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Poems and Thoughts by Frank Maurer

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Climate

On the Edge of the Storm opus 3

I was on the edge of the passing storm.
It warned with thunder and lightning.
Oh, I am on the edge so all would be alright.
Finish harvesting the flowers, I thought--
It will be alright,
From the field to the barn to the water containers.

Suddenly a bolt and a flash on top of me;
The vibrations pierced my body--
And then the smell of burning ozone in the air.
Was I then to die with my pounding heart?
Thought--whom would I again ever see or not?
Thought--What really comes fore out of stress?
My ears still ring.

But--I was just on the edge of the storm.

White Ash opus 12

White ash filters silently down around me.
Like snow I think.--When suddenly
I connect this falling ash
To the fires consuming California, everywhere.

My finger obstructs the fall of a flake.
What was this in its former form?

Someone's house or barn?
Someone's car tarp?
Someone's flower bed, destroyed?
Someone's woodpile, ready for winter use?
Someone's chicken flock, unable to escape?
Someone's Bar-B-Que plastic cover?
Someone's pet dog's hair?
Someone's beautiful old oak standing for centuries
next to a home?
OR--Someone's personal ashes, transformed
when defending her property?

Environmental Trilogy Plus One opus 14

California is Burning; A Trilogy Plus One. Number One.

Smoke pervades the air, irritating the eye.
       California is burning.
Fire consumes the forest and the grassland.
       California is burning.
Hundreds of homes are engulfed and rendered to nothing.
       California is burning.

Cattle, sheep, horses, and chickens are homeless or dead.
But what of all the unmentioned, nor thought of wildlife,
which has obtained the same sad plight?
       California is burning.

What of all our driving, heating, and air conditioning
which augment greater temperatures,
which elevate the CO2 level,
which desiccate everything,
which leaves us an ever greater tinderbox?
       California is burning.

This burning is the manifestation of the neglect and mismanagement
of our very world--our only home.

Florida is Flooding; A Trilogy Plus One. Number Two.

Water is pervading the sewers, backwashing the pavement.
       Florida is flooding.
Beaches are slowly eroding from a rising sea.
       Florida is flooding.
Homes are quietly rendered useless from soggy ground.
       Florida is flooding.

Pastures are continually wet, causing fungus to excel on hooves.
Puddles and standing water--a paradise for mosquito larvae!
       Florida is flooding.

What of all our driving, heating and air conditioning
which augment greater temperatures,
which elevate the CO2 level,
which allow for ever larger storms,
which yield evermore destruction?
       Florida is flooding.

These rising seas and greater storms are the manifestation
of the neglect and mismanagement
of our very world--our only home.

The Tundra is Melting; A Trilogy Plus One.    Number Three.

Higher temperature pervades the north of our planet.
       The Tundra is melting.
Once frozen roads are now rendered useless from the melt.
       The Tundra is melting.
Homes and whole villages must be evacuated or physically moved.
       The Tundra is melting.

Icebergs are melting early to nothing,
Causing the hunting polar bear to invade the land.
       The Tundra is melting.

What of all our driving, heating, and air conditioning
which augment greater temperatures,
which elevate the CO2 and methane levels,
which are the source of warmer seas and atmosphere,
which affect the shoreline of the entire world?
       The Tundra is melting.

These melting icebergs and sinking Tundra lands are the manifestation
of the neglect and mismanagement
of our very world--our only home.

The Rainforest is disappearing; A Trilogy Plus One.    Number Four.

The lungs of our planet are disappearing before the saw.
       The Rainforest is disappearing.
Humans, their hunger for converting the forest to pasture.
       The Rainforest is disappearing.
Rather than foraging the fruits of the forest; steaks are desired.
       The Rainforest is disappearing.

Gold discovery now escalates everything to an ever-greater fevered pace.
Clearing the land for grazing presses the collapse ever sooner.
       The Rainforest is disappearing.

