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Climate Sisters

Showing posts with label reflections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reflections. Show all posts

losing trump

for four very long years

a thick, blinding fog of hate 

blanketed the landscape

from ocean to ocean

no one could escape

raging dark clouds above

suffocating liberal life below

returning us to an unequal past

ending decades of progress

with freedom to openly detest

minorities and immigrants

classism, sexism and racism 

masking as right-wing populism


november 3rd arrived

resistance was on the line

to stop the right-wing tea party

la raza showed up in arizona

brothas and sistas turned out

in michigan, georgia & pennsylvania

the orange menace lost

biden and harris won


what a mega relief

this clown's election defeat

progressives can take a breath

after four hair-raising years

suffering from maga grief

a con's tsunami of lies

from morning to eve

a 24-hour media spectacle 

celebration of mediocrity

feelings and certitude of ignorance

racist signaling day and night

to the low-melanin, christian base 


from obama's birthergate

and 'grab 'em by the pussy'

to chants of 'lock her up'

and 'build that wall'


from a muslim travel ban

'people from shithole countries'

and mass roundups by ICE

to family separation at the border

putting children in cages

revoking protected status

for immigrants facing persecution

stopping asylum-seekers

and ending DACA


from 'good people on both sides'

leaving the paris accord

and environmental rollbacks

to ignoring the 'chinese plague'

and 'stop the steal'

the buffoon dance is over


after taking a deep breath

the left must begin to agitate

organize like never before

because the populist tea party is ongoing

70 million raging maga dancers 

await another bigoted pied piper 

who can play them the same tune

corona and devils

it's mid october

by crossing the 7 million mark

of total coronavirus cases 

modi's india will soon become

the world's most infected nation

surpassing trump's 7.5 million

modi also set the record at 90K

for most daily positive cases 

followed by trump with 65K 

and bolsonaro's brazil at 45k


modi is yet to catch the virus

but many other macho leaders 

had some close calls with 'rona

boris johnson was stuck on march 27

he spent a week in hospital

three nights in intensive care 

russian prime minister mikhail mishustin

tested positive on april 29

he checked into a hospital

and self-isolated for 3 weeks

jair bolsonaro became ill on july 5

and 3 weeks later he had "mold in the lung"


donald trump is no exception

after months of minimizing the virus

repeatedly saying it would go away

on october 2 trump admitted he was positive

he ran low on oxygen and was rushed to the hospital

treated with remdesivir, monoclonal antibodies

and steroid dexamethasone, he recovered quickly 

and was back at his desk 5 days later

blaming china, bashing the radical left

and claiming the virus was "a blessing from god"

with 210,000 people dead in the nation

the super spreader-in-chief in the capital says

"don't be afraid of covid"

“don’t let it dominate your life” 


macho talk by a right-wing populist

is no solace for the dead

and those suffering long-term effects

the majority of whom are poor

Latinas and Latinos

African American women and men

Asian American women and men

Indigenous women and men

people from other disadvantaged communities

who are afraid of the disease

yet work to feed their families

for them, catching this bug

would be a curse from a right-wing devil

eco denialist

 

in four hours

94-year old attenborough

gained one million followers

the british broadcaster's documentary

a life on our planet

calls for immediate action

to stop the next extinction

caused by the human asteroid


the documentarian is called 'radical'

david's popularity is 'a good sign' 

that humanity is changing

but is david's call radical enough

are his solutions way too little

and his analysis far too tepid


in his latest media blitz

the wildlife advocate argues

biodiversity loss 

is dangerous to humans 

by increasing epidemics

threatening food security

climate change and more


david lists the key causes

of the extinction crisis

the trade in 'wildlife'

overfishing oceans

over-consumption in developed world

pollution in the global south

destroying natural habitats

and climate change


but these causes are not radical

all are already known

so too the solutions offered 

like less consumption

with responsible carnism

used as an add-on at the end

far from an eco revolution 

this is business-as-usual

and eco denialism


david offers no critique

of carnism

specieism

anthropocentrism 

androcentrism 


right after his call 

for responsible carnism

the natural historian 

carts out one 'expert' 

who explicitly states

"that's not to say

that none of us

should ever eat meat

or we should cut

all dairy out from our diets"

thus dominion is left intact

and the human asteroid 

is cleared for landing


david's lack of awareness

is not surprising

in an interview he states

"I eat fish, and chicken, 

and my conscience does trouble me.

