Winds in Opposition – Photo: L. Weikel
Darkness
The weather today felt foreboding. Darkness infiltrated every nook and cranny and, disturbingly, that dramatic lack of light was not at all associated with the end of the day.
I took the photo, above, in a feeble attempt to capture the eerie way the clouds were moving well before today’s storm actually arrived. (Of course, video captured it much more effectively than did the still shots.) Nevertheless, the layers of clouds were obvious and pronounced, and even in the still photo, you can almost see how the middle layer of whitish clouds was moving in a completely opposite direction of the other two darker layers.
Layers of Cloudy Chaos
This contrary movement felt (and looked) ominous. Inside, it felt (and looked) as though all the curtains had been drawn and we were waiting for…something…to drop.
The quality of the thunder seemed different today as well. Instead of cracks of thunder, the evidence of lightning super-charging the air sounded more like what I might imagine bombs would sound like. Again, in spite of my fervent love of thunderstorms, I felt uneasy. And I was not alone.
The sun will come out tomorrow (to coin a phrase). I know that.
But I have to admit, witnessing the rapidity with which everything flooded today here in our neck of Pennsylvania, I feel a deep concern for New Orleans, as well as many other low-lying coastal areas. It’s not even the middle of July yet and New Orleans is staring down the arrival of its first hurricane of the season, which is expected to make landfall over the weekend. And we’re only at “B” in the season’s naming process.
Even the concept of climate change seems quaint at this point. We are in the midst of a full blown climate crisis. We need to stop pussy-footing around this truth and bring all of our formidable resources (both creative and economic) to bear on responding to the reality of this truth.
Within minutes of today’s deluge – Photo: L. Weikel
What I guess I don’t understand is why people feel a need to argue the origin of this crisis. Our climates are changing radically all over the Earth. Regardless of ‘who’ or ‘what’ started it, the ice at the poles and the permafrost as well are melting exponentially faster than had been predicted. Everything is changing – again, exponentially more rapidly – as a result. We cannot afford to continue this insane pattern of denial.
Yes, the darkness that overlay the area today was, arguably, a passing storm. But I can feel in the core of my being that we are whistling past the graveyard as we continue to pretend there’s “nothing to see here.” Darker days are ahead if we do not act now to demand better of our lawmakers. This provincial, head-in-the-sand, fingers-stuck-in-our-ears repeating “lalalalalala” approach to this climate crisis is the epitome of darkness.
We need to stop denying what’s right before our eyes. We must refuse the temptation to retreat and accept the darkness. Together we must shine our Light on this crisis – and demand immediate action and accountability.
(T-869)