Jun 24
2024
You think the past week was hot?
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The past week has been sweltering. And a warning of what lies ahead if we don’t get serious about climate change.
Here’s a sobering chart. Energy consumption is on the rise, and 82 percent of it involves fossil fuels. In other words, there is no real energy transition occurring.
Among the consequences: rising sea levels. Not good news for, among other places, the tri-state area centered in New York City. New York State is missing deadlines to meet many of its climate goals, while governors like Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott remain in a state of denial. Wall Street doesn’t give a damn. Donald Trump keeps saying “drill, baby, drill.”
Our actions as a society suggest we’re in a state of denial. There is a way out, but the path isn’t easy.
Wrote one expert in The Guardian:
Despite mounting evidence and urgent pleas, meaningful action falters. Global prosperity has historically emerged from fossil fuels. But the stranglehold of fossil fuel giants, generously subsidized by governments and financially backed by banks, places short-term profits over the planet’s survival. This entrenched dependency stymies efforts to transition to a sustainable future, despite the urgent need for change. GDP growth remains sacred, while climate, biodiversity, health, and social equity are sacrificed, condemning future generations to inherit a ravaged planet.
This ought to be a no-brainer. It won’t be, thanks to corporate greed, political cowardice and societal indifference.
Buffalo schools were open only half-days for most of last week because of the heat. How could we spend $1 billion to renovate schools and not include air conditioning?
Trees can help beat the heat. The feds have given Buffalo $8 million to plant trees. City Hall has been slow to act, however. Re-Tree WNY says it has a plug and play plan the city should adopt.
I gripe a lot about Buffalo’s Common Council, and for good reason. The Erie County Legislature is an even worse legislative body, however. Witness last week, giving themselves a huge pay raise and absconding with money earmarked for cultural groups.
Detroit’s long-abandoned train station – their Central Terminal – is poised for a $1 billion makeover.
All too often, police unions protect bad cops. In Syracuse, one is in charge.
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I’m going to keep reminding you of the dangers of Project 2025, the Radical Right’s blueprint for a Trump presidency. John Oliver, on his Last Week Tonight, dissects the plan in an entertaining way. The Nation also tackles the subject in a series of stories under the headline The Plot Against America.
Mickey Mantle was my boyhood hero, but Willie Mays was the best baseball player of his generation. The “Say Hey Kid” died last week and there were plenty of tributes, including from ESPN, CNN and, best of all, The New York Times. Mays hailed from Birmingham, Alabama, and Major League Baseball returned to the city last week to celebrate the Negro Leagues at Rickwood Field, the ballpark where Mays played for the Birmingham Black Barons. During a telecast from the ballpark, Reggie Jackson spoke of the racism he faced during his time playing in Birmingham in 1967. The video of his interview, starting at 4:42, is really compelling.
