy. HELLO?
In any other time, the American public would be appalled and alarmed. But today a large segment of the American voting public has become desensitized to violent rhetoric, racist comments, and threats to change our government. Fear is the undelying force among supporters of the Far Right, which is against many things but not for what most American’s want.
Our public is asleep and/or hoodwinked by manipulative leadersand media.
Our common reality is that we have a clear and present danger in Donald Trump and the so-called Republicans. THEY MUST NOT GET INTO OFFICE
It will take all of us who love democracy and wish our country to continue as it has been for nearly 250 years (under both Democrats and Republicans) to assure Donald Trump and an authoritarian, nationalist political movement will not destroy our Republic.
We will have to show heretofore devotion to democracy as our form of government by voting for a ticket you might not normally endorse.
However, if you look closely, with a non-partisan eye, it might not be too far from your own views and hopes for the future. President Biden’s policies are focused on the best interests of all voters with programs to strengthen the middle class worker. Our economy rebounded from the Pandemic under Biden’s leadership and is top in the world in growth and low inflation. Business is booming and job creation at record levels.
Biden’s administration has made major investments in familes, industry and small business, and in the safety of our population and the world through climate change investments in business, science, and health and wellbeing.
The next five months before the election we must gather together and determine that our country’s democratic way of life will be sustained by electing a leader who has proven to be a guardian of democracy.
Eligible voters must vote. Support candidates for democracy in other states. Volunteer with a legitimate party organization.
Volunteer at election precincts to assure fair voting.
Correct misinformation wherever you hear it or from anyone you know.
Anti-Trump Republicans and undecided or Independent voters must vote for the Democratic ticket eventhough you may favor Republican policies or other forms of democratic governance.
After the election, if we somehow make the curve and preserve democracy, a new party of conservative values, or whatever is determined as its policies will need to be formed to assure a well-functioning government where a healthy debate about policies can be reestablished.
We can then all work together to secure a future for our children and coming generations in an increasingly warming world.
We must keep working with the world community on climate mitigation, peace and justice, and the health of democracies across the planet. You can do this effectively as a Democrat, Republican or Independent when you live in a vibrant democracy. Recognize that the Far Right is masquerading as Republians but they are not; they are autocrats.
While the 5th National Climate Assessment of the nation’s climate conditions gives much to be concerned about, there is also a clear path and examples where various states or communities are making strides toward sustaining practices, saving their communities money and spurring new business growth.
Why should Americans read the report? This is about the quality of your lifeand the future of your children. Nothing less.
The report illuminates job security and maybe new job opportunities; food production and food security (think prices and availability; recall the pandemic’s impact on availability of food and other necessities). See how other regions in the U.S might impact your area. Example: If ports on the East Coast are damaged by sea level rise or storms, how will it affect your company’s ability to export goods to the world? How will it affect food that is imported? Think coffee my friends. Gulp.
1. Go to your region and read how climate will impact you. Scroll down the page to learn about temperature, rain, drought and other climate conditions and what may happen or is already happening as a result. How will this affect you and yours? Pay attention to health concerns. Do you have family members who suffer from asthma? Work outside to earn a living? Have heart conditions? All these will be made worse by heat and increased moisture in the air.
2. Make plans with your family, with your neighbors and your city to do what you can to prevent climate impacts and also to bring new opportunities to you and yours. How will climate affect your health? Do you work outside? What kind of transportation do you use to get to work or school?
3. ***Any local, state, or federal representatives for your location who is a climate change denier must be challenged. There is no time to argue. Move on to the reps who are working positively to protect and empower your location and community to both prepare and also to seize the economic opportunities available. Is your governor reaping federal grants and investments to bring new businesses to your state, your area? If not, find out why. Many states are reaping millions of dollars of business investment that bring new employment opportunities to your state.
4. What can your city do? What ARE they doing? This is the right time to contact your city council member who represents you and ask them what they are doing about climate change. No time to do it? Ask your employer then or your school principal. Wherever your life takes you, ask what is being done to prepare for and mitigate climate change and how can you help them?
5. Go here to learn about all the savings you can get for your home and your transportation when you go greener. Rewiring America. Depending on your income, you can get great discounts at the time of purchase of say, for example, an induction stove or clothes dryer; a heat pump air conditioner/heater. Also, if you want to purchase an all electric car or truck, there are great discounts plus great savings from no gas purchases! Download a booklet of how to achieve your goals, targeted to your budget and circumstances.
