Spring Forward?

Spring has long been symbolic of rebirth, renewal, and growth. We, here in the DC/MD/VA areas, see beautiful seasonal changes as the cherry blossoms, redbud, dogwood, forsythia, and other trees burst into bloom on nearly every corner, while the wind blows petals around instead of snowflakes. Fragrant hyacinths bloom along sidewalks; daffodils and tulips bravely wave their petals in the spring breezes. Iris and lilies poke green shoots up through the winter-weary soil, while hydrangea and rhododendron buds swell with the promise of upcoming beauty.

Earth Day 2022

Can you believe that Earth Day has endured since 1970, despite all odds against it?

However, while Mother Earth is doing her best to remind us of her virtues, many ugly situations remain as we approach another annual celebration of Earth Day. Too often, global climate change, extreme warming, severe storms, excessive rainfalls, and coastal sea encroachment are disregarded in our day-to-day lives and mentioned only as a new disaster strikes another part of the world. The west coast remains in a prolonged drought while Louisiana struggles to recover from repeated hurricanes, torrential downpours, and other severe storms such as tornadoes.

In a stark warning, the United Nations released its annual report (IPCC-the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) on climate and stated:

A new flagship UN report on climate change released Monday indicates “that harmful carbon emissions from 2010 to 2019 have never been higher in human history, [and] is proof that the world is on a ‘fast- track’ to disaster, [Secretary-General] António Guterres has warned, with scientists arguing that it’s ‘now or never’ to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.” He further stated that unless governments across the world act now, changes could be irreversible and the world could become uninhabitable.

The Paris Accords in 2015 pledged to keep global temperatures under 1.5 degrees Celsius or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, but those numbers were almost doubled in the last decade. He warned that the 197 nations who signed the accords need to do better at meeting the goals decided upon at that conference. The report, however, found a few encouraging facts to share. The top ones are noted below:

1.    Electric vehicles are on the rise.

2.    Costs are decreasing for low emission technologies.

3.    Mitigation laws are expanding.

4.    It is still possible to change industrial emissions.

5.    Cities present good opportunities for climate action.

6.    Various economic measures are being employed.

7.    People care and they are engaged.

8.    CO2 removal is essential and complicated.

The nations in this world cannot look away and pretend that this is only a problem for the rich nations, all populations are affected when temperatures hit extreme levels. Many nations are harmed when drought strikes a formerly fertile valley and it can no longer produce the volume of products it used to grow. Coastal communities across the globe are concerned about sea-level rise and the threats posed to their nation and its people. Billions of dollars of vacation homes in resort communities are on the path of severe storms more frequently; states have to decide whether to allow the owners to rebuild or lose the tax revenue now to protect lives in the future.

In an important cover article, Time Magazine recently addressed the issue of how business will affect future changes in the global climate. The article noted that just 100 companies are responsible for 70% of the worlds’ emissions, so they are the ones most equipped to make the necessary changes. When DJT pulled America out of the Paris accords, many corporations decided they needed to evaluate how they could make the changes without government assistance. These were the companies that increased the use of electric vehicles, looked at smarter packaging, and use of alternative energy sources such as solar and wind. Since they can make these changes on a larger scale than an average homeowner, their impact will be greater. This is not to say that industry no longer pollutes, that is certainly not true as drive by many manufacturing plants can demonstrate, however, multiple industries are trying to make a difference. However, still, both homeowners and businesses can use the Earth Day mantra: reduce, reuse, recycle.

Climate changes also affect the military trying to wage battles in areas of extreme heat. After seeing the troubles his forces found in the heat of Iraq, a British military officer looked at ways military operations would change as they faced a different climate. He described the following in a recent article in The Washington Post:

“Perhaps most ominously, it lists the many ways global warming will destabilize nations and alliances across the world. Oil-rich nations such as Saudi Arabia will be upended if they have no takers for their main product and they become less strategically important. Access to the rare earth elements needed for batteries and circuitry could lead to clashes between China and the United States in places such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Greenland. Countries where water shortages are likely — such as Iraq and Somalia — will probably face even more conflicts.”

The American military has long structured war games on issues of countries with water and those without; will migration result as rivers dry up? Will wars be fought over water supplies and the inability to grow crops? Many economists are concerned today over the war in Ukraine as Ukraine annually produces grain for many countries in northern Africa and the Middle East; no other country produces the same amounts. With the war raging around them, farmers could not plant their usual crops for grains and other commodities this year. Where will the grain come from this year?

Earth Day 2022 is a somber commemoration. I hope everyone will take this day seriously.

On another note, the Maryland legislative session for 2022 ended this week and was marked by overrides of vetoed legislation from Governor Hogan. When bills are sent to the governor more than ten days before the end of the session, the governor must decide about the bill before it can become law. He can sign it, veto it, or let it become law without a signature. If the session is still on, the legislature has a chance to override the veto. If a bill is sent to the governor at the end of the session, and vetoed, overrides must wait until a special session, if there is one, or the start of the next legislative year. This year, several bills were vetoed and overridden by the legislators. One of them was the bill that extended the providers who could perform abortions to nurse practitioners and midwives. Maryland Matters discussed them here:  

The governor claimed the bill would endanger the health of women. Over 50% of abortions occur using oral medications and do not require surgery, so his veto was overridden. Contrary to Republican claims, the bill does not allow for termination of pregnancies beyond current established limits-which seem in flux, while waiting for the Supreme Court to decide pending cases. Many pundits believe he is polishing his right-wing “creds” so he can run for president in 2024. Another veto involved the Family leave Bill that will provide up to 12 weeks of partially paid family leave beginning in 2025. Cost-share provisions will be defined by the State Department of Labor before implementation. Another involved collective bargaining while another allowed investigation of improper wages.

On an interesting note, Delegate Al Carr decided to not run again in his Kensington District but chose to run in the newly created County Council District 4. Council member, Tom Hucker, who represented a local Montgomery County Council District, dropped his bid for County Executive and decided to run for an at-large spot on the Council. The filing deadline, which had been extended because of the Primary date change, has now closed.

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Brief COVID notes: China continued its drastic lockdowns of several cities, including Shanghai, its’ largest city. Residents are confined to their homes and cannot go out for food or medicine, but can order in; those who test positive, regardless of symptoms, are taken to a quarantine center. These strong-arm tactics have caused many in China to push back, with little success. The vaccine developed by the Chinese is not quite as effective as those developed in Europe and the US.

In the US, the B.A.2 variant has become dominant, but two new sub-variants have been identified. Case counts are again increasing across the country and have shown a 38% rise in recent days, although hospital rates remain low. The New York Times reports that the US is nearing a death toll of one million, although many feel the numbers are actually higher. There have been over 80 million reported cases here, with over 7 million deaths worldwide; that number is considered an under-count, as numbers from China, Russia, and India have been tallied incompletely. Currently, DC is near the top of the states/areas reporting fresh cases, while Maryland is about 25^th. Several local colleges have again started requiring masks or virtual classes for their students.

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This week marked 50 years of pandas at the DC National Zoo, so the

Pandas got a celebratory iced fruit cake, which they seemed to enjoy.   

The news from Ukraine remains disheartening; it is tragic what Putin is doing to that country and its’ people.

“Til next week, hope for peace.