What of our driving, heating, and air conditioning
which augment greater temperatures,
which elevate the CO2 level,
which lower the oxygen production of the forest,
which increase the relative CO2 level over all the world?
       The Rainforest is disappearing.

The reduction of the forest mass on the belt of our planet is the manifestation
of the neglect and mismanagement
of our very world--our only home.

Needed Energy Power in Canada opus 17

A Texted Response to a Canadian Friend During the Energy Crisis.

Use some Acer saccharum sap
To feed the generators, Maple Man!

White Streets?!? opus 18

Trained falcons nor artificial gun noises will ever change their minds--and those and more have been attempted. The warmth of the city is too alluring. But, do these crows continue this practice during the warmer months of the year? No. The fields and arboral areas around the city are generally 10 F degrees cooler than the heat sink of the city!

What to do? Not only are the crows affected by the city's heat sink, but so are humans: heat stroke; uncomfortable, hot pavement to traverse; higher AC electric bills; more watering of lawns, etc.

Is there a solution to this local problem, mingled with the huge--harder to solve--worldly climate change? One solution is to lighten to a light gray, the darker areas of our cities: roofs, parking lots, and, indeed, our myriad of city streets. I have measured, in January, the difference between the temperatures of white streets (measured on a new neighborhood white cement bridge) and black asphalt within 20 feet of the lighter cement pavement where the difference was 10 F degrees with an ambient temperature of 56 F degrees. Just four months later, in April, with an ambient temperature of 88 F degrees, the two temperatures differed by 21 F degrees! In July the difference was 25 F degrees. Los Angeles during hot summers, have recorded more than 25 F degrees difference.

Why do we humans wait to do something? One helpful solution is now clear and easy to solve. Davis, CA proposed to experiment on a city parking lot and indeed, did so in May 2022 (see Cool Pavement Project--Davis, CA).

In conclusion, as a biologist, watching our planet slowly dessicate from the Arctic ice shelves to the wonderful Kalahari (through which I have wandered), I am in agony. As long ago as 30 years, I was struggling with my overheating house and lethal temperatures in my free range chicken barns, where they would crowd together from the heat (that is a chicken's reaction to heat!) and die of suffocation. My house roof was then foamed and painted white, as well as the chicken barn, and the problem was greatly reduced by as much as 15 F degrees.

If an old farmer can partially solve this problem, locally, why can't our cities do the same with thousands of human beings (some with chickens!)? One other point I have contemplated. In the winter, if a street where crows roost is lightened in color, would the temperature differential be enough to actually discourage crows from roosting there and go to a warmer street that is not treated? This could help further solve the winter roosting problem question and would empirically demonstrate that the white streets have an effect on roosting crows.

Of course there are still pros and cons concerning this procedure, but there are enough cities starting this that it is heartening to see we are willing to try. The question is, are we doing it in time?

Dear Mr. Garamendi. US Representative. (Letter) opus 30

To start, I admire your work. I am now 81 and have lived on my farm on County Road 95, Davis, since 1978. I have raised vegetables and flowers for local farmers markets, catfish for restaurants, some of the first ground-raised chickens (for Chez Panisse Restaurant), turkeys and ducks, and conducted educational tours for school groups. I am the founder (along with my late wife, Prof. Lenora Timm) of the 2000 acre Quail Ridge Reserve, part of the Natural Reserve System of the UC system and, specifically UC Davis. I wrote the legislation for our State Grass (Stipa pulchra) used by 4th graders in their study of California history and California's state symbols.

I have also lived and taught 5 years in Turkey (Robert College), 4 years in Lesotho, Africa (University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland) and conducted research for one year at the University in Uppsala, Sweden.

I have always been concerned about the difficult weather problems of the islands off of Florida. Now it is Puerto Rico, in the limelight once again. The storms are constantly destroying the infrastructure of the island at great cost along with the human and animal loss of life.