For all of us folks for whom a lot of these vehicle or home purchases to reduce fossil fuel burning are too expensive, fear not. The prices will come down precipitously over the next few years. Meantime, work with your housing association or apartment complex, or city transportation office to get the people who CAN afford it off their …. and into action!
If you are feeling overwhelmed by climate news and the threats to our democracy, NextGen America and Our Children’s Trust will hearten your spirit.
NextGen America supports the Youth Vote. It made a huge difference in the 2020 election – the fight to save the soul of America and is now gearing up to influence the vote in 2024. Their mission statement is, “NextGen America’s mission is to empower young voters to engage in the political process and ensure our government is responsive to the largest and most diverse generation in American history.”
In a zoom presentation today with Doug Emhoff encouraged us to make sure the vision and investment in America through the Inflation Reduction Act is widely understood. We need to show how it is making a difference in our lives. See the Rewiring America Guide to the IRA below, a handy guidebook to understand the great deals that are now possible for families and individuals as well as businesses, nonprofits, and states and cities. It is massive in its impact IF AMERICANS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT. We’ve got ten years of these programs and their savings with this long lasting program. The money is available but only if each of the stakeholders from individual citizens to families to governments take advantage of it. In other words, Biden and Harris have made the Clean Energy Transition possible but we have to be the agents of change by buying an EV, making our appliances and homes more energy efficient, and helping our communities convert to more renewable power until we make the full transition. Please share with your family and friends.
Another very hopeful youth-led group initiative is Our Children’s Trust which support youth taking their governments to court for violation of their rights to a safe and healthy future. *Coming up June 12, the first constitutional trial is happening in Montana. The implication of a rule in their favor can have a massive impact on moving our slow acting governments to make serious, demonstrable actions toward a safe environment for the young generations here now and those coming behind them. Be sure to view it and share with your friends and family to make people aware of these eloquent and brave youth who are pushing adults in power to do the right thing for theirs and future generations.
Below is the Guide to the IRA for citizens. Download it for your own information and use for your family, neighborhood, business, and community.
The previous post provided a downloadable copy of the latest IPCC report on climate change science and forecast for policymakers. It is condensed for quick reading. If nothing else, skim to the highlighted summaries.
All Bets Are Off
We are on track for massive warming. And because the Earth’s systems are complex with many hidden tipping points, we are unlikely to predict much of what might happen except that life as we know it will be greatly destabilized. What might happen then will become harder to predict.
The imperative is to halt burning fossil fuels as fast as possible. Most people don’t believe it is possible. But, the IPCC report tells us that is exactly what we must do NOW. Take heart: a plan already exists and is working we just need to do it faster. See Project Drawdown.
We are required to reinvent the way we live. Much of what we Americans refer to as modern life is fraught with stress and uncertainty. Except for the few wealthy among us, we experience everyday that we are working harder and enjoying life less. We are less healthy. We witness the beauty of the world fading before our eyes. Our democratic institutions are under attack from a vocal minority but at least in that area of our common life I think most of us are reasonable and see a way forward together. The last election proved that.
Many forces try to divide us on issues that are polarizing. We love our children and families and believe in the Golden Rule. So, we can come together. See here a short video of John Hume, the great Irish leader who made peace when no one thought it possible.
So to this majority of citizens I appeal. Gather your families and neighbors and have a good chat about how you can help move our nation to a more sustaining way of life and avert a certain catastrophe for our children. What are the elements of life that you recall you love the most? How can we simplify but also enjoy greater abundance together?
Listen to this insightful discussion about smart design based on nature on OnBeing.org with Janine Benyus who wrote about biomimicry.
Attend your local city council meeting to express your concerns. Just go. Contact your senators and express your views and ask what you can do to help. A phone call, an email, a letter to the editor. We can ALL do these simple things.
We must look for and cultivate leaders who are of this mind set. President Biden has initiated legislation in the right direction but much more needs to be done and certainly approving drilling rights in the Alaskan waters with its great biodiversity and intact ecosystem is NOT that direction.
We have to be more vocal together. We must look together at candidates that believe in the democratic principles set forth in our Constitution. Who are they? What have they done? Elect them no matter their political party. Stay off the major news channels. Read. Discuss. Think for yourself.
