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Poems and Thoughts by Frank Maurer

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Population

The Poppies of Elsinore, California opus 92

When I was 10, I had my own paper route.
I folded each paper, stuffed them all in the cloth paperbag,
And rode off on my bicycle.
One afternoon about 1951, I was folding the papers
And reading the headlines that day as I folded,
I saw something I would never forget--
Why, I do not know, but there it was:
"The Earth's Population is now 3 Billion People."

Of course, now within my lifetime of 71 years from that time,
The earth has reached a growing total of over 8 billion persons!
The predictions are that things may level off at 10 or 11 billion.
Goodness-------.
Now on the radio today there was a news item
That in 2019, Elsinore, California, had thousands of visitors
To view the superabundance of Spring poppies.
So many people that it clogged the town to a standstill--
No towns people could follow their normal movements!
The highway blocked, driveways blocked, shopping centers blocked!
Then, Covid for two years and no visitors.
Now 2023 arrives with another poppy bumper crop.
The town was so traumatized in 2019,
That the mayor proclaimed all peripheral roads and parks were closed--
There were so many people who came before,
That now, NO ONE could enjoy the canyon flowers by the town.

Three billion to eight billion population and everyone is penalized--
Just trying to view some flowers!
Will we be able to manage our populations
With ever more growing vital life needs such as
Meds distribution, food availability, fuel consumption?
How might we really manage with such chaos?

May We not lose Our Joshua Trees! opus 132

The Human-augmented climate crisis is taking its toll everywhere.
What seems at first just subtle shifts of the environment,
Suddenly explode in our face, manifesting pending disaster.
Such is the plight of the Joshua Tree--
That Doctor Seuss-like succulent with its comical, upright 'arms'.
They are dying from the worst drought in more than a thousand years.
Beyond that, housing developments have divided reproducing populations,
And now wildfires have increased across their desert.

Developers in the region are concerned that their activities will be encumbered.
And opposing environmental groups are concerned
About the total demise of this unique organism.
This scenario is just a small manifestation
Of the thousands of potential conflicts which will 'raise their heads',
As we earthlings proceed further into the misty unknown
Of what our exploding human population has created.

We must teach our children, the inheritors of this terrible creation,
So that they better understand and can possibly cope
And intellectually ameliorate the huge challenges they will face.
At 82, I only wish I could 'stay around'
To aid them in a problem I have helped create!
I am so sorry.

A Checklist for Energy Use in Our New Age opus 146

Our climate, because of our past negligence of the many warnings from decades ago,
That our waste will cause temperature increases in both the atmosphere and our oceans,
We are now 'paying' for it with a new unfolding world.
Because we are a travelling population, I use trips as a recipe to make decisions :

1. I have a trip unfolding before me.
2. I must first evaluate its importance and the needed results.
3. Do I really need to go on this trip at all?
4. Are there closer alternative destinations which will fulfill the trip's goals.
5. If going, can I 'double up' on travel modes (ie. 'carpooling').
6. Do I have an alternative--a less polluting mode of transport, even if less convenient.
7. Have I evaluated my possible mode of transport: air, train, bus, car, bicycle, walking.
8. With all this--watch out for rationalizations!

We must now all realize how fast our climate is changing and to finally realize
That one person does make a difference ('one vote makes a difference').
The frog in the pot of water feels nothing even as the temperature rises
Until it is too late. (Yum, delicious cooked frog meat.)
All this will take discipline and forgetting the way we used to live.
We are slowly frying to a point where we will all be nomads (towards the poles)
In this new century. (See Nomad Century by Gaia Vince, 2022.)

Also consider: EV or hybrid plugin, photovoltaic panels, wall battery,
solar box cooker, Hold back on the AC and use a fan, sundry clothes,
paint surfaces white, landscape with xeric plants, House upgrades,
plant shade trees, etc., etc.

The World's Panama Canal opus 283

The Panama Canal, like the Suez Canal,
Is critical for economizing world shipping,
Resulting from the hard-won excavation of miles of terrain.
Today, though, with so many actual and pending earth changes,
Drought is challenging the Canal's water levels,
Reducing the daily number and size of ships passing through.
Unknown to many, the Canal's water is not sea-, but fresh--
There are several springs in the local lakes providing such
And these water bodies are manifesting lowering levels.
These lakes also provide water
For several million inhabitants of Panama.
Once again, as will occur multiple times over,
Water for agriculture vs the cities
And at the Canal, water for transport vs the same,
Will be in constant competition to provide the growing demands
For food production, transport, and the ever increasing humankind.

