Another long Day to think about the Whole Thing – Solstice
In this post:
What it means to be in the Anthropocene.
Humans are the most adaptable animal on planet Earth
this is not a war – this is not Nature against humans
How Ironic, the USA started changes 50 years ago
Humans can reverse what needs to be changed.
Our Urbanizing planet.
We have 2 BIG things to change.
image above: Anthropocene – the Human Epoch Official U.S. Trailer
Solstice, 21 June, 2020
Welcome to the Anthropocene.
The Epoch influenced by Humans
that began to take form
over 200 years ago in the Britsh Isles, Western Europe, and the American Colonies.
Officially, the Anthropocene does not exist. Yet!!!
Unofficially however, the term is used widely in the scientific literature and, more recently, in publications dedicated to the general public.
So, might you ask, what is the Anthropocene?
First, the etymology. The Ancient Greek [anthropos] means “human being” while [kainos] means “new, current.” The Anthropocene would thus be best defined as the new human-dominated period of the Earth’s history.
Humans are the most adaptable animal on planet Earth…..but we have taken things a bit too far….
- It was not enough to cover ourselves to keep warm.
- It was not enough to be able to walk, we want to go faster.
- It was not enough to live where it is temperate for us, we want to live anywhere.
- It was not enough to go to the lake, river or stream for water, we want it close.
- It was not enough to dig a hole to empty our bodies, we want convenience.
- It was not enough to see only during the day, we want to see at night.
- It was not enough to forage the land and hunt, we want more food.
Through the deliverance of India, I seek to deliver the so-called weaker races of the earth from the crushing heels of Western exploitation in which England is the greatest partner.
Mahatma Gandhi
Solstice, 21 June, 2020
Planet Earth is having a hard time with us…..
We ignored some basic truths……..
- All the elements in our ecosystem fill a place in an intensely complicated pattern of give and take, that is our biosphere. Almost all flora and fauna in our biosphere automatically fill their role in the allover system.
- The only creature that has learned how to change the system to work for its benefit, is man kind. This makes man kind the ultimate guardian of Earth’s biosphere.
- Earth’s energy will not conform to your wishes.
- Earth’s energy will compensate for the changes you make, good for humans or bad.
- Earth is not angry. Earth is just working with what it is given. Since the Earth’s energy is always in motion, it must work with what there is. More heat, too much or too little water, more freak weather, more……………………
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are Solstice, 21 June, 2020 together. All things connect.
Chief Seattle
Solstice, 21 June, 2020
this is not a war – this is
not Nature against humans
If anything it is humans against Nature and we need to stop fighting it.
Planet Earth has given us an opportunity to stop and RE-THINK.
Solstice, 21 June, 2020
“WE FELL ASLEEP” by Haroon Rashid
“We fell asleep in one world, and woke up in another.
by Haroon Rashid
Suddenly Disney is out of magic,
Paris is no longer romantic,
New York doesn’t stand up anymore,
The Chinese wall is no longer a fortress,
and Mecca is empty.
Hugs & kisses suddenly become weapons, and not visiting parents & friends becomes an act of love.
Suddenly you realize that power, beauty & money are worthless, and can’t get you the oxygen you’re fighting for.
The world continues its life and it is beautiful.
It only puts humans in cages.
I think it’s sending us a message:
“You are not necessary.
The air, earth, water and sky without you are fine.
When you come back, remember that you are my guests.
Not my masters.”
this is not
Nature against humans
this is not a war –
Can we find it in our hearts to stop using combative language when we think of planet Earth and its consequences?
New Zealand Says It Has Won ‘Battle’ Against COVID-19
Fort Bragg Soldiers Make Masks to Fight Coronavirus Pandemic
I Was Ready to Help Fight the Pandemic. Then I Got Sick Myself.
Foreign Doctors Could Help Fight Coronavirus.
Joe Biden Beat Bernie Sanders. But So Did the Pandemic.
‘The Best Way to Defeat Coronavirus’: Britain Announces Vaccine Trial
South Korea’s Coronavirus Battle Propels Moon’s Party to Election Win
tweeter-in-chief talks of fighting :
This is the most aggressive and comprehensive effort to confront a foreign virus in modern history.
we will significantly reduce the threat to our citizens
I signed into law an $8.3B funding bill to help C.D.C. , so government agencies could fight the virus
Each of us has a role to play in defeating this virus.
We are at a critical time in the fight against the virus.
We need to stop using battle language.
We need to start thinking harder about where and how we spend our money!
