tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post6742701769661733718..comments2023-12-23T05:14:34.273-05:00Comments on Wit's End: The Great ConvulsionGail Zawackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01800944469843206253noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-22016985660515346262011-07-10T16:46:20.241-04:002011-07-10T16:46:20.241-04:00If we can't rescue the trees, we can't res...If we can't rescue the trees, we can't rescue ourselves.<br /><br />We primates can't live for long in a world that won't support trees.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-31854292017100881632011-07-10T13:53:55.714-04:002011-07-10T13:53:55.714-04:00Ugo, yes, I have considered the concept of polluti...Ugo, yes, I have considered the concept of pollution that you have mentioned, but what bothers me about it is that most laymen will not see it that way, and instead, to the unwitting, CO2 becomes a dirty word, and their perception is clouded and their otherwise positive intentions misdirected.<br /><br />Yes, of course, many things which are a necessary part of life can be toxic at excessive levels, but what differentiates Ozone from these excessive naturally occurring substances is that Ozone is not naturally occurring, and when it's produced in the massive quantities in which it's being produced, life is not given the opportunity to adapt to the new and unique chemical composition, if adaptation to it is even possible. With the definition you proffer, Ozone and CO2 get lumped into the same category, pollution, and those not paying close enough attention don't grasp the very important distinction.<br /><br />Thank you for understanding. It is refreshing to know that there are others like us who see the terminal decline....that we're not alone...that there are others who are not only cognizant of the destruction, but who also actually have a conscience.<br /><br />Gail is the Tree Whisperer.Morocco Bamanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-1348253903135252562011-07-10T13:28:49.445-04:002011-07-10T13:28:49.445-04:00Congratulations, Ugo! You are now the unlucky mem...Congratulations, Ugo! You are now the unlucky member of a very exclusive club. There are probably no more than a dozen people on the planet who really understand that trees of all varieties, ages, and locations are being suffocated by pollution.<br /><br />It's not surprising that most people avoid knowledge that is what I call soul-crushing. Anticipating the loss of one of the most magnificent species on earth makes for a difficult existence, at least for me - call it pre-traumatic stress syndrome.<br /><br />Once you recognize the symptoms of terminal decline however, the evidence becomes unavoidable. I keep hoping that sooner rather than later, it will become better known and the choice to discontinue our rampant pollution - especially so much of which is unnecessarily, gluttonously wasteful - will become simple since plants are, after all, our primary source of oxygen and food. I haven't managed to convince very many! But perhaps one by one, the word will spread, while there is still time to rescue the trees, and ourselves.Gail Zawackihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01800944469843206253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-34086215309172465522011-07-10T12:09:01.936-04:002011-07-10T12:09:01.936-04:00You are right, Morocco. I should not have used the...You are right, Morocco. I should not have used the term "effect" implying causation. These are all correlated phenomena; ozone, CO2, acid rain, etc.... So there is no single causative chain, except for the human intervention which is forcing the system. <br /><br />You are perfectly right in saying that we should be worried about the environment in general, not becoming fixated to a particular element of it. Climatologists tend to use the term "climate disruption" but we might expand the concept and use the term "Ecological disruption" which includes climate change, but not just that (better still, Anthropogenic Ecological Disruption, AED)<br /><br />Just as a note, however, the definition of "pollutant" depends on concentration. Say, some vitamin D is essential for humans but too much is a poison the body. The same is true for CO2. It is essential for the ecosystem in the right amount but, if it is too much, it can directly damage the human metabolism, and - more in general - it does fit the definition of "pollutant." IMHO.Ugo Bardihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18231859786466899924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-54999860239649069752011-07-10T08:45:44.356-04:002011-07-10T08:45:44.356-04:00Another effect of climate change, I guess.