A Twenty-first Century Human Dilemma opus 291

For good or evil / better or worse, Israel was created by force,
Aided by Britain, the United States of America, and the UN.
We all know the reasons why this act was performed.
We (the USA), especially, pledged to be a steadfast ally at all cost.
We have also weekly, financially supported this new country,
Which also is, of course, a legitimate sovereign nation.

Today, our octogenarian president, having lived during
That pioneer period and well aware of our former pacts,
Strongly stood by Israel, because of our original treaty and promises.
But the world has changed and by obliterating so many Gazan civilians,
While defending itself against the aggressing political organization,
It has created an enigma as to the best approach to warfare.
By backing Israel's blitz, Biden has been condemned
Because of 'backing' so many deaths.
How to rectify this nightmarish situation will be temporarily solved,
But the only final and needed conclusion is a Two State Solution,
Where the Palestinian people will at last, once again, govern themselves.

My only futuristic thought is, would it be best
To exchange territory so that the Nation of Palestine
Will control a single area, creating a more manageable nation-state?
Causing a great catastrophe, Pakistan was carved
Out of the Indian territory, both east and west portions.

Of course, other such human 'experiments' were artificially formed
To appease religious, historical, ethnic, or political tensions.
The planet is basically 'neutral': the complication and conflict
Are its human overlords!

My Haplogroup G on the Y Chromosome opus 293

DNA family ancestry became popular in the '80's and '90's.
I was very intrigued and sent in my saliva sample
To the 'pioneer' National Geographic laboratory, now gone,
Which yielded to '23 and Me' and other commercial groups.
My mother's X results showed my European and Scottish/Viking side,
While my father's Y yielded an exciting, unexpected history.
Instead of depicting a European story,
My Y chromosome showed a haplogroup G,
Found in the Turkiye, Armenia, Iraq, and Iran area--
The Fertile Crescent, origin of agriculture from 9 thousand years ago!
The haplogroup G was basically rare in Europe which demonstrated
That the practice of agriculture was not spread through warfare and plundering,
But rather through more gentle, cultural exchange.
Having applied to be a Pacifist, Non-combatant in 1966,
I was pleased that my biological background
Led me to a farming existence in Davis, California, my now home.
My maternal grandfather and Bill, his son, were also farmers.
It just took me 40 years to recapitulate my genetic beginnings!

Intraspecific Conflict opus 298

Charles Darwin in his 'On the Origin of Species' (1859),
Observed that speciation and subspeciation result from geographic isolation.
All organisms on earth appear to follow this hypothesis.
Of course this mainly pertains to adaptation to a varying environment
And reduction of competition for food and needed territory.
With humans, we have varied superficial morphology,
Resulting in varying skin color, nose shape, eye color, height, etc.
But humans, more than other species, have culture and religion,
Which results, to the human mind, in a huge differentiation of the 'other'.
As a result, the human intraspecific or population competition
And conflict forms a new dimension,
Compared to other specific life on our planet.
Evaluating these differences, humans have a more complex level
Of Darwin's concept of isolation and adaptation to a new environment.
Culture, ideology, and religion result in greater potential 'intraspecific' conflict,
Which we are all observing and living through every single day!
With humans, geographic isolation seems not to reduce competition,
But because of other factors mentioned, may increase that population conflict.
Might our wonderful minds actually lead us to our own
Potentially peaceable intraspecific downfall?

The Irish Stand for the Palestinians opus 318

The Irish people were conquered by England and were under its control.
This was finally remediated and Ireland is now a free nation-state.
When Israel was first formed in 1948 under the direction
Of the Palestinian area foreign secretary,
The brutal Arthur James Balfour,
Who also was chief secretary of Ireland before its freedom.
It was Balfour in 1917 who proposed a national home
In Palestine for the Jewish people.
Ronald Storres, governor of Jerusalem (1917-1926),
Wrote that if enough Jewish people moved to Palestine,
It could "form for England a 'little loyal Jewish Ulster'
In a sea of potentially hostile Arabism."
When the English settled in Northern Ireland,
It became known as the 'plantation of Ulster'.

Ireland sided with the new Israel
With all its challenges as a fellow underdog.
Of course Northern Ireland remained
As a constant reminder of English hegemony.
Israel began to secure more territory
And displaced more indigenous Palestinians.
Slowly, the Irish national sympathy shifted more
Towards the Palestinian dilemma and cause.
Today Ireland laments the horror of the 7 October Gaza attack,
But also questions the 'revenge' of the Israeli counter attacks.
Of the 5.3 million Irish citizens, there are only 2,700 Muslims,
But because of the similar history of conquest,
Irish sympathies towards the Palestinian plight
Is, at present, steadfast.