I would like to propose a program to improve this terrible situation:

1. Encourage willing people to be resettled (where and when to be decided) with compensation.

2. Those who remain, would start to reclaim and restore native habitat and be compensated for their work.

The ultimate goal is to create an island with native plants and animals which would develop into ecotours, education, and research (the benefits of which would be socially shared). In addition, there would be areas for standard tourism, recreation and sports. This would create jobs as well. Structures would be built to withstand storms and flooding (at least for some period of time). Of course by 2100, much of the island may be submerged because of the ever-ominous climate change.

This project would save millions of dollars and lives and would create a more stable state; if Puerto Rico follows the path of statehood: "Puerto Rico, the Environmental State"! This might at first appear as an impossible task, but upon contemplation and some planning, it may be a winning choice.

I urge you to consider this as a viable plan, realizing the implications of our changing planet and what will occur. The forced movement of human populations is inevitable and is already occurring in many parts of the world, including our own country.

Most sincerely,
Frank W Maurer, Jr.

(Please read: NOMAD CENTURY How climate migration will reshape our world, by Gaia Vince.

Climate Change opus 32

Slowly the temperature rises on our home planet.
We argue, deny, affirm; and many of our politicians
Ignore the predictions of 'most all of our scientists.
We foolishly identify ourselves by our stand politically
As to what should be done--if anything--
For our slowly changing--frog in the pot--climate,
Until it is definitely too late to survive comfortably,
Except, perhaps, in the far north and a bit in the distant south?
Our potential 11 billion may be shaved down to 3?

Humans have always migrated to save themselves,
As have many of our fellow species.
Will our mass migration to the poles,
Having our generally aggressive innate behaviour--
So un-Bonobo-like-- be our ultimate undoing?
Please dear people, heed what may be the new pending nomadic century
And, for us, our descendants, and most, its absolute
watery or fiery deleterious outcome!

Who's Really in Charge? opus 40

Oh, we humans are so clever
With our ability to precisely measure
Altitude or depth (anywhere)
Distance (down the road or the distance to Mars)
Time (sundials, a pocket watch, or a precise atomic clock)
Temperature (of the body or of a physical location)
Speed (of a Tesla or of a space station)
Ballots cast (hmm, well perhaps not this one!)
And so many more, but the question is

Why is there only a good but limited ten day weather forecast?

Who's really in charge?

USA! opus 43

This is a country which is butchering (harvesting?) its young.
USA!   USA!   USA!
This is a country which is held hostage by the gun industry.
USA!   USA!   USA!
This is a country which may never be able to make the humane choice.
USA!   USA!   USA!
This is a country which, if the guns don't destroy it,
The thoughtless inability to stop the creeping CO2
and methane and flooding will.

USA!    Usa?    usa??

Have a thoughtful Thanksgiving.

News Flash!! opus 44

News flash!! (NPR) "Species of bird which are more specialized
Will be more vulnerable to extinction, resulting from climate change."

Duuh! Compare a specialized warbler to a generalized crow or jay!
So this is why the 'generalized' human,
With its opposable thumb, super brain, and upright posture,
Can cause the imbalance of our Earth's climate,
And, if lucky, might be able to repair it?!

(Written on the anniversary of Darwin's publishing his
'On the Origin of Species', 24 November 1859.)

16 January 2023, Davis, California Sun; on a day predicted for more rain! opus 71

A years-long drought-ridden California is suddenly flooded.
So many days and weeks receiving the bounty
Of atmospheric rivers streaming over the State.
All those prayers for rain were answered with a plethora!

Does this show that prayers are powerfully answered from above,
Or that there is uncontrollable randomness
In what we wish might be an orderly world?

Comprehension opus 90

A friend said to me
'It is so wonderful
You work so hard to save the planet!'
I shot back, 'To save the planet.
May be too much for me alone,
But I am continually guiding.
To teach others how they might think.
And understand the biological process.
And geological phenomena,
So that as our 'fate' nears,
We will truly comprehend why we are surviving.
Or tumbling down into ruin.'
Thus, we might end the constant, meaningless cry,
'Why did god do this to me?'