Until the people of Who-ville (the “silent majority”) come together to confront the GRINCH (our way of life), we will not survive, or we will live very degraded lives in the near future. Many across the world — people who have contributed the least to climate change– are already suffering. But, it is coming home for all of us soon. We must rise to it, be responsible, and act together. And, whatever you do, support our children and youth who are fighting for a future and looking to us to help make that possible.
Southwestern Novel From Fireship Press—A fictional novel exploring the dramatic affects of climate change in the desert community of Tucson, Arizona
A Love Story in a Time of Climate Change
Susan Feathers will be present to sign and sell copies of Threshold during the Indie Authors Pavilion at the Tucson Festival of Books on March 5, Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Confronted by crisis in their own world—climate scientists, politicians, and desert museum curators face the biggest challenge man can encounter—no water, anywhere. In the barrios, families and community leaders, band together as they face unbearable heat and the crushing weight of the gangs that intimidate them. Amidst the turmoil, three teens navigate adolescence to become leaders in a new world. With shifting sand underfoot, characters follow their intuition and learn new skills as they chart a way into a viable future. Threshold will make you think while it celebrates the enduring nature of communities as they search for what is lasting and true. Threshold is a powerful new western novel in the best of its tradition. Appropriate for high school classes.
“In a riveting, multi-stranded plot, Threshold translates the conceptual worry over climate change into immediate, interpersonal dramas.” –Mary Lawlor, Muhlenberg College
“Such a well-written and thoughtfully conceived novel regarding very poignant issues of the day; THRESHOLD is a valuable contribution. The author continues a tradition in Southwestern Literature of social and environmental consciousness –Mark Rossi, Frank Waters Foundation.
About the Author
Susan Feathers is a writer and educator with 30 years of experience communicating science to the public. She served as the Director of Education at the Sonora-Arizona Desert Museum. Her writing focuses on the importance of place in forming character and destiny. Susan is an excellent speaker with years of experience delivering programs to the public. Her blog, WalkEarth.org, now in its 14th year, has an active following.
The first chapter, the first big lesson for us, is to understand what economists call the learning curve of a new technology. Theodore P. Wright was an architectural engineer with an inquisitive mind. Everyone knew that costs decrease as production increases but he wanted to know if there was a pattern that could predict it. The principle is rooted in economy of scale.
Wright eventually found that as production doubles, the cost of labor decreases by 20 percent. Production becomes more efficient as workers find better ways to do things and technology is improved. This formula is Wright’s Law.
In a graph of the production and cost of making the Model T Ford, Wright observed something else: as demand by the public grew, cost of production decreased and thus the price to the consumer. One drives the other.
When you plot the production by cost, you are measuring another principle that the business world knows well for any new product: the learning curve. The company and workers learn more efficient ways of making something further driving down the price.
An important idea is that the reverse is also true: if a new technology is left to linger, i.e. production is slow due to lack of demand, then the cost of production will not decrease and the potential will die.
It is not time that drives the learning curve, it is the amount of production.
Citizens can drive the learning curve for renewable energy to reduce humanity’s footprint on the Earth. We are not passive bystanders waiting for businesses and government to figure out how to make cheap EVs: we have to drive it with demand for it. And, the IRA funding will be available to you and your family or business to do just that! Go here to learn about the tax and price incentives available to all of us on January 1, 2023 and for the subsequent decade!
For most of my adult life I have worked to end the violence of poverty. The most frustrating part of this work is entrenched misperceptions among at least half of Americans about “the poor”.
Poverty is multidimensional and not confined to any group of people, while its historic prevalence among “minority” populations is tolerated by American culture as if a natural condition of families in its grip. There is nothing natural about poverty. Poverty results from policies, practices, and prejudices.
The dictionary defines poverty as “The state of being extremely poor” and poor as “lack of enough money to live at a standard considered normal by society. During this pandemic, many more Americans are experiencing poverty–perhaps for the first time. Some might have become homeless except for the national moratorium on eviction during the COVID19 pandemic. Losing a job and having few or no savings, usually substantial debt — describes at least half of Americans today. Are they poor due to laziness or lack of ambition? No. They are poor due to circumstances beyond their control. COVID 19 for example created widespread unemployment and/or work at low hourly rates that are below living standards. The pandemic revealed the lack of resilience to events that strike at being able to work. Most Americans are running just ahead of an economic and health avalanche of poor outcomes.