Indeed, the Irish do wish all those in Israel and Palestine
'That there's always hope and may your miracle
Come soon, as it did for us.'

Another Twisted Bit of History opus 413

One side claims that Kamala Harris is now the 'Border Czar',
'No progress has been made and the 'Czar' has failed.'
Actually she was sent, not to fix the problem at the border,
But to look into and remedy the problem originating from the source--
Just why so many are streaming to our border.
She followed through, partially remedying some 'source difficulties',
With a resulting measurable decline in the displaced numbers!
For any problem, one must inspect the origin of a phenomenon
And not always attempt a remedial bandaging
Far from the source of the flowing spring.

Several Modern Sources for Instant Death opus 432

We are living now in a world where the unknown moment of instant death
Is completely possible, leading to nervousness, fear, weariness,
And sometimes just plain defiance.

Russia has continually bombed the Ukrainian people;
They never know where the unjust explosives will land.
But in spite of all this, the brave people have become weary but defiant.

Israel is retaliating from a cruel Hamas attack,
But now the innocent Gaza population is herded and bombed; 
herded and bombed -- to the extreme that the 'eye for an eye' 
Has reached an unequal tipping point.

Now, suddenly, in Lebanon 37 are dead and thousands 
Maimed from pager explosions.
Two children near the pagers are amongst the dead.
Israel has admitted (at least to the US) that they are behind
This possible war crime.
After a second day of random explosions, the Lebanese population is in turmoil.

How can we all stand by, helplessly, and witness such heinous acts?
The 21st century began with such positiveness and now look at us.

Political Order opus 450

In order to make good POLITICAL decisions for a SOCIETY,
There needs to be a strong, unifying CULTURE.
After which that SOCIETY must work in its best unison,
Resulting in strong, just, POLITICAL decisions for that population.

POLITICS out of that sequential order,
Results in disharmony and possible dictatorship.

Human Holding Pens opus 508

More and more we judge cattle holding pens as repugnant.
At present, we are witnessing a massive, burning-LA.
If cattle should not be crowded, waiting for slaughter,
Why do we herd humans together in a fire-prone complex,
Ready for the slaughter of a way of life--
The one way of life many only know.

The Hunter-Gatherers opus 520

In former days, our hunter-gatherer ancestors moved
At the 'whim' or general greater movement of the herds.
Sometimes it was feast and other times famine.
So the modern, unthinking person might thus conclude.
There is, still, a quiet factor which repeats history.
That factor is our surrounding virus and bacteria.
Contemplate the rise of heretofore virual outbreaks
And how we mobilize to cope with whatever.
Our 'herds' today are populations of pigs, cows, chickens, and bees.
When they die or must be hygienically slaughtered,
We, as in ancient times, must cope with diminishing food sources.
Unlike our ancestors, there are times when the change
Also affects us directly, needing medical aid.
We must not only mobilize to cope with reduced resources,
But must even protect ourselves from that which ravages our food source.
It seems that things are different, but really much the same.
So is the cycle of life--the 'hunter' and the 'hunted',
Ensuring that the flow of energy will necessarily continue to obtain.

Benjamin Franklin and Canada as the 14th Colony opus 548

Franklin and Washington felt it was inevitable
That the thinly populated British possessions
To the north, would eventually join the future US.
Before the Declaration of Independence was signed,
Two colonists, Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold,
Came very close to convincing Canada to join.
After Yorktown, Washington wanted to make another attempt.
With a well equipped army, and the French allies,
He wish to capture Quebec and drive the British out of Canada.
Now, with more detail, John Allen, a Nova Scotia politician,
Wrote Washington that his crown colony may join the 13 Colonies--
About three-quarters of that then population of 20,000 were New Englanders!
However, as a result of several difficult historical incidents,
Nova Scotia, nor Quebec were included in the new US.

The Six Ring Benzine Menace opus 647

The US intake of sugar is directly proportional to temperature.
When temperature rises, sugar intake increases.
Most of this sugar intake is through soft drinks.
By the end of the century, it is estimated that yearly 
Per capita intake will be at least a one pound increase.
Soft drink companies now calculate production
By following temperature rise from weather predictions.
Climate change is already causing
The deterioration of human health vis a vis sugar.
Will obesity start culling the very numbers of the human population?
The driving of our gas guzzlers may in the end be our absolute end.

