Exhaling

There were record floods in Germany.  A good month’s worth of rain fell in two days and water swept away roadways and buildings and people.  In India, 23 inches of rain fell in 24 hours.  China, likewise, experienced the worst flooding in a thousand years, threatening millions. In the American west record heat continues and reservoirs are drying up and fires dot the map with a frequency approaching scenic views.  Another heat dome is predicted to spread over most of the country. It’s all happening right on cue, and we’re just getting started.

After decades of avoiding the term, “climate change” is now being used routinely on the news. “Fires fueled by climate change.”  “Devastating floods brought on by global warming.”  The world is taking notice with decrees to reach carbon neutrality by 2035 or 2050.  Achieving these objectives will be fraught with challenges and require untold billions of dollars and yet to be discovered technologies.  It’s crunch time.  Yet, as surely as there are anti vaccers there are resistors and carbon emissions will continue longer than necessary, fueling a freight train of devastation headed our way.  This is not fear mongering; it’s acknowledging a reality long predicted and expected.  

So here we are with eyes wide open and each of us having a role.  Nothing will move us toward necessary changes faster than governmental policy so we need to make some good noise.  And as overwhelming as the problem is, it is not so big that personal choices can’t have an influence.  In daily life, the decisions we make can collectively lower carbon emissions and soften the worst of climate impacts for everyone.  It’s an all hands on deck moment that starts now and will necessarily become ingrained in the human psyche if our species is to survive.  Humanity has yet to fully embrace the concept that we are an integral part of an ecological community, not separate from it, and our actions are connected to every other living thing.  We can come to appreciate and value ecological services too long ignored or assumed.  We can learn that making the right environmental decisions is essential and benefit everything.

The smoke from western fires has reached the Midwest so we are privy to air that can be unhealthy to breathe.  The particulate provides striking sunrises and sunsets and we look and snap pictures but the beauty portends something destructive and horrific.  And when the floodwaters recede and the fires burn out we will not be back to normal but in a calm before the next event.  Normality is lost.  It may feel as if nothing has changed and we may be tempted to exhale with relief and return to our old ways but old rules no longer apply.

We listened to a segment on NPR’s Science Friday concerning the massive role batteries will play in our future, the race to design a better one, the incredible challenges in securing raw materials and building new facilities and bringing it all to scale in record time because time is of essence.  One of those interviewed was an engineer with a firm grasp on a dire situation but his confidence was unscathed.  Finding solutions to the perceived impossible is an engineer’s elixir.  It gets them out of bed and puts spring in their step.  We are in desperate need of their services right now.

 

After a period of wet weather we midwesterners are drying out and the heat and humidity of late July is settling in.  It’s wild blackberry season, and the garden is in overdrive with more fresh produce than we can eat.  Our pickling cucumbers have gone ballistic, surplus fresh tomatoes are lining up to be preserved and sweetcorn is just days from harvest.  The pond’s water temp is hovering around 80 degrees, perfect for daily swims. The beavers are building new dams, flooding new areas.  

We downloaded a couple of apps to our phones.  One allows us to take photos of any plant and in a few seconds we have an ID complete with botanical and common names, its site preference, its similarity to other plants.  I think of all the time and frustration spent with plant keys and field guides, all the required terminology, the seasonal changes sometimes necessary before an accurate identification could be made.  This app requires less time and botanical knowledge to find answers, which is not all good, but I love it so.

The second app allows us to record a birdsong and immediately know the bird behind it.  I’ve never been a wiz at birdsongs, so this app both thrills and shames me.  We haven’t seen a scarlet tanager all year but now know there’s one here.  We rarely see indigo buntings but now realize we hear them every day.  And that bird that seems to follow us while berry picking but is always just out of sight is a white eyed vireo.  I spend less time trying to accommodate an arthritic neck while peering through binoculars in poor light to see a bird that refuses to sit still.  I just push a button on my phone and the answer is there.

The garden, the birds, the beavers, the apps, all provide exhale moments, a time of calm, to recognize and appreciate the incredible beauty and bounty that still surrounds us and the remarkable technology that helps us live and learn.  We won’t give up our gadgetry, our vehicles, our comforts and conveniences, so we won’t navigate through the climate crisis without new and better technologies.  But it can’t be gadgetry alone.  There has to be a shift in our thinking so we show reverence to this incredible blue sphere and have zero tolerance for anything that wastes, poisons, or fouls it.  And everything we manufacture, build, or use has to be designed to be totally recycled and used again.  What else can possibly work?  What else can stand the test of time?

We can exhale between storms and droughts and fires, exhale and see the good in technology, our role in nature, the impacts of our living.  We can look through clear eyes and see what needs to be done, see what makes sense, and go for it.