Sunrise opus 109

Ah, there at last comes Earth's Golden Eye,
Edging slowly upwards and ever sightly to the West,
To shower our life-laden globe
With its nurturing, warming rays.

[ 'Life-laden' for now;
As we are continuously 'directing' our own
"Sixth Extinction Symphony" in D Minor. ]

Who Will Win? opus 115

As with so many who sacrificed during WWII,
My father with a weakened heart, afflicted with Scarlet Fever in childhood,
Invented, tested, and produced his high altitude breathing equipment
To enable our pilots to outmaneuver their Axis counterparts;
He suffered the bends and stress at 41,000 feet
And died young at 59 years of age.
Many more sacrificed their lives much quicker,
From exploding bombs and direct bullets.

Why did so many sacrifice so much, so intensively?
Well, the world finally realized that a world under Hitler
Would be a life under a mad dictator.

Today, an analogous situation obtains.
The Earth's lungs are being polluted and suffocated.
Fires, flooding, melting, the disappearing Rainforest and pandemics--
All occurring too fast; unnecessarily.
Who is the Hitler now? Who wishes to control everything for Hiser* pleasure?
It is Us; and shamefully so, as indeed Pogo Possum** once uttered.

The question is: Will we truly unite and muster our efforts,
Realizing the terrific, self-destructive, pending danger?

Dedicated to Maureen and George

* Heesh, Hiser, Herm, Hermself; nonsexist pronouns coined by
Prof. L. A. Timm, linguist, 1966 and my late wife.

** Pogo Possum; Walt Kelly comic strip, political satirist, opossum:
'We have met the enemy and he is us' 1970 (first Earth Day in San Francisco).

The Wonderful Horseshoe Crab opus 118

The Wonderful Horseshoe Crab's existence is being torn between two worlds.
Our American Horseshoe crab, Limulus polyplemus,
(Which has been extant for 200 million years--a fossil for 480 million!),
Arrives each year to lay its eggs on our eastern shores--
Masses crawl up the beach, dig holes to lay; eggs fertilized in situ.
The egg laying timing coincides with the migration of the Red knot, Calidris canutus,
Flying, and requiring added 'egg' energy for its voyage from South America to the far north.
Both species thus coincide--except now for climate change,
When the egg laying and birds' arrival time are slowly shifting out of sync
The FIRST pending calamity manifesting from human activity.

Now come humans, with all their enquiring and invention;
The blue blood of the crab is desired and harvested.
Whatever for?
When added to tested medications, clotting occurs,
If and when impurities obtain in any otherwise desired result.
Millions of crabs are harvested and bled,
Some are returned to the wild to assuage the human conscience,
But most ultimately, surely succumb and are no more.
The crab population needlessly and tragically dwindles
Even though there is now a less expensive manufactured replacement,
Less used, but perfectly ready to be substituted!
Why? Perhaps the gatherers of the crabs, being shielded, will lose employment;
So let's just continue with the status quo.
This, the SECOND pending calamity manifesting from human activity.

The Crab's welfare versus Human welfare--a certain dilemma in an ever-complicated world.

Grasping onto a Future Past opus 122

Ornithologists are a very dedicated group--
Studying the relationships of our remnant dinosaurs.
With pending, ominous climate change,
Birds are our climate barometers--
Manifesting sensitive changes of their ranges,
As humans continue to spew waste into the atmosphere.

Many recordings are carefully being created
To preserve the present sounds of the many various habitats--
For future analysis when all is changed or lost.

Lovers of their ornithological creatures

Are, for all of us, truly grasping onto a future past.

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.

