Saturday, January 25, 2020

From my clutter to your consideration: found thoughts

I have so many topics I would want to write about but never will have time to research properly. So some Saturdays I've decided I'll post some annotated links.

CalMatters has created a simple checklist evaluating measures that California might take to respond to the fact that our economy is throwing people out of their homes and onto the streets. I wasn't inclined to be sympathetic to such a listicle, but find this thought-provoking and instructive. Take a look.

I often repeat a recurring rant about how we aren't going to combat climate chaos through individual behavioral tweaks. Carbon pollution is society-wide and needs society-wide solutions. Here's an article which documents how individual action --a crackpot, but emotionally comforting, idea -- came to infest late-20th century U.S. environmental consciousness.

And if you want to feel better, read this pitch from an articulate trail running coach about why his athletes and community should be working to save our environmental laws from the Trump administration's giveaways to the polluters.

2 comments:

Mary said...

I am so discouraged by everything trump and everything republican and most of all the trump cult base.

How do you get people to first care about the Constitution and it’s laws? How to you get republicans to care more for the country than their own money controlled self interests?

And how do you change the hardened ignorant minds of his cult?

And how do you change the minds of these far right christians who think their god sent trump and they long for these so called end times.

I agree on the necessity of protecting environmental laws, as any sane person would, but this problem along with all the others is huge and it’s like swimming upstream against a strong current of apathy, greed and ignorance.

janinsanfran said...

Hi Mary -- any sane person could be discouraged these days. The only antidote I know, and I've learned it works, is to dig in with other like-minded folks to change things. It need not be at the national level which seems all too big and swampy. Sometimes local efforts can make a real difference, for example on the environment.

What's hard is that the need to keep swimming upstream never entirely stops ... it keeps the species around.