As I write, at the end of January, we are having maple sugaring weather: nights below freezing, daytimes above.
It has been some time since I have read skepticism about people causing climate breakdown in the Gazette’s pages. I would invite any holdouts to watch the NOVA program, “Decoding the Weather Machine.” On the topic of tipping points, there is a tiny video online that is very snarky but accurate, called “Wake Up Freak Out.”
If we wake up and freak out, a question is, then what? If we find we have met the enemy, and they are us, how might we address such a foe? If we are stuck in a hole and must stop digging, how might we go about changing our individual and shared behaviors?
To try to gauge public awareness and engagement, I look around to see what people are driving. I have maintained an informal “SUV index” for several years, just counting numbers of truck-based vehicles versus quantities of standard cars. Things have gotten so bad these days that I would rather not look.
I remind myself that I find SUV drivers to be very courteous toward pedestrians. I remember the very ancient spiritual traditions that have long taught that our enemy is us. I tell myself that we are probably going to succeed in destroying the life we love, even if we would all engage in best efforts to save it. And I tell myself that if we are to see our planet die, we might choose to go down caring for each other.
Mary H. Hall
South Hadley