tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post5292153991472751096..comments2023-12-23T05:14:34.273-05:00Comments on Wit's End: Against the Ruin of the WorldGail Zawackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01800944469843206253noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-20538858156357327862014-01-06T15:09:47.489-05:002014-01-06T15:09:47.489-05:00Oh thanks, Tom. Mr. Lewis did send me a heads up ...Oh thanks, Tom. Mr. Lewis did send me a heads up that he was reposting my blog. I was really grateful for his endorsement!Gail Zawackihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01800944469843206253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-85814226379506112212014-01-06T13:33:11.028-05:002014-01-06T13:33:11.028-05:00Here's a good, short essay that noticed the sa...Here's a good, short essay that noticed the same lack of color this fall that you documented, Gail.<br /><br />http://www.dailyimpact.net/2013/10/30/falling-colors-the-long-agony-of-trees/<br /><br />[notice the second comment below the short piece]<br /><br />all the best<br /><br />TomAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-41650824317877473262014-01-05T09:20:53.176-05:002014-01-05T09:20:53.176-05:00Thanks for that link Tom. I've actually been ...Thanks for that link Tom. I've actually been working (slowly!) ona post about tree worship,which is amazingly common so maybe this new example will inspire me to finish, heh. Happy new year to you as well. Can't remember if I told you but there are forums for NBL expats, on FB - the panic room and near term human extinction support group - also a google circle that Lidia just joined, any one of which your presence would be most welcome. Let me knowGail Zawackihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01800944469843206253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-50265028862990743472014-01-05T07:48:08.203-05:002014-01-05T07:48:08.203-05:00Hey, take a look at this article regarding a coupl...Hey, take a look at this article regarding a couple of archeologists poking around at the site of Buddha's birth. At the bottom of the article it shows it to be at least partially about TREE WORSHIP!! Now that's some intelligent people!<br /><br />http://news.yahoo.com/hunch-led-stunning-claim-buddha-birth-date-064120436.html<br /><br />[quote]<br /><br />Lab tests confirmed the existence of roots within the void below the brick structure, suggesting it may have been a shrine where a tree once grew, possibly the hardwood sal tree under which many believe the Buddha was born. <br /><br />The discovery, revealed in November, sparked huge excitement, but some historians have urged caution, saying the ancient tree shrine could have been built by pre-Buddhist believers. <br /><br />"The worship of trees, often at simple altars, was a ubiquitous feature of ancient Indian religions," Julia Shaw, a lecturer in South Asian archaeology at University College London told National Geographic's online edition. <br /><br />"It is also possible that what is being described represents an older tree shrine quite disconnected from the worship of the historical Buddha," Shaw added.<br /><br />According to Coningham, however, if the Buddhists had appropriated the tree shrine from non-Buddhists, the site would not have survived relatively unscathed. <br /><br />"Also, the inscriptions at Bodhgaya (where the Buddha achieved enlightenment) reveal a thriving culture of tree worship, which suggests continuity," he added.<br /><br />Happy New Year, Gail. I'm looking forward to your continued factual posts.<br /><br />TomAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-9750701813424113972014-01-01T00:46:09.462-05:002014-01-01T00:46:09.462-05:00Well, I pecked in a whole comment, but maybe it go...Well, I pecked in a whole comment, but maybe it got lost. Wishing you a peaceful new year, Gail.Cynthia Qhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13166723409526875626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-76315938561595446502014-01-01T00:43:19.079-05:002014-01-01T00:43:19.079-05:00Gail, who knows why I am here shortly after midnig...Gail, who knows why I am here shortly after midnight on the first day of the year… I miss you and Kathy and Erin over at NBL, for one, and I needed to see what you were up to. I'm sorry I did, in a sense, because I wasn't ready to see what you have to show us.<br /><br />I went to a "tree stewards" conference this fall in VT. The keynote speaker was a guy who flies all over rescuing important trees. Most of his presentation had to do with some millionaires' resort in GA, Sea Island, maybe, was its name? And how he moved hundreds of ancient pines into captivating positions on these heinous golf courses. And how many of the trees died until he figured out a way to keep them alive (as far as it goes, since this is an ongoing project). I nearly wept at the pharaonic absurdity of the whole thing.<br />Cynthia Qhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13166723409526875626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-65931408347369756172013-12-25T08:35:55.550-05:002013-12-25T08:35:55.550-05:00Hey everyone: all the best to you (health, happin...Hey everyone: all the best to you (health, happiness, safety, good food, etc) over the holidays. We should cherish these precious moments because they'll be coming to an end in our lifetimes. <br /><br />Thanks Gail for this great blog and keep up the great work!<br /><br />TomAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-1480815739209427102013-12-22T11:04:43.632-05:002013-12-22T11:04:43.632-05:00Yes, the Bay Area is suffering but the peripheral ...Yes, the Bay Area is suffering but the peripheral things that southern California has so much of is going first and fastest. Redwoods in LA and tropical avocados in San Diego along with massive amounts of imported suburban landscaping are in big trouble. Over 30 million people are dependent on dubious sources of water from afar while shifting climate zones, the jet stream and currents deliver who knows what from Asia. Add in the unknowns you mention, thousands of unregulated chemicals dumped with abandon into the biosphere, the legacy affects of our diabolical nuclear madness (Nuclear testing WMV - www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U8CZAKSsNA), it really is a wonder we are still here. There are an impossible number of synergies at work that humans will never understand and the human indifference you bemoan is pretty much the reason for it all. Frankly, I doubt most people in L.A. will notice anythings wrong until the Twinkies and Ho Hos stop showing up at 7-11 and Starbucks runs out of raspberry Lattes. Once those supply chains are broken, Watch Out and grab your gun. Let us hope that day is a long way off. <br />Bill Morannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-44429576521281109422013-12-21T04:35:38.835-05:002013-12-21T04:35:38.835-05:00Hi Gail
