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Today is Earth Day 2020.
Today Earth Day goes digital
Excerpts from that page:
On Earth Day, April 22, 2020, we have two crises:
One is the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The other is a slowly building disaster for our climate.
We can, will and must solve both challenges. The world was not prepared for the novel coronavirus. But we still have time to prepare — in every part of the world — for the climate crisis.
——–
On Earth Day 2020, we say enough is enough.
We say we believe in science.
We say that everyone can make a difference.
We say that the protection of our planet and the wellbeing of the people who live upon it are the top priorities.
On Earth Day 2020, we say that we’re committing to vote, we’re registering to vote and we’re showing up to vote.
And if we can’t vote, we’re exercising our power to demand more action from our leaders.
+1
The current nationwide pause as a result of Covid-19 is an extraordinary opportunity, and probably the only one we will get, to redesign our economy so that it no longer threatens life on this planet.
That is from Covid-19 Has Nothing on What’s Coming by Prof Stephenson of University of Otago.
Covid-19 and its aftermath will be the greatest disruption that New Zealand has faced since at least the Great Depression in the 1930s. It is already causing untold misery and trauma and will bring both economic hardship and health consequences for some years to come.
Yet these impacts will be trivial compared to the likely economic and social disruption if we continue to destroy the environment. Climate action failure, biodiversity loss, extreme weather, human-made environmental disasters and water crises are five of the top 10 global risks identified by the World Economic Forum in 2020. Infectious diseases are just one more. Full article at the link above.
Okay, I get that I am probably not the target audience for that article, but I find that the woeful mishandling of metaphors is really distracting from their points.
Firstly, the frog in water is one that always drives me to despair when it is flubbed. The entire point is the frog (dog on electrified floor in the original 1960s experiments that you could never get ethical clearance to replicate these days) has previously learnt that they are unable to escape the pot of water (because there’s a lid on it, that they eventually get sick of bashing their head against). A control frog which hasn’t had this prior experience of Learned Helplessness will readily jump out. The point is not that; frogs are stupid and will not notice that they’re being boiled alive! Rather, it is that; the frogs who have repeatedly learned in the past that jumping out is no escape, will not waste their hoard of energy in futile jumps when they are in a life threatening situation. It’s not that they don’t realise that they’re boiling to death, more that they can no longer see how to escape the trap due to previous cynical manipulation by others.
As for the seven stars; I only need use four of them to navigate by (South being indicated by convergence of projections from virtual line segments). I know people who can do it with only two, though I can’t reliably do that myself (visualising 5x the long axis on a perceptually curved space always throws me off).
#BuildBackBetter: In Milan, in response to the devastating effects of Covid-19 across Italy, the city is re-designing its street space by limiting the use of cars.
“Of course, we want to reopen the economy, but we think we should do it on a different basis from before.”
Climate activists from across the globe on Tuesday welcomed an ambitious new plan for Milan that will, according to the Guardian, transform 22 miles of street space currently reserved for cars “with a rapid, experimental citywide expansion of cycling and walking space to protect residents as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.”
Greece-based author Julian Hoffman declared, “Turning 35km of Milan’s streets over to cyclists and pedestrians shows how there are openings amidst the crisis to boldly and beneficially reimagine our lives, landscapes, and future on the other side.” Milan Limits Cars after Covid 19 – CommonDreams
One good thing about the lockdown is that teachers are going to be in such a good negotiating position afterwards. Parents who might otherwise get all huffy about the expense of teachers asking for reasonable; staffing levels, working conditions, and materials (it’s seldom just about wages), will suddenly be whole heartedly be onboard for anything short of chaffeured gold-plated limousines if it just gives them an hour to themselves!
Homeschooling is hard! The personal relationship between; teacher and pupil, is so different to that of; parent and child (despite their being; in loco parentis), that trying to balance the two is disruptive to both.
I don’t like the political blogs concentrating on the immediate. If we’re interested in politics we’re interested most of all in the skyline. America slices and dices the present better than anyone but never lifts its head much.
With the covid crisis we’ve got the interventionist govt we want. We were so tired that we rested on our haunches after the Clark govt came to power after 16 years of rulers talking shit to us. So they stole ‘their thing’ back. Sales aside, this govt is appropriate to dealing with the climate change crisis. No relaxation, for the people. This govt role must continue.
The Coronavirus or COVID 19 is a beast that should not be underestimated. Infected can still carry the virus in them for weeks, even though they may initially test negative after first infection:
https://uk.yahoo.com/news/recovered-almost-chinas-early-patients-052434092.html
We are in totally uncharted territory, so there is a dim chance of truly wiping it out even here in NZ.
Marc, I think you’re right, there. But we can at least minimise the risks, and that’s what we’ve done. And that in itself is a great achievement, surely.
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