I’m guessing most of your saw that Netflix movie ‘Don’t Look Up’ last year? You know, where the absurdity of 21st century humanity was so brilliantly depicted that some of us were moved to panic attacks and tears? Somehow this week, both local and world events aligned to give me the same desperate feeling of permanently living inside the satirical newsroom of The Onion, and finding no way out.
For starters, this week NASA conducted an experiment seemingly directly modeled on ‘Don’t Look Up’. While I like cool experiments as much as the next gal, this one seemed a little misdirected. The US spent $324.5M on making it a reality. Since no one interviewed could point to much of any immediate threats from space – not even within millions of lightyears – it really was just a frivolous experiment. I’m convinced our way of life is a FAR greater threat to our future than some silly asteroid. For one thing, we have already passed several climate tipping points and consequentially, the rest are set to fall like dominoes. And yet here we are, cheering on an “adversary” that doesn’t yet exist. That money could definitely have been put to better use.
One of the rapidly nearing tipping points is that of the Amazon rainforest – the de facto lungs of our planet, and as every nature lover in the world knows, home to the most vibrant biological diversity on Earth. So, when I heard of a local moron who to date has cut down almost 750 trees along our Springwater Corridor Trail, . The motive is unclear, but WTF?? Why would anyone do that??
Turns out, some folks have a “reason” for cutting down healthy trees in public spaces. Politicians in Lakewood, NJ apparently have no other good ideas on how to address the problem of homelessness in their little town. The best they could come up with was “if we make our public park thoroughly unattractive, and remove the cooling shade of the overhead tree crowns, maybe they will move”. I think it would have been far more effective to rig up some port-a-potties and orchestrate some actual help in the form of social programs and reimagined policies. You know, like maybe raise the minimum wage, or rein in skyrocketing medical costs, or something?
Anyway, I wish those flatlining asshats the best of luck in establishing new trees, if they are ever so inclined. Heaven knows, with the increasingly escalating erratic weather patterns we experience, it’s getting harder and harder to establish new trees, which will likely not reach maturity in their lifetime. If you’re still with me, I apologize for the rant, but W.T.F? Elections DO matter. If you don’t believe me, just look at those publicly elected dumbasses in Lakewood, NJ. Sheesh….
On a related current climate event, it’ll be interesting to see how the trees in and around Tampa Bay will handle the surges of Ian. Who knows, maybe it will be a game changer? I doubt it, but one can hope. If you consider that CNN, NBC, CBS, and ABC News combined, ran more stories on Queen Elizabeth II in the past two weeks than they have reported on the Climate Crisis in the past two YEARS, you will realize how completely bizarre main stream media’s priorities are. I bet you they will write Ian off as just another record breaking storm. I wonder when they will acknowledge that year after year of “historic” storms are no longer historic – they are a PATTERN.
So, what kind of photo could possibly illustrate my boiling blood and frantic desperation? I don’t know… I think I’ll go for the opposite – an inspirational, idyllic and rather tranquil scene of a family of swans, photographed while in Sweden. They seem remarkably calm considering the world around them seems to be on fire.
