Since the revival of this blog is related to my "year of health," I should at least say that 1) I am down just over 10 pounds for the year and my pants are starting to feel loose, 2) I don't really miss the noise on FB, although I do miss my friends, and 3) I've already read 3 books and finishing my 4th so far this year. One thing that I have noticed over the last couple of weeks is that the quality of my interactions with some friends over text messaging has gone up - more conversations, better conversations.
Yesterday morning, I spent time reading the latest issue of Down East Magazine - the monthly magazine of Maine. I used to read this magazine every month from cover to cover the day it arrived. It is one of the things that FB replaced in my life and what a horrible loss for me. Maine is my place. It has been since the day I stepped off the plane in Portland in the autumn of 1996 and first breathed in the salt air from Casco Bay. This issue featured an interview with famous Kennebunkport resident, the late President George H. W. Bush. These quotes are particularly relevant:
"This place brings us great joy, and has since the beginning of time. You drive through the gate and you know you are home."These two passages capture perfectly how I feel about Maine. In another he mentions that when you arrive you know you are home. And that is true for me every time I step onto the jetway in Portland. The sign above you says, "welcome home," and that's what it feels like. Boothbay Harbor is my favorite spot in Maine. I have a house picked out there just off the hilltop that I would love to own as a retirement destination. I doubt that will be practical, but as I was reading through the magazine yesterday and thinking of all my trips there, I was again prompted to think about what a life in the near future there would look like.
"I have called it my “anchor to windward.” Even when I was President, I could find peace here, even when dealing with serious issues. The sound of the sea, the salt air, even the fog horn of Goat Island Lighthouse calms the soul. And yes, clears the brain."
Another thing that has pulled my attention back to Maine is a book I'm currently reading, The Last Lobster, Boom or Bust for Maine's Greatest Fishery? by Christopher White. The book focuses on the recent boom in the lobster catch on the Midcoast of Maine and how that is an impact of climate change. The book also explores how the lobster population has decreased in Southern Maine and the rest of Southern New England. It talks about how other ocean creatures have been impacted by the changing water temperatures in the Gulf of Maine and how these animals are moving to cooler waters. Entire fisheries are being wiped out with devastating impacts on the economy. Two things strike me as I read this book. First, fishing the ocean is very much like growing crops in the Midwest. Many of the challenges that face lobstermen due to the changing climate also affect farmers that grow corn or wheat. Second, the mass migration of these sea creatures in response to a warming ocean will impact humans that live in places that become uninhabitable due to hot, dry conditions. At some point in the near future, we will likely see large numbers of climate refugees with the potential to create areas of increased instability. We need to think now how we will respond in a way that is just and compassionate. Even if we make a path to decrease our CO2 emissions now, we can probably not avoid people having to leave the places they currently live for more tolerable places.
Speaking of climate change, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez launched her bill for the Green New Deal this week and everyone set their hair on fire over it. Frankly, it would be amusing if it weren't so darned frustrating. People seem to have forgotten their Schoolhouse Rock lessons. The bill is just a starting point and if there are things you don't like about it, then you should call your Congresscritters and tell them how to improve it. We get the government that we work for. You can't go vote and then sit at home in your comfy chair and gripe. You have to engage your government to get what you want. Your representatives will listen to you the same as they listen to lobbyists and others. But if they don't hear your voice, then they will do what everyone who does talk to them wants. So get off your butts and call, or better yet, go see them in their local offices and tell them face-to-face.
My first paper dealing with climate change was submitted this week by one of my co-authors. The paper describes a novel modeling method for the accounting of greenhouse gas emissions in agricultural practices. It was submitted to Nature Sustainability. They quickly decided not to send it out for peer review because in their opinion it "wasn't of sufficient broad interest." I find that to be a load of nonsense, of course. This is not the first time I've had this experience with the Nature publishing family. The last paper they said this about was quickly accepted by the second journal due to it's "broad interest to the science community." So, it's on to the next journal. Oh, by the way, one of my co-authors won a Nobel Peace Prize for work on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change!
It's cold and icy here today, which is putting a cramp in all of the day's plans. I suspect I will get all of the laundry done and perhaps finish this lobster book. What randomness is happening in your world today?
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