Dear Agave Plant opus 133

Oh, dear agave plant, who yields to us your wondrous juices,
Giving us joy, when imbibing your processed 'nectar',
Have we, through the negligence of our planet,
Forfeited your yield because of our criminal warming,
Careless uncontrolled habitat loss, and overharvesting?
By removing your flowering stalk early,
So as to energize the base-stalk for added sugars and production,
And, as well, affecting the Long-nosed bat, having no flowers to feed upon,
And no flowers to pollinate for your own multiplication,
Your numbers are threatened as well as those of the symbiotic nectarivore.

What on earth are we truly able to do?
Oh, of course--management and restoration!
(Perhaps also cutting back on our tequila consumption?)
Hmm, the latter is sort of a joke, I guess.

Anthropocene Epoch opus 137

Never before has a geologic time span been named for humans,
But we are, embarrassingly, the center of attention.
Humans have literally caused so much chaos
And affected almost every square meter of our earth,
Beginning with an atomic blast to continued plastic pollution.

Such a branding of this epoch is to give us great shame.
Are we truly almost nearing the limits for our earth?

Birds Coping with the New Heat opus 142

Heat is becoming unbearable for humans inhabiting many parts of the world,
But have we also been considering the plight of our bird populations?
Temperatures are high enough that the normal methods birds
Cope with elevated temperatures are reaching their biological limits.
Gular fluttering--mouth open and 'fluttering' neck muscles
Pumps air in and out of the throat and is used by many birds to cool down,
But this function also causes water loss.
Small birds like Goldfinches just do not have the body mass to cope.
Other species, such as the Curve-billed Thrasher are bound to a desert habitat,
Where temperatures are becoming extremely high--
The Mojave Desert is now reaching 130 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bill size has been found to correlate with temperature--
Large bill, higher temps, so that blood flow will dissipate temperatures.
Opening out wings while standing alleviates heat build up.
A bird's normal temperature of about 106 degrees F, has been recorded at 111 F.
Tree swallows have been recorded laying their eggs 9 days earlier than normal.
Warblers, especially, have shifted their home ranges northward.
Migration of many bird species are also changing with the heat increases.

For a biologist, becoming more aware of all these changing factors,
The burden of shifting life processes is sometimes overwhelming.

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 Inside Windchime opus 167

When I discovered the magic and joy of windchimes,
I collected several: a deep booming one from Germany,
A triangular one with three tones, the steel of which came from old Maine ships.
And, of course, the one with the vibrating, organ-like long pipes.
For several years I loved my chimes out by my window.

Then, somehow, a lovely brass set arrived in the mail.
And I decided to hang it inside by my kitchen entrance.
As I walked by, I would stroke the pipes and elicit lovely, brief harmony.
Then summer hit with 100 degrees F temperatures.
I purchased a large floor fan, serendipitously aimed toward my chimes.
Guess what? I have 'artificial wind' aimed at my chimes,
Resulting in a constant chiming inside my home!
I recommend such a set-up to anyone to accomplish
The cooling of the house as well as the music of the muses!
Such joy prevails from a basic necessity, melding into a sweet concert.

(This summer, so far, I have used my AC twice, carefully situated in the house.)

Our Mother Seas opus 171

CO2 has been spewed into our atmosphere.
Our oceans have benevolently attempted absorption.
By doing so, the great water masses are warming,
But more, the acid levels are ever-rising,
Atmospheric CO2 has been buffered--so far,
However, increasing ocean acid is committing the slow death
Of many of its shelled inhabitants,
With mass movements of its piscine denizens,
Causing starvation of dependent higher trophic levels.

Tachymenoides harrisonfordi opus 176

Yet another new species has been discovered--this time a snake in Peru.
So many unknown species still roam our planet.
This snake has been named after Harrison Ford,
A great supporter of environmental issues.
It was 'discovered' in a helicopter-only remote National Park in Peru.
When Edgar Lehr, a US-German biologist, was asked how he felt
About the plight of species diversity by A. Rascoe of NPR,
He answered with the usual 'biologist's reply' of great concern,
But then all abruptly ended with no further interview!
We are becoming complacent as to our biological, future concerns.
I guess that is just what is going to happen--
As long as we humans continue our chaos.
The massive, present Sixth Extinction must be viewed
As our 'canary in the mine'.
The disappearance of our more sensitive fellow creatures,
Is screaming at us that sooner or later, we may be next!
(I conclude it might finally be humans vs cockroaches!)