I wandered over from DD after listening to...Hi Gail<br />I wandered over from DD after listening to your podcasts. While many people have their particular focuses on what is wrong with the world in where we are heading, I see environmental problems, the biosphere as the most pressing.For example I dont see the ultimate point in protesting the loss of jobs if it means at the end of the day people continue to run two big cars and airconditioning and heating and take trips in jets if they all keep their jobs and are not interested in environmental problems.<br /><br />It has ALWAYS been something I could not undertsand that almost all people do not give a thought to the fact that plantlife, especially trees provide the oxygen we breathe, and clearing trees constatntly, increasing population constantly, building constantly, and burning fuel constantly for cars, industry, electricity, and jet travel directly consumes that oxygen. it always amazes me that people give no thought to the long streams of barely moving traffic in every city, each car carrying one person in peak hour or that all the air travel in the world relies on jet engines that EACH engine suck through a squash court full of air every second in the air.<br /><br />I recently left the city in Perth, Western Australia, moving to remote Tasmania, to become fully offgrid and self suficient. The first thing I noticed when getting more familiar with the property was that most of the big trees, eucalypts were dead or dying, and being replaced by smaller wattyl and pines, though I found a couple of young ones of the variety of the big eucalypts. <br /><br />You mentioned that climate change is less extreme in the tropics, and I would like to add a couple of comments related to that. I grew up in the tropical north of Australia in the 80's and was planning to go back there but changed my mind after researching it. The weather 25-30 years ago was like you normally think of the tropics, hot and sticky in the monsoon but bearable with regular afternoon storms, and very pleasant dry seasons. That has now changed, the humidity in Darwin is unbearable and temps above 105F or 40C with close to 100% humidity are not uncommon. The rain which was as regular as clockwork is no longer. The people who were still there from when I was much younger told me that I had arrived during some pleasant weather and I found that just bearable. So what Im saying is, where temperatures are around or above your body temperature and humidity is in the 90% range small changes are very hard to live with and should not be underestimated. <br /><br />Anyway, good on you for raising awareness of this most imminent threat. <br />Uncle BobAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-82436861142655451382013-12-20T10:33:53.206-05:002013-12-20T10:33:53.206-05:00Thanks so much for your comment, Bill. I lived in...Thanks so much for your comment, Bill. I lived in the Bay area for several years in the late 1970's and having returned a few times since 2009 I am continually shocked at how it has gone from verdant and lust to brown and grey. I am even more shocked that hardly anyone sees anything amiss in this truly incredibly dramatic change. I will definitely check out the video you recommend. There is so much that, even with advanced monitoring, scientists to not seem to understand about the atmosphere. Did you see that new chemical just discovered to be the most potent greenhouse gas? http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/world-s-most-potent-greenhouse-gas-detected-in-atmosphere-1.2470604<br />Gail Zawackihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01800944469843206253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-42712458989870699222013-12-19T20:23:45.673-05:002013-12-19T20:23:45.673-05:00Hi Gail, Thanks for another informative article an...Hi Gail, Thanks for another informative article and trip description. Against a backdrop of what is happening in California it truly is horrifying to see the affects elsewhere. Here in LA where I have gardened in the same place for 14 years, vegetation and growth, especially herbaceous plants, deteriorated drastically in 2006-2007. Since the degredation occured a year or more earlier than what was experienced in the eastern U.S. I believe that all that dreadful air from Asia pushed us past the tipping point here a bit earlier than the east coast. Even here in central LA I could grow virtually anything until 7 years ago, now most everything that remains in my garden is in serious decline. As well, the native chapparal in the Hollywood Hills/Santa Monica Mountains is mostly dead. There are numerous eucalyptus trees adjacent to the Hollywood sign that are near death while hundreds of redwoods are dead and dying in the Griffith Park golf course. Having travelled extensively around the state over the last two years it appears that everything iconic in the way of California plantlife such as both redwoods, Joshua trees, madrone and many others are in rapid decline. The Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt County is now called by locals The Avenue of the Spike Tops, a logger reference to trees that are dying from the top down. Until recently there