The Serious Plight of the WHO's Future opus 759

The 'Administration' has tragically pulled the US out of the WHO.
The implications lead to the loss of vital world health information.
This appears as a mindless short-sighted action.
But, surprisingly, California Governor Newsom, within one day,
Has installed California as the first state to join the WHO.
Projecting into our future, will multiple similar actions,
Evolve in California's alliance to finally become a nation of its own? 
Just a thought that many 'futurist' citizens may be contemplating.

A Brown-Skinned Boy opus 858

Rowan, my five-year-old grandson, is the result
Of his father, of basically Caucasian-European stock,
And of his mother, of Filipina-Russian-European stock.
The Filipina part of his genome, 
Rendered a beautiful brown epidermis.
When Rowan visits me on my 37 acre farm,
His father ensures that he applies sunscreen.
An older Rowan now has learned 
More about his family background.
So when Pierre, his father, 
Said he needed to apply 'the stuff,'
Rowan countered that of course, being brown,
He needed less sunscreen than his father,
Because he didn't burn like his white parent.
He has become more aware and is actually proud,
Thank goodness, for his lovely brown skin.
Rowan was born into a very tolerant family;
The question is how the 'other world' 
Will accept and treat him.
We will all keep our fingers crossed.

Flooding I. New Orleans opus 862

This is the first of four parts on the subject of Flooding.
In the 'pioneer days,' when people were choosing a town site,
The several criteria used to decide where to build often included:
Proximity to water, near a railroad, good grazing, nice vistas.
Beyond that, future challenges or dangers were often not considered.
Flaws we now see were often overlooked in those founding days!

New Orleans is sinking (subsidence).
They now say this existence has an end.
The city will eventually be gone under water.
Is it the soil?  Is there no rock substrate?
What of the topography?  Why is water seeping in?
This city is hit with a double whammy.
Not only is it sinking, but the ocean is also quickly rising.
Huge efforts have been made to modernize the 'defence.'
Almost all (99%) of the city's population risks severe flooding.
The city was founded in a bowl with no drainage.
It is below sea level and protected only by levees.
Pumping into Lake Pontchartrain or the Mississippi River
Is a limited solution against flooding.
The city is at a point of no return.
Is relocation the only real solution to this nightmare?
Again, the sea is rising and the land mass is subsiding.
The problems are defined as follows:
Pluvial or surface flooding overwhelms the drainage systems.
Fluvial or riverine flooding results from rivers destroying levees.
Storm surge and coastal flooding result 
From hurricanes and tropical storms.
Coastal flooding results from high tides 
Augmented by rising sea levels.
This latter type of flooding affects areas 
Both inside and outside the levee system.

There are those who declare it all a hoax.
Some leaders are far from being empirical.
Many people have no idea of the word's meaning:
'To observe for evidence and thus to consider consequences.'
Will we ever free ourselves from this labyrinth,
This endless thoughtless maze?

Flooding II. Sacramento, California opus 863

California has had seven trial and permanent capitols.
Sacramento was the final area decided upon.
Native Americans reportedly questioned, "Why there?"
It was surrounded by a swamp, flooded in the winter.
And it was constantly plagued by mosquitoes!
Indeed, the whole town was raised by filling in the roads and first floors!
A deep swale remains, showing the original topography.
Tours today show some of the buried first floors.
Sacramento is so flood-prone that it ranks second only to New Orleans.
(San Francisco was an 'emergency capitol' from the 1862 Great Flood.)
There are 1,100 miles of levees, built in the early 1900s.
There is constant seepage, erosion, and potential structural failure.
The levees must hold not only during storms but 24/7 all year. 
With Climate Change, there is a constant risk of catastrophic 'megafloods.' 
Millions of inhabitants depend on critical infrastructure.
Much of Sacramento (Natomas and the Pocket) 
Are below the adjacent river's water line. 
With the right conditions, the city would be underwater by 10 feet.
The local International Airport would be under 15 feet of water.
Five hundred thousand people are in the direct path in this area.
Huge efforts have also been made here to modernize.
It is only a matter of time before such a catastrophe occurs.