Water Levels--Rising and Falling! opus 178

It is now self-evident that our seas are rising,
Causing potential crises throughout the world.
Conversely, a critical trade route now faces impending danger,
The watermark of which is facing an ever-diminishing level ;
It is the almost vital drought stricken Panama Canal,
Requiring masses of water each day from its supplementing lake,
To service the perpetually rising and falling lock system.
Smaller ships are now recruited back into service,
As well as the need for the lightening of larger ships,
By transporting less cargo with decreased remuneration per voyage.

The daily 'prayer' with consequent action must be--
Oh, Lord, relieve us of our present fuel system,
To increase the more benevolent sun and wind!

The Enigma of the Florida Key Deer opus 187

The diminutive Florida Key Deer lives only on small, low-lying islands.
Because of habitat loss and human population expansion,
The deer were down to a very low population number.
Thanks to the Endangered Species Act legislation,
The population of Key Deer dramatically increased.
But now, with the climate crisis, sea levels are rising--
No legislation will be able to change this trend in time;
The deers' living range will completely disappear under the sea.
The Enigma is such: Are the deer to be moved and allowed
Inbreeding with mainland populations, their genetics lost forever?
Or moved to other isolated environments with no certain results?
Or allowed just to drown and be done with under the rising sea?

Compare the Key Deer's island fate to that of the Pika,
Living in high mountain ranges with no further 'up' to go.
The Enigma reaches so many, many of our fellow earth-inhabitants.
Remember--humans are and will also be continual and vulnerable climate-nomads!

The Olive Saga opus 191

Trees, as with all earthly life require water,
Otherwise desiccation is the slow path to demise.
Trees, as with all earthly life require a comfortable mean temperature,
Otherwise desiccation and the 'bodily' functions eventually cease.
With the climate crisis, death from excessive heat is now obtaining.
More and ever more, birds, fish, mammals,
And of course the human mammal
Are migrating--shifting their earthly coordinates--
Desperately seeking out conditions they once enjoyed.

And now to feature yet another organism in this plight:
Our tree of human symbolic peace--the olive.
Humans and olive trees have coevolved for millenia--
Olives receiving greater care and genetic improvement,
And humans harvesting possibly the finest of oils.
But now, with the terrifying change in the climate earthwide,
Even our precious olive tree is severely suffering.
Olive oil production is reduced everywhere--in Spain by 50 percent.
Look around us dear people, and recognize the pending disaster we face.
By taking a weak response, humans with their fossil fuels
Are basically murdering their fellow earthly inhabitants.
My plea as a biologist is to take individual action
And always take the greater democratic action as well,
By voting in leaders who dare to understand and properly move ahead.

The Struggling Polar Bear opus 192

Polar Bears wander in a warming autumn.
No food intake all summer.
Seals in iceless water taunt the white giants.
Males fight with restless anger alone--
No females present to raise their testosterone--
Only tension, no ice from which to hunt,
And a longer hiatus with no food.

As the earth increasingly warms each year,
The bears must seek out cliff nests for eggs.
The Snowshoe Hare is still in a white mode,
Maintaining its lingering white phase,
While traversing on a brown substrate.
Easy to see but far too quick for the bear.
Balancing on cliff edges, seabird eggs
Are a small nutritional substitute.
Our human activities, releasing ever more CO2,
Have a great bear
Balancing on cliffs to ferret out a diminutive bird's egg.

The Darkening Arctic opus 193

With the climate crisis, Arctic trees are migrating 130 feet north per year.
The darker trees absorb more heat than the white snow.
The habitat is warming quickly with the invading, woody marchers.

