This morning I’ve been challenged to think about and respond to Climate Change by three different blog-posts, all posted today. I felt I should do something too, however small, and therefore I’m sharing with you these three things.
ONE.
WordPress advised me I can have a banner on my blog supporting the Global #ClimateStrike (lasts until the strike on 20 September). Very simple, so DONE.
“WordPress.com site owners can head to My Site > Settings. At the top of the Settings menu, you will see a toggle switch — flip it on to join the digital climate strike.”
TWO.
“We are slowly waking up from our denial about climate change. Young voices are calling to us to do now what will profit the world we will leave to them. Like many I have been moved by Greta Thunberg, the young Swedish climate activist who captivated the UN, sailed across the Atlantic to avoid the carbon exuded by airliners, and who speaks for an entire generation. This young voice and many others are calling the adults in this world to act – to give climate justice pride of place in the long global to-do list. And a little child shall lead them (Isaiah 11:6b). Thunberg in no child, but neither is she, by our standards, a person with power. Yet, she is using her voice in a way that is moving hearts and changing minds. It’s time for the adults “in charge” of things to get with the program. We have limited time now to reduce our carbon footprint. It’s time to move from “business as usual” to a new mode of awareness and activism.”
— excerpt from Be a witness for the earth by Bishop Doug Fisher (IX Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts)
THREE.
“There has never been a fire like this, sweeping through the northern flanks of Lamington National Park, in whitefella human history. That’s why we moved here – we thought we’d be safe from fire, at least for a few years before climate change really kicked in. But now it has. Unprecedented low humidity levels for south east Queensland. Unprecedented high September temperatures. A drought that feels like it will never end. The leaf litter in the rainforest is dry and crispy. The normally verdant green grass of Beechmont is browning off. All is dry, so tinder-dry.
These mountains are my home, these forests are my refuge, these rainforests are my sacred place. But climate change is taking this away from me. If my house burns down, I can rebuild it somewhere else. But I can’t rebuild this landscape the same as it was. Not while the weather continues its relentless march into new territory that’s hostile to humans and rainforests alike.”
— excerpt from Materialism by Paula Peeters (Australia). Paula has a PhD in ecology. Years later she discovered she is also an artist. More at About me
ENDNOTE: Paula Peeters as Artist
You may recall the amazing illustration (below) that I posted in May this year when I was concerned about the possible destruction of the fossil record at Foulden Maar. This is the work of Paula Peeters.
Click on the illustration to enlarge.
Credits: Illustration by Paula Peeters. CC-BY-4.0 Wikimedia Commons
Posted by Liz; Exploring Colour (2019)
Exploring Colour 
All these changes are beyond disconcerting, Liz. Thank you for raising awareness. 🌍❤
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Yes.. many changes, very fast, globally.
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Climate change effects my way of life, not in some distant future, today…as I type this. The wildlife I advocate for are disappearing, yet another storm is on my horizon, and the tropics are beyond hot now. Yet my country places greed as the number one priority.
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You’re right in the thick of things in South Carolina.
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The lowcountry, at sea level.
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We are at the start of a federal election campaign here in Canada and climate change will, hopefully, be a big topic.
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It should be right at the core of all discussion.. let’s hope that happens!
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Agreed, this is a great post – thanks Liz! You’ve given us a chance to learn more about the issue and talk about it here. The more we become conscious of the problems of the way we’re destroying our environment and the more we push that message out into the world, the more it will help the demand for action to grow. Even if it’s very slowly…
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Cheers Ann.. that’s how I see it too. Thank you.
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Great post, Liz 🙂 I feel a wind of change, only downside is that it seems to be blowing right through the empty space between certain leaders’ ears and out the other side in the form of hogwash.
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Well said.. and I laughed so much! Thank you 🙂
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I’m glad 🙂 You have to or you’d cry 🙂
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Even with serious things I try to stay open to humour and have a laugh. It doesn’t do to give in to despair!
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It’s very bad, even. I try too, but it’s hard.
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With our current administration we are certainly behind the 8-ball now. Progress is always difficult in dealing with climate change and all that we have accomplished is being thrown on the trash heap. (Irony intended) As individuals we do what we can but when the largest polluters are set free to do as they wish…
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The culture in the US is very different to here. My only thought is to support those entities and organisations who are willing to take a stand on behalf of their supporters. The Episcopal Church appears to take the issue seriously and there must be other entities out there that are worth supporting i.e. that have a voice at the higher levels where it can have an impact.
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To some degree it is the same here. Many churches are working toward reducing the elements that contribute to climate change and there are corporations that take it seriously too. But to have a President who does all he can to destroy the solar industry, promote coal and petroleum as energy sources, relax the controls on water and air pollution and, of all things, declares wind energy as a source of cancer. Well, we have a problem. I am encouraged that there are some who do not follow his lead, but the harm being done will take a long time to undo.
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It’s terribly disheartening (for you in the US and also for the rest of the world). I hadn’t even heard about the “wind energy as a source of cancer” line.. how crazy is that?!
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He comes up with some amazing stuff on a daily basis.
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A quick online search reveals there’s been months of headlines on the subject of his comments about wind power that’ve passed me by. It appears he’s been universally ridiculed for them. The last line of one article I read via Recharge said “Like Don Quixote, Don Trump can tilt at windmills all he likes, but he is never going to defeat them. ” At least I got a smile out of it! Vanity Fair called him a “certified moron”. It’s hard to believe that a power like the US has ended up with a President who’s such an embarrassment!
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There are a lot of factors. Some people were tired of the same politicians and thought an outsider would be a good change. Some disapprove of lifestyles and thought he’d discourage that. Some don’t like certain people and thought he did not either. Some hate liberals enough to not care what he does. Some hate abortion and think he will appoint Supreme Court judges who will over turn Roe v. Wade.Some think Democrats will take away their guns and he will not. Some feel they are disrespected for being under-educated and feel he respects them because re ridicules the educated. Some believed he would clean up Washington politics. Some think he was sent b y God to take us back to more religious times. There are many more. They are willing to overlook or not believe his history. All of that added up to his getting elected and his support within his base supporters remains strong.
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Thanks for taking the time to share this Steve. It’s an eye-opener that there’s so many reasons people might support him.
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The man is a nutter!! How on earth does he think that wind energy causes cancer? Happily , we have quite a lot of wind turbines along the coast now – just barely visible from the land. And solar panels are starting to be set up in fields – not the prettiest thing in the landscape but well worth it for the clean energy.
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Yeah, that hurts!
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We are actually trying to save some plastics, really not so easy because each damned thing you buy nowadays packed in or with plastic in most of the shops. Sheets @ Ulli
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Really difficult to avoid the plastic here too, and there doesn’t seem to be as many bulk bin shops around as there used to be (where you help yourself from the bins and you pay by weight).
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And what does climate change personally for you? I now see more and more dead trees every time I spend in parks or forests due to the drought since April 2018 here in great parts of Germany.
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In our area, more extreme rain and drought events which create hardship for farmers and flooding problems for everyone. Further away coastal erosion. In South Dunedin heavy rain events create problems for low-lying suburbs that already have a high water-table. Eventually the worst-hit areas will become uninhabitable.
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Here the horse chestnut trees really struggle with the lower rainfall and by the end of summer their leaves are dried out and turning brown. You hear of crop failures because of drought too. These things are slowly creeping up on us…
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