Poverty in America draws on stereotypical associations with minorities or poor whites (lazy, unmotivated, less able). Poverty is endemic racism resulting in less opportunity to obtain a good paying job and poor education in neighborhoods that receive less funding for schools and public amenities such as grocery stores, parks, clinics, public transportation, libraries and museums, and so on, that build resilience and provide opportunities.
Yet there are other forms of poverty that we typically do not recognize– other dimensions of the poverty elephant in the room of democracy.
Poverty of justice is a pernicious form that is being scrutinized now in the face of blatant racism in police practices that single-out black citizens as culprits and typically resulting in outright murder on public view. This is a form of poverty that has been present for 400 years in America but never identified as such. Lynching is present today.
The hard truth is that poverty of justice arises from a poverty of soul among citizens who do not resist the violence and work to eliminate injustice of any kind in the Republic of America. This is another way of saying it: you are either part of the problem or part of the solution.
James Baldwin defines the “Negro story” of White America (aka “the Indian problem”) as emotional poverty among white people who need to perpetuate a myth of superiority to maintain white hegemony.
A new form of poverty is lack of access to the Internet and lack of technology (computer, printer, cell phone). The pandemic created a chasm among school children and college students by virtue of the an unequal access to these basic tech resources. Americans of means have been content to allow poorer kids to find these resources at libraries and other public institutions that closed during the pandemic. Students dropped behind richer contemporaries during the pandemic while wealthier families were able to keep their children progressing and even excelling with homeschooling by at least one or two parents at home or able to keep working at home. So, technological poverty is a new form arising that will further divide who progresses and who does not unless Americans intervene to bring everyone along in access to technology. This would mean we have a spiritually enlightened perspective, another important dimension of equality for all, and also an economically smart policy.
Another important area of “poverty” that has received scrutiny from researchers and sociologists is the basic need of human beings for a “roof over their head”. A house–so fundamental to Americans as essential to well-being and wealth-building–is denied to many citizens through unfair loan practices and keeping people working at below living wages, making it impossible to buy that first house. I think of all the college grads with student loans on their backs like Sisyphus from the Greek myth whose punishment was to carry a heavy stone on his back up a mountain with no end in sight. That seems a ready financial metaphor for all Americans under the age of 50 today.
What’s so important about safe housing? Today we know that it is the best predictor of a person’s physical and mental health. Stable housing is a basic human need, and it’s just silly that something like that need be stated at all, like the need for food. Yet, if you study the issue, it is true that America has an affordable housing crisis across the nation. A form of societal poverty that with all the wealth sucked up into this system, we have failed to provide even that guarantee. Once upon a time we as a society guaranteed it with the GI bill, with fair loan and hiring practices, with laws that worked to assure a great education for every child. But, much of that has been stripped away as white culture got scared again. The gig could be up on the perceived conceit of greed and privilege as their working dynamic.
Until we see all the dimensions of “poverty” as a creation of how we treat each other, we’ll always have poor among us. But, that is not inevitable, only probable, as long as American citizens tolerate it.
Thursday morning I was blessed to join a tour group from Baltimore’s Civil Rights Movement at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. They are teachers, leaders, and powerful women traveling the civil right trail — next stop Memphis at the National Civil Right Museum at the Lorraine Hotel.
Great women have made significant contributions to democratic societies. Daisy Bates is one of these women. As our talented NPS Interpreter stated today, “If it hadn’t been for Daisy, there would not have been a Little Rock Nine or desegregation as it unfolded in Little Rock.”
Central High School, Little Rock, AR
Daisy Bates was the President of the Arkansas NAACP at the time of the Supreme Court ruling in Brown vs the Board of Education which desegregated public schools in the U.S. Nine children were identified by the Little Rock School Board to integrate Central High School. At the time, Governor Orval Faubus was not supporting the federal mandate and called in the National Guard to keep out the black students. Daisy realized that the nine teenagers would need protection and help and she organized meetings and support to help them on the first and subsequent days of their trials and tribulations. This story, and the life of Daisy Bates, is chronicled in her memoir, The Long Shadow of Little Rock, which I am currently reading. The individual stories of the nine students are each dramatic and many are told in their memoirs. What white students did inside the school to the nine black students, following integration, and the teachers who turned their backs, is horrendous and rarely told. I highly recommend that you visit this national historic site to reset your compass on American history and the long struggle of all American people for fulfillment of basic rights. As we see today, that struggle if still in progress. But, looking back to such pillars of courage and decency as Daisy Bates gives me renewed hope for a future all of us can make happen together.
Susan Feathers 