I sometimes struggle with my faith in humanity

You know, people have been saying this since the 1970s and even before that, that climate change is real, and that human lives are at great risk unless we make changes. Now we have all the climate change deniers who want to keep their heads in the sand as tornadoes, droughts, hurricanes, wildfires, and all sorts of extreme weather hit those in vulnerable areas. It's not an 'act of God' anymore. It's a direct result of humankind's unmitigated destruction of key oecosystems, reliance on fossil fuels, and more. (And that's not counting forever chemicals or plastics). And let me tell you, when people die, and it will be in great numbers, 'thoughts and prayers' will do nothing as the seas rise and the grain belts become deserts. And then, after all our hubris, as poor 'stewards of the Earth', we [as a species] will deserve everything we get. Those who sounded the alarm decades ago to now are trying; others are listening, and one action can lead to great things, but one of the greatest threats to our civilisation isn't aliens, or an asteroid, or even nuclear war (although that's stepping up to the plate). It's denying that our actions have very real effects on the very home we live in, and the flora and fauna and all the other parts of our habitat.) Those effects can be for good or ill, but the very first thing is to recognise the problem and educate ourselves about it...and so many people are rejecting education itself (that's a whole other rant).

Oh, and read it to the end.

Climate Crisis Is on Track to Push One-Third of Humanity Out of Its Most Livable Environment

Despite being a liberal, I don't usually read The Huffington Post

but this was priceless:

California Gov. Jerry Brown Sends Ben Carson The Climate Evidence He Couldn't Find: "Climate change is much bigger than partisan politics."

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) mailed Carson a copy of the synthesis report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), along with a letter asking Carson to utilize his "considerable intelligence" to review the material. The IPCC is the scientific body created by the United Nations Environment Program and the World Meteorological Organization to provide regular assessments of the state of climate science for policymakers.

Brown's letter came after Carson asked to see the science demonstrating climate change was caused by human activity during a visit to California earlier this week.

"I know there a lot of people who say 'overwhelming science,' but then when you ask them to show the overwhelming science, they never can show it," Carson told The San Francisco Chronicle. "There is no overwhelming science that the things that are going on are man-caused and not naturally caused."

"Gimme a break," Carson added.

I totally crashed

when I got home from Kroger after work. I worked 9 1/2 hours today, trying to make up some time for the half-day yesterday. For once it wasn't that my blood sugar was through the roof, I just had a busy day. With the exception of a few things that needed to go into the refrigerator, I just left everything on the couch and went straight to bed, ostensibly for a short time (I even changed my alarm tone, and it did wake me up after a half hour, but I went back to sleep). Now, three hours later, I feel better in general, although my joints are really bothering me, no doubt because of the rain (we're having a thunderstorm now--I think thunder is what actually woke me up.) I had packed my bag for the Y today just in case I felt like going, but what I really needed was the pool, and the pool here wasn't an option due to the weather and there is no open swim at the High Street YMCA on Wednesdays, so no pool today. Again, trying to manage without ibuprofen due to the blood drive tomorrow, despite arthritis pain. Hey, I'm pretty good at chronic pain and grinning and bearing it, despite the whining I do here sometimes. It's acute pain that I'm a real weenie about.

The rain is coming down pretty hard now. Maybe it will make it to the window boxes. :)

Tomorrow I'm going to try to work another long shift, and Friday as well. I don't feel as bad about coming down and crashing as I could have because my class has been extended for last submissions by the 19th, as opposed to Friday. That doesn't mean I can wait till the last moment, as I have two assignments to do, but it's a relief, anyway. If it's not raining in the morning, I'm going to try my best to do a few things around the house that include taking out the recyclables. I never got around to them earlier.

So the question becomes what to do with the remaining evening. I could watch 'Big Bang Theory' or 'Downton Abbey', or I could work on the notes, but the sound of the rain is actually quite soothing. I'm halfway tempted to head back to bed and just start my day tomorrow super early. It would be the best in terms of my joint pain, and I'm still tired. Not just sleepy like usual, but actually tired. It was a busy day, with a lot of catch-up to do. We did have our employee appreciation day, with a catered picnic (inside, due to the muggy weather that threatened to pour) and we got some movie tickets like we usually do each year. Yay.

There are quite a few stories I really meant to blog about tonight. I'm a bit behind. But there is one that really broke my heart, and so I'm including it here. The rest will have to wait, I'm afraid. And instead of including the teaser text for the story this time, I'm including the picture, which really is worth a thousand words. This is what we have to look forward to on a larger scale over the coming years, and it's very sad. The picture is by Ashley Cooper/Global Warming Images. I'm not sure we can avert their fate at this point, but I hope so. I hope this picture becomes a rallying point for raising awareness of what we are doing to the environment, to other creatures, and ultimately, to ourselves.

A victim of climate change? Polar bear found starved to death looked 'like a rug'

In other words, pretty much what our current endangered species are facing

Mammoth Extinction Has Lessons For Modern Climate Change

Until recently the cause of the woolly mammoth extinction 4,000-10,000 years ago has been unclear. But according to new research, they fell to a lethal combination of climate warming, encroaching humans, and habitat loss.

From Planetsave (share this quote)

:(

Polar bear cubs die as ice melts, swims get longer: 5 of 11 moms that swam long distances lost cubs, study finds

Polar bear cubs forced to swim long distances with their mothers as their icy Arctic habitat melts appear to have a higher mortality rate than cubs that didn't have to swim as far, a new study reports.

Polar bears hunt, feed and give birth on ice or on land, and are not naturally aquatic creatures. Previous reports have noted individual animals swimming hundreds of miles to reach ice platforms or land, but this is one of the first to show these swims pose a greater risk to polar bear young.

Okay, one more thing

Thanks to @GaryCorby from Twitter (although I had to look up the story myself):

Shellfish Could Supplant Tree-ring Climate Data: Temperature records gleaned from clamshells reveal accuracy of Norse sagas

Really. This could really add to our understanding of historical and paleotological climate change, and our present situation as well. It's worth a read.

Alright, this time I really am going to bed. 'Night, all.

A good question

How do you move an entire country?

Check out the post on information regarding islands that are losing land to the sea due to climate change. Thousands of people will lose their homes within a few years and their governments have no real means to pay for relocation; nor does the UN recognise refugee status for those who lose their homelands due to climate. Video is included of islanders showing the encroachment of the sea and how the loss of these islands will also mean the loss of a cultural identity for those left adrift. One of the videos points out that industrialised nations spend millions--billions--on war. Why can't we spend money on relocating those affected by our emissions in a way that will preserve their way of life?

Sad

via JediLibrarian:

Polar Bears Resort to Cannibalism as Arctic Ice Shrinks

Don't believe in global warming? The polar bear's habitat is shrinking so quickly that the bears are starving and attacking each other to survive. But you know the scariest thing about this article?

'Some scientists believe that in just five years, the Arctic may be ice-free during the summer.'

The Arctic without ice? Some people are excited, because new shipping lanes will open up. But at what price? The polar bear is just one piece of the puzzle. As our climate changes, how will it affect the Earth, and of course, us?

People tend to forget that the Earth will survive climatic change, asteroid impacts, nuclear war, etc., although changed. But we won't necessarily, and if we don't do everything we can do to survive, then I guess that's evolution. But I hate the idea of taking other species with us.

160 square miles of ice collapsing

Massive ice shelf collapsing off Antarctica

I've been learning about and paying more attention to Antarctica since we started the Beyond the Mountains of Madness campaign for Call of Cthulhu, and saw this on the news. Wow.