Ugo, w...<i>Another effect of climate change, I guess.</i><br /><br />Ugo, with all due respect, Gail's hypothesis is not that the dying trees are due to climate change, but rather climate change and dying trees are due to the same process. The dying trees are due to ozone and climate change is due to an imbalance of CO2. We must always keep in mind that CO2 is not a pollutant. An imbalance of it is the issue, not merely the presence of it. I say this because Al Gore in his most recent article about climate change has referred to CO2, indirectly, as Global Warming pollution. CO2 is not a pollutant. It is a necessary part of our biosphere. Ozone, a REAL pollutant, is not CO2....even though it originates from the same man-made processses that produce the excess CO2 the Biosphere is unable to sequester. That is part of what attracts me to Gail's blog...is that she makes that most important distinction and doesn't allow it to get usurped by the Elephant that has become climate change. It's about the Environment, and there are many more things affecting the Environment than just climate change from an imbalance of CO2.Morocco Bamanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-58456244557843293282011-07-09T17:16:25.972-04:002011-07-09T17:16:25.972-04:00Well, nice to hear that you have been to Florence,...Well, nice to hear that you have been to Florence, Gail. I do remember having been to New Jersey, long ago. It was a horribly hot summer and I shiver at the thought of how it must be, now. <br /><br />But your blog has been a real discovery, you know, an epiphany as they say. I had been noticing that trees are not well all around me, but I couldn't connect the dots. Now that you did that for me, I can see what's happening. Two days ago, I took a trip of about 300 km from Florence to a place near the Alps, in Norther Italy. And I kept looking at the trees flanking the highway (I was driving, yes, I know I shouldn't have been - but all trains were full). It was shocking. There are so many dead and dying trees. Maybe the trees near the highway are a special case, but it is bad enough that it makes one wonder. <br /><br />Another effect of climate change, I guess. If, as you say, ocean acidification is the bastard twin of global warming, then dying trees is another forgotten brother - this one a deformed creature that has been kept locked in a damp basement for many years but now he escaped and is coming back....Ugo Bardihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18231859786466899924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-78235682273929727062011-07-09T16:43:20.073-04:002011-07-09T16:43:20.073-04:00Perfect Catman! I was trying to locate your song ...Perfect Catman! I was trying to locate your song list on Youtube yesterday and I couldn't find it! Now, I'm prepared for a new career...Gail Zawackihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01800944469843206253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-31204362990295115002011-07-09T16:22:45.285-04:002011-07-09T16:22:45.285-04:00Earth Fail Warnings
200 songs/videos from the past...Earth Fail Warnings<br />200 songs/videos from the past 100 years warning mankind to straighten up our act or face the consequences<br />http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF021912A3436BA08<br /><br />More earth fail warnings<br />149 songs/videos predicting our man-made doom<br />http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL327E5F312C238644<br />catman306Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-25485004963445581572011-07-09T14:19:15.644-04:002011-07-09T14:19:15.644-04:00Thank you and welcome, Ugo! It's very excitin...Thank you and welcome, Ugo! It's very exciting to have an internet connection to someone in Florence. I have been so lucky to visit there twice in my lifetime and like everyone else who has ever been to Italy I suppose, I fell forever in love with the scenery, the art, the ancient architecture and the food. Did you ever read A Venetian Affair? It is probably a bit obscure, wonderful escape to another less hazardous time in history.<br /><br />Dion, it did not rain quite as badly here in the northern part. We are all dodging bullets in terms of violent weather now, I fear. Watch out for those jellyfish at the beach!<br /><br />RPauli, I don't know if it qualifies as an anthem. But I thought it captures the blindness and dashed hopes that are prevailing in private discourse that really should emerge and become public...<br /><br />I volunteered at my local county radio non-profit station, which is in need of free program hosting, to do a call-in show - maybe title it "Diva of Doom...the most depressing show on the air!" and people could share their secret inklings of all things FUBAR, and I could play songs like that occasionally. Hmmm. Somehow I doubt they'll take me up on it, but you never know, it could strike a chord - look at all the media hoopla around May 21st!Gail Zawackihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01800944469843206253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-80903118523219523742011-07-09T13:49:26.439-04:002011-07-09T13:49:26.439-04:00That's a new song for me. I love those lyrics,...That's a new song for me. I love those lyrics, Gail. We were pounded with rain yesterday in south Jersey as you probably were too. Deluge is the word I'd use to best describe the event. I've never witnessed flooding like it here before. Which begs the question, 'what's next?'Dionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07094443267132622902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-34885857851537504412011-07-09T12:57:24.838-04:002011-07-09T12:57:24.838-04:00I just discovered your blog, Gail. I agree with yo...I just discovered your blog, Gail. I agree with you; it is time to stop worrying about sounding "overly alarmist". It is time to be as alarmist as possible, and even more, if possible. I am going to cite this post and others in my blog. Thanks for what you are doing!Ugo Bardihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18231859786466899924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-80625392457292309542011-07-09T11:55:28.443-04:002011-07-09T11:55:28.443-04:00Every movement needs an anthem.
Am forwarding you...Every movement needs an anthem.<br /><br />Am forwarding your link... thanks so much.richard Paulinoreply@blogger.com