I'm affluent enough to afford free-range, 

but it's a middle-class hypocrisy"


alas, poor david

after all this time

spent in the company of animals

he still uses a knife

while preaching to others

blissfully ignoring

his denialism is the asteroid

no masks allowed

masses of pink people

immersed in outrage

assembled during a pandemic

with 200,000 deaths

for an election rally

with more dog whistling

relishing each hateful code 

from don the average con

leader of the aryan 'race'

willing to do whatever it takes

to end their replacement

at the hands of dark inferiors


energized by lots of 'good' genes

red blotches on angry faces

shouting "fill that seat"

obese arms with gucci watches

waving in economic angst

"all lives matter"

"open schools and businesses"

a sea of red hats

newly invigorated

by the sudden death 

of an 87-year old woman

to curb 'white' genocide

once and for all

by limiting abortion


gringos gathered to pray

on an airport runway 

for a new supreme judge

committed to racist pride

increasing pink babies

ensuring a biased future for all

decades of sexism

eons of racism

lifetimes of color privilege 

for the masters of disasters

in the land of xenophobia

nature on the edge

unsustainable human activity 

is pushing the planet’s 

natural systems 

that support life on Earth 

to the edge


in 2020 the international community 

did not fully achieve 

any of the 20 Aichi 

biodiversity targets 

agreed in Japan in 2010 

to slow the loss of the natural world

along with missed targets

$500bn (£388bn) in government subsidies 

is still being invested 

in environmentally damaging 

agriculture, fossil fuels and fishing 


the UN's global biodiversity outlook 5

reported that more than 

60% of the world’s coral reefs 

are under threat

because of overfishing 

and destructive practices


the living planet index (LPI) 

tracks almost 21,000 populations 

of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles 

and amphibians around the world


the 2020 LPI show

an average 68% fall 

in almost 21,000 wildlife populations 

between 1970 and 2016


a two-thirds decline 

in less than half a century 

due in large part 

to the very same 

environmental destruction 

which is contributing 

to the emergence 

of zoonotic diseases 

such as COVID-19


1 in 5 plants are threatened with extinction

the current rate of plant extinction 

is twice that of mammals

birds and amphibians combined


since 1970 the average decline 

in freshwater population size 

is 84% 

the starkest population decline 

in any biome

equivalent to 4% per year

 

why are we losing nature?

we are the cause

overconsumption

overexploitation

pollution

changing land use 

for food production 

is the biggest driver 

of nature loss

about 50% of the world’s 

habitable land area 

is already used for agriculture 

for livestock such as cattle and pigs 

and for crops that feed 

both people and livestock


if we continue to destroy the natural world

we will see more outbreaks like COVID-19 

and the next pandemic 

could be even more deadly and costly

business-as-usual will result

in even more steep population declines


we need nature

nature is a solution

nature can help 

to address climate change 

directly 

or to reduce vulnerability 

to the negative impacts 

of climate change



Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO) is published by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

https://www.cbd.int/gbo5

The Living Planet Index (LPI) is provided by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL)

World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) - Living Planet Report 2020

https://livingplanet.panda.org/en-US/

climate fires 911

2020 fires are having a banner year

dozens of major fires are burning

as of september 11, across the west

one hundred large fires have burned 

over 4.5 million acres in 12 states

more than one million acres in oregon

as 500,000 people evacuated

smoke from west coast wildfires 

were pulled into a cyclone 1,000 miles offshore


2020 is california's largest wildfire season

with five of the twenty largest wildfires in state history

on august 19, there were 367 known fires

many sparked by intense thunderstorms on august 16–17 

caused by moisture from tropical storm fausto


as of september 11, a total of 7,718 fires 

have burned 3,354,234 acres

more than 3% of the state's 100 million acres of land

destroyed 6,391 buildings

caused over 24 deaths and 37 seriously injured


the august complex has surpassed 

the mendocino complex of 2018

to become california's largest recorded wildfire

followed by number three, SCU lighting complex

four, LNU lighting complex

nine, north complex 

and 16, the creek fire


standing on the ashes of the state

as the ground bakes in record heat

blasted by diablo and santa ana winds 

gov newsom said climate change

and drought are to blame

yet, so far this year, the gov has granted 

1,800+ oil and gas permits

and in the midst of a historic drought

precious groundwater is used for fracking

streams are diverted for livestock


the west coast is ground zero

climate change plus business-as-usual

is leading to recording breaking disasters

denial, de-growth and destruction

are the new normal

this year's climate fires 

is a 911 wake-up call

are you going to answer

are you willing to stop ecocide 

is our intersectionality speciesist?

