I grew up in the upper Midwest surrounded by forests. Every Christmas we would go into the nearby woods to cut down a tree. I can still remember how wonderful the fresh cut northern Balsams smelled. The Christmas, or Solstice, tree is an old tradition. It started with Nordic and…
This month marks the fifth year that I’ve been writing this climate change column. It was originally published in the Albuquerque Journal North in November of 2019. In the last five years there has been progress on climate change, but as most of us know, we are not moving fast…
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change defines a tipping point as a critical threshold in a complex system that when exceeded can lead to change that is irreversible. We know that all our planetary tipping points are related to rising temperatures. The challenging factor is that we do not fully…
In the last few weeks as the hoopla of an election year has taken focus, we have seen the stark contrast of two distinct versions of the future presented by our two major parties. Not only does the viability of our democracy hang in the balance but the livability of…
It is hot and it will only get hotter. “July 21, 2024, was the hottest day ever recorded on Earth. The historic day comes on the heels of 13 straight months of unprecedented temperatures and the hottest year scientists have seen,” reported Sarah Kaplan recently in the Washington Post. Temperatures…
Don’t tell me what kind of meat to eat. There is yet another cultural war going on in this country. As recently reported in Inside Climate News and other publications, red state lawmakers are trying to restrict the sale of protein cultured from animal cells, better known as lab grown…
I will begin with the premise that we all would do what we can to prevent the devastating effects of global warming, that is, if it seems reasonable. But what is reasonable? For many people anything that requires a significant change in behavior is not reasonable. The Guardian, in an…
Earth Day 2024 has come and gone and in the last year there were some accomplishments. At COP28 in Dubai a deal was finally reached to globally transition from fossil fuels, which will require rapid and sustained reductions in greenhouse emissions. Key participants agreed to the goal of tripling renewables…
It is spring, and my attention has returned to my neglected compost pile. It’s a 4-by-4 foot rather unsightly area in my background where I toss things like coffee grounds and vegetable scraps and wait for it to miraculously turn into wonderful fresh smelling compost. The last time I looked…
Plastic recycling is, for many of us, a guilt provoking topic. I try to be careful of what I toss into my recycling bin, even so, I do not believe that all of it is recycled. Contrary to what the waste management websites say, I know there is no recycling…
