Sunday, November 10, 2024

The "C" Word


 I remember when cancer was the "C" word.  Spoken in hushed tones.  It was a death sentence, or, if you were John Wayne, you were a hero for surviving, if only for awhile. The only posture was a stoic one, so why dwell on it.

Climate change is now the "C" word.  It's too disruptive to admit it into our lives.  Too much to have to recalculate.  Too much money lost right now.  Better to bully those who insist on bringing it up.  

There were terrible storms and fires during the last weeks of the election.  If the cause came up at all, I missed it.  And I was paying pretty close attention.

My friend June, who lives in Asheville, was without electricity or water for a week.  Marilyn's house in St. Petersburg just missed a falling tree.

Here's the one thing upon which both candidates agreed:  Let's not mention the "C" word.

There's a book on my shelf called:  "The World Without Us."  Yes, something will remain.


4 comments:

  1. Yes, it is beyond troubling -- the state of things and the future. But, perhaps the climate will be the bully's undoing and wake the world up to action on a larger scale. Will we be saved by science? I don't know, but I'm not prepared to rule it out. For the moment I've put a new sign on my front lawn, Joan, an encouraging one that tells my neighbors where my wife and I stand. For my children, grandchildren, and all of humanity, we won't go down with a fight.

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  2. I’m proud of you. Joan

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  3. Right on. It's,way too hard to really do what needs to be done: ban most cars especially suvs, beef up public transportation, make flying more expensive so (I) don't take off casually., make produce more expensive and restaurant portions much smaller as in Europe. so eating out is not nightly, houses much, much smaller, etc etc

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