we rightfully call out

forms of discrimination

sexist behaviors 

racist thinking

exploitative work

torturous immigration policies

ableist practices

authoritarian governments

hierarchical religions

anti-revolutionary beliefs


we cancel feminists

for being exclusionary

liberals playing the race card

activists hiding privilege 

everything under the sun

as well as hidden in the shade


we are confidently 'woke'

proud of being non-binary,

pro-sex and pro-porn

saviors of 'rescued' pets

equal in every way

a brave new world

awaits our righteous rage


with not a blind spot

at the intersection

of past, present and future

we are the courageous ones 

we have been waiting for

calling out every form of bias

leaving no one behind


and yet

as the world crumbles

it is not our fault

we are the solution

"they" are the ones that hate

we are blameless


but, if our intersectional discourse

confluence of discrimination 

multiple forms of oppression

multi-discipline analysis

ignores nature 

excludes food animals 

most of the world's injustices 

remain hidden 


sharing the same Earth

we exploit nature's innocents

at our own risk

cancelling our survival

festering pandemics

fueling climate change

fires, hurricanes

our intersectionality is speciesist

but we're too "woke" to care


Gaia is


Gaia is

calm

patient

timeless

forever at home

super comfortable

never leaving her place

always giving

loving, living

forgiving


da Queen

don't do drama -

deal with it

get it over completely

keep on going

without baggage

from the past

persevere at all cost


Earth shows the way

moving constantly

in all directions

fearless

pride-less

a Deity that needs no pity

from narcissists

who suffers no guilt

from the shameless


our Mother is

ever so watchful

humble, honest

noble, dignified

open, supportive

ever willing, ready

to receive, cuddle

Her off springs


da Goddess

of all life

is incorruptible

Her intentions are naked

obvious - preserve life

with matchless integrity

She cannot be fooled

by maya's thoughts, illusions

via self

She easily sees thru

ego's holy show


indestructible Gaia

is impervious to man

to all of masculinity

standing tall

witnessing it all

She abhors the male horror show

but does nothing

to stop men's march

to extinction


its never too late

to re-connect

become grounded

honor Her Highness

respect all Earthlings

live in joy and beauty

as She does


Gaia is

when maya is not


Five Sisters


Gaia is blessed tonight
her five sisters visiting
on a beautiful cloudless sky
Jupiter leads the Goddess procession 
big sister, oh so bright 
approaching the sky's center
as Saturn trails behind
still far in front of  Mars
part of the inner circle,
and Venus, returning in 2020
Our closest sibling
tagging along the crescent Moon
with Mercury in the rear

an incredible parade of Goddesses
goes entirely unnoticed 
by humans, young and old, below
too drunk in ego
consumed by desire for fun
to care about our solar family

people in long beach city
live in an alternate universe
a nihilist world 
engrossed in machismo
a magical place in which
corona virus does not exist
friends and strangers alike
mix and mingle, merrily
as if the pandemic is gone
also likely, it never happened
groups and gatherings galore
block after block
strangely, uncomfortably
we are the only one 
social distancing

sirens blaring...

in one month 
mid-june to mid-july
california went from having 
2,000 corona virus cases daily
to 10,000 new cases every day
every day 
even with inadequate testing
newsome, our 'liberal' governor 
re-opened too soon
beaches, bars, restaurants, theaters 
now desperately trying 
to close it all back down again
but it is too little, too late, gov
the golden state has left the barn
we will soon pass
new york's 406,000 cases 
to lead the US in infections
what a difference a month makes
then, 'rona was spreading slowly
now, she is widely out of control
Venus knew this would happen
the Goddesses all knew
we are the only ones in the dark

corona july 4th



Moon almost full
Jupiter raising
Saturn in tow
8pm in LA
banging pots
ringing bells 
a minute observed
for essential workers
too busy to notice

sirens wailing
left and right
for C-19 calls
11 million cases globally
nearing 3 million in usa
50K cases daily and raising
american hubris on display
trump lying, "it's being managed"

music blaring
from restaurants
customers laughing
carefree bromancing
as fireworks boom everywhere
sparking lights in the air
from red to blue to white
death is "so cool"
dogs barking all night
pandemonium is
a pandemic celebration







C-19 reflection 062220


covid-19
four months spreading
a baby pandemic
barely three days old
feels like three years

with 9% positive rate
los angeles is post-pain
post-social distancing
post-worry
post-giving a damn

with 50% republicans
usa has 2.3 million cases
120,000 deaths
not one is sorry
small price to pay
for MAGA

too broken to fix
too broke to try
who lives
who dies

 

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