Flooding III. The Monticello Dam opus 864

I live on a small 37-acre farm east of Winters, California.
West of Winters sits the huge Lake Berryessa.
The Lake is held in by a large cement dam;
Monticello Dam, a Roman arch on its side.
The dam is constructed between two mountain hillsides.
This was the streambed of Putah Creek, now blocked.
The dam is very well-constructed and safe,
With a safety rating between 10,000 and 1,000,000.
To prevent an overflow, topping the dam,
The famous 'Glory Hole,' a 72-foot-wide circular pipe, 
Diverts water 200 feet down to bypass the dam,
When the reservoir levels reach 440 feet.
In spite of that, I talked with an environmental engineer.
Who said that if the dam failed, my farm and the city of Davis,
Would be under 8 to 10 feet of water in minutes.
(After this discussion, I always thought of the populations
Below the earthen dam at Oroville, California, 
Which was close to collapsing a few years ago.)
Again, my farm and Davis would be inundated in minutes,
With a raging wall of water eight feet high.
After some research, one will most likely find
A potential water problem almost anywhere!

Flooding IV, The Mississippi opus 865

Human, European, settlements began two centuries ago
Along the banks of the Mississippi River, which often flooded.
It was a continual battle using massive levee networks.
This method did not work well and finally entire towns 
Were systematically moved to higher ground.
As a young person, I always wondered why nothing was ever done,
Except to continually rebuild these towns.  It made no sense to me.
Finally after the Great Flood of 1993, I learned that whole towns were moved.
The strategy was for FEMA to buy these properties and
Relocate the land owners; it was known as 'managed retreat.'
The new towns were on higher bluffs, with green areas created below.
The 19th century was known as the 'Levees--Only Illusion.'
In the 1700s, the early French and American settlers
Began building levees, which later became a 'levees-only' policy.
The Great Flood of 1844 wiped out St. Louis settlements
Of both the Europeans as well as those of the native tribes.
Congress passed the Swamp Act of 1849, building even higher levees!
Kaskaskia was the original capitol of the Missouri territory and the state.
 By 1881, after a series of severe floods, Kaskaskia was gone.
The river had even cut a new channel, destroying most of the town.
The most destructive flood in US history was the Great Flood of 1927.
This fiasco changed the county's approach to flood management.
Continuous rainfall caused levees to burst in 145 places.
In some areas, the river widened to 80 miles, 
Submerging 27,000 square miles. More than 700,000 people were displaced.
The Flood Control Act of 1928 financed the world's longest levee system,
With spillways to channel water away from cities.
Even still the effect was to box in the river, not move the towns.
After months of rain in 1993, officials realized that levees were not the solution,
And that was the beginning of wholesale town relocations.
Towns such as Valmeyer and Grafton, Illinois, and Rineland, Missouri,
Were moved to the overlooking bluffs, including whole houses.
Because of the present-day cost of moving whole towns,
People are slowly leaving lowlying areas or elevating houses on stilts.
Climate Change has made the river's flooding more frequent, less predictable.
Some towns like West Alton, Missouri, have lost population
From 4,000 down to as few as 360 during the floods of 1973, 1993, and 2019.
The river has continually been used for trade and transportation,
But even now, a cost has always been involved.

Reintroduction of the Eurasian Beaver opus 866

The most lasting introduction of the North American beaver (Castor canadensis),
To Europe, occurred in an introduction in 1937.
During that period the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) was near extinction.
Conservationists then imported seven North American beavers from Canada.
Realized much later, the two species are distinctly different
And cannot interbreed: American has 40 chromosomes, 
Eurasian has 48 chromosomes.
The North American species thrived in Finland and spread,
Outcompeting the native Eurasian beaver, creating a great conflict.
Additionally, several countries have reported small records.
Escapes were recorded in 2006 from the Eifel--Zoo in Prüm, Germany.
Small, unsuccessful releases occurred in Poland and Ukraine 
During the 1920s and 1930s. 
Now, authorities have begun eradication and sterilization programs.
The North American beaver has larger litters and builds larger dams.
It is now classified as an invasive alien species of Union concern.

In the meantime, Eurasian beavers are being reintroduced,
After being hunted for meat, fur, and castorium (used in meds and perfume).
From just 1,200 individuals, the Eurasian population is now 1.5 million.
There have been major recovery zones in Great Britain,
Scandinavia, Western and Central Europe, Italy, and Iberia.
Reintroductions have stabilized and expanded 
Mongolian and northeastern Chinese populations.

The expansion of both natural Eurasian and North American populations 
Within their original ranges is always favored.
Their dams reduce flooding by slowing stream flows;
They trap water on the landscape, reducing drought;
And they augment biodiversity for amphibians, fish, birds, and rare insects.
At last humans have seen the light, at least with this one, just in time!
It took some good genetics (unknown at the time) to become a reality.