was no known dead coast redwoods unless lost by fire or wind EVER found so it appears that the name Sequoia Sempervirens (always green) does not apply anymore. <br /><br />I wonder if you have seen the video on Youtube: The Canary in the Coal Mine, Why the Stratosphere is Still Relevant? I believe the information therein offers some explanation as to reduced stratospheric ozone and its impact on tropospheric ozone. The video is being disseminated by the State Dept. and is a rather profound lecture by the atmospheric scientist Dr. D. Toohey. It appears that the Space Shuttle did much damage to the ozone layer and this may have a lot to do with vegetation loss. <br /><br />Thanks for your effort and keep up the good work.Bill Morannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-48685796226788526852013-12-17T18:34:13.252-05:002013-12-17T18:34:13.252-05:00I did expect it to fail faster than it has, althou...I did expect it to fail faster than it has, although, in the grand scheme of things, it's going in the blink of an eye. I find it hard to feel lucky - it's more like, prolonging the agony. Look, this was released the year I graduated from high school: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhE7xY6r9pM<br />Gail Zawackihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01800944469843206253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-56659058218747986222013-12-17T14:49:34.277-05:002013-12-17T14:49:34.277-05:00Hi Gail. As bad as things are right now I do feel ...Hi Gail. As bad as things are right now I do feel like we are lucky to actually have as much left as we do. I think if we could linearly extrapolate from 2008/09 when the major damage became readily apparent, then all trees should probably be 100% dead by now. So maybe rather than the tree decline falling off a cliff, we are looking at some plateaus along the way. I'm not saying things are getting better, far from it, but I think we are lucky we still have as much left as we do. I'm quite surprised it's not all gone by now.Back in 2008 did you not expect it would all be totally dead by now also? Thanks for the great post and pictures.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-60115641453712324742013-12-17T08:13:08.589-05:002013-12-17T08:13:08.589-05:00Dear Anonymous,
I remain mystified by your reacti...Dear Anonymous,<br /><br />I remain mystified by your reaction to my post. How did you overlook the words that described my reaction to driving a carbon-guzzling sports car and then being plunged into a "mecca of LuxuryHyperoverindulgence"? - cognitive dissonance, guilt, irony, bizarre, and terror? What should I have written instead to convey my feelings - which YOU twist first into being envy of not being rich and next, in a head-spinning reversal, into bragging about BEING rich? (Neither of which is accurate.)<br /><br />Are you as ignorant of history as you apparently are of grammar and spelling that you missed the reference to the iconic symbol of the Bolshevik Revolution - the Winter Palace - which was stormed and all its fabled art and other treasures smashed and destroyed? What don't you get about the parable of the fate of the Tsarist aristocracy and what is looming for the wealthy residents of Palm Beach?<br /><br />Do you imagine I have some sort of control over my daughter, a grown woman…or her husband? Am I supposed to publicly air my private relationship with her?<br /><br />I don't think I need to do that to be truthful. You are correct however, I do lack spirituality. If spirituality means being as mean-spirited as you, I have no regrets.<br /><br />And don't bother posting another anonymous comment on my blog, I will delete it as soon as I see it. Anyone can easily find who I am and where I live. I wear my broken heart on my sleeve for all to see. I don't hide behind anonymity.<br />Gail Zawackihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01800944469843206253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-31764524377805212392013-12-16T23:05:16.622-05:002013-12-16T23:05:16.622-05:00I don't get your point of bragging about your ...I don't get your point of bragging about your daughters million dollar palm beach home in florida, driving the Porsche and all the other high money oriented aspects of your blog. Are you desparetly trying to pretend that you wish your life was still filled with riches and that somehow you should escape the end because you are more worthy than the rest of us??? I continue to wonder about people who are high on their own hog while complaining about the demise of the earth. Don't you think you and your daughter should maybe come down to the level you proclaim everyone else has caused. Isn't your main beef that man has polluted the earth with his 8 piston cars while your simultaneously brag about your rich life and driving one of the most gas wasting and expensive cars on earth?????????? I think this may be called hipocrazy.... This is why nothing will ever change in the world because of the twisted minds like yours. Remember the phrase practice what you preach............. You will perish with the rest of us. I feel sorry for you because you lack truth and spirituality and you are not one with the earth as your post preaches.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-49167349302302481942013-12-16T07:11:10.534-05:002013-12-16T07:11:10.534-05:00Thanks for this posting Gail.
It's so seren...Thanks for this posting Gail. <br /><br />It's so serendipitously strange that I'm reading it while listening to the latest The Lifeboat Hour where Michael Ruppert just announced that someone sent him a document showing all the animal die-offs from the past few years and culminating in this year's stats. One can see the steady increase up to last year when there were some 500 events of animal and fish die-offs. <br /><br />This year, 2013, the number of events of die-offs is 35 pages long! And the year isn't over yet! Try to wrap your head around that.<br /><br />The collapse of our biosphere is accelerating.<br /><br />TomAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com