Humans dominate, but can we dominate by choosing to include planet Earth in our thoughts?
Can humans learn to work with planet Earth as part of our daily routine? Like most of the other species on planet Earth……
How Starfish, Snails and Salmon [Fight] “deal with” Pandemics
April 2020 – I have seen the devastation pathogens cause — and how it is amplified as the oceans warm. But I have also seen the remarkable adaptations that creatures like starfish, corals and abalones develop against these threats and the defences they deploy. …
The indigenous communities that predicted COVID-19
May 2020 – “My people have cultural knowledge that says when Sibö, our God, created Earth, he locked up some bad spirits,” Levi Sucre Romero said. “These spirits come out when we’re not respecting nature and living together.”
… He knows for a fact that there is another, more sustainable and respectful way to live in relation to the Earth – because the Bribri and many other indigenous groups around the world practice it.
First Lady Talks About Pollution and Climate Change at the E.P.A.
Michelle Obama
February 2009 “You ensure that the water we drink is safe, that the air we breathe is clean, and that the polluted fields and abandoned factories in our neighborhoods all over this nation are cleaned up and restored,’’ Mrs. Obama said. “Your work will not only save our planet and clean up our environment; it’s going to transform our economy and create millions of well paying jobs,’’
How Ironic, that the USA has actually been thinking and doing something about climate change for the last 50 years, and still has come to the present crisis……
It was a Republican president, back in 1970 who listened to the people and started
the Environmental Protection Agency.
Admit it. Republicans have since broken US politics and denied the changes in nature.
But that does not mean that we humans can not clean up the mess………..
Humans can reverse this !
The last decade is the hottest since measurements have been taken. Source: New York Times, NASA
NOAA’s Polar-Orbiting Satellites See Drop in U.S. Air Pollution
May 2020 “The unintended drop in air pollution levels have become evident,” said Mitch Goldberg, chief program scientist of NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). “Observations collected from JPSS and partner satellites are giving NOAA scientists the ability to see how urban and industrial locations contribute to a region’s air pollution through the emissions of gasoline-based gases and fine particles.”
Bottom row: Airborne particulate pollution from the Suomi-NPP satellite in March 2019 & 2020.
Now Anything Is Possible……………………
These Streets May Stay Open Forever
May 2020 – Urban planner Mike Lydon says that while cars will return to many of these streets, some will likely stay open. “Cities are starting to see the value in these changes first-hand. And more importantly, citizens are seeing it.” There’s evidence for this: When cities have handed over streets to pedestrians, bicycles and transit, the public response has tended to be positive — even if it was initially skeptical.
This has been true in Delhi, where the popularity of a bus rapid transit system defied its critics; in New York, where once-controversial bike lanes and busways now enjoy overwhelming support; and in Bogota, where la Ciclovía is now heralded as one of the city’s best features. As Parisian Mayor Hidalgo put it on April 29, “I say in all firmness that it is out of the question that we allow ourselves to be invaded by cars.”
Humans are reversing it.
We need Joy as we need air. We need Love as we need water. We need each other as we need the earth we share.
Maya Angelou
There are already plenty of solutions. Now, we have to build them up to population scale! to Urban Scale…..
Edward Norton explains the challenges and opportunities that come with an increasingly urbanized planet.
Watch the Chinese version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmUPM…
Watch the Hindi version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL0N3…
So let’s get going….
Let’s prove what great
Guardians of Earth’s Biosphere
we humans can be!
And that together, we all
will share planet Earth.
My dream would be a multicultural society, one that is diverse and where every man, woman and child are treated equally. I dream of a world where all people of all races work together in harmony.
Nelson Mandela
Martin Luther King – I Have A Dream – August 28, 1963
… Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dalai Lama
Because we all share this planet Earth, we have to learn to live in harmony and peace with each other and with nature. This is not just a dream, but a necessity.
“Ring of Fire”
Like Nature does it:
Circular, Closed-Loop
June 21, 2020: Rare Solstice “Ring of Fire” Solar Eclipse
This annular solar eclipse is visible from parts of Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and China. In many time zones, this eclipse will take place on the same day as the June solstice. This rare coincidence, of an annular eclipse taking place on the same day as the day of the Northern Hemisphere’s summer solstice, will only happen once again in this century: in 2039!
Not in the path of the eclipse? We will be streaming this eclipse LIVE this coming Sunday from 05:00 UTC. So set those alarms and reminders, because it is promising to be a fantastic event! Can you see it where you are?