Now add Reindeer to the Arctic recipe,
With their constant nibbling; the trees are held at bay.
Nibbling may seem trivial, but with enough mastication,
The earth's rising temperature may be ever so slightly, favorably manipulated--
Nature's response of repair, countering the folly of the Naked Ape.

Eco Distress opus 200

What have we done? / What are we doing?
To our young population in the name of energy?
A new malaise has arisen among our human masses--
Eco distress--climate anxiety--is cluttering those innocent heads.
They feel the guilt, while maturing during their youth,
That nothing significant might be accomplished by them.
They also feel anger that their elders
Have done little--only enjoying their comforts.
As with all mammals, a basic sense of habitat decay eventually creates despair.

The energy corporations have continually denied any wrongdoing--
Reminiscent of the decades of denial by the tobacco peddlers.

The gregarious young converge to 'Climate Cafes',
Attempting through eco therapy, to somehow desperately
Allay their anxiety as to just how
They might survive flooding or basic desiccation,
Manifesting a slow choking, slipping away of their very lives.

Windchimes by my Window opus 214

I loved sailing as a young man--
The invisible power of the wind, moving a vehicle.
I also flew kites as a child.
One was so large it nearly lifted my brother off the ground!
On our frozen lake in the winter,
I sail skated with a gigantic kite held on my shoulder.
Often as I conducted my field work in Wyoming--
I raised two or three kites simultaneously, tied to my van.

With a quieter life on my farm, but still with wind,
I collected windchimes--always lovely, each very different.
I sit outside under the tree which, now large,
Was one of my mother's living Christmas trees,
Enjoying the chorus of chimes as I read and pen my thoughts.
Also, as I am doing right now, I awake very early to write,
Listening to my family of chimes outside my window--
Remembering all of my life's encounters with the wind.

Our Sun-Star opus 224

It is November at 11 AM in Davis, California.
The thermometer on the north side of the house registered 55 F,
While the south side directly in the sun measured 90 F.
Such a huge difference! (Even though not read correctly.)
What would we do without our Sun-Star!
If one's mind wanders from the past into the future,
The horrible thought of a Nuclear Winter without the sun
Would freeze one's mind into a possible chaos.

Climate Panic opus 230

Will science be lost in the abyss of ignorance?
Denial of our climate future
Has led to death threats of meteorologists,
Who are just attempting to warn the population
That the world climate is indeed changing,
Implying that local weather patterns are moderating.

The old Romans would kill the messenger carrying bad news.
Have we actually resorted now, even with science,
To threatening those merely voicing
The pending challenges to which
We must all eventually need to adjust?

Cold Drizzle opus 269

A cloud ceiling dominated the sky,
Spewing a light, cold drizzle over the earth:
(At least cold for a California morning).

A 'V' of Canada Geese pumped the air overhead,
Crying out, perhaps with joy, to be able
To levitate through the misty ether.

Stirring up CO2 opus 285

A report just coming out states that bottom trawling
Is releasing CO2 from the substrate,
By stirring up, as well as , destroying such.
The results may show that this method of fishing
Is doubling the released once estimated CO2,
Relating to the whole world-wide fishing fleet.
There have been many former voices
Decrying the destruction of the seabed,
When not even considering the CO2 problem!

As with many human processes,
The Climate Crisis may force us
To reevaluate and then modify procedures,
Creating more favorable results
For both humans and our planet.

Yet Another Biological Team opus 290

Because of our ravaging, 'convenient' technology,
Our planet is warming faster than any past 'naturally' documented process.
As a result, oceans are rising and, by the way, are becoming more acidic.
Long before large human invasions, most predator/prey duos were stable.
Then came the Russians, French and others as fur trappers.
The Sea Otter was one victim because of its lush fur.
This species, now threatened, no longer has the numbers
To control the Asian Striped Shore Crab which burrows in the creekbank edges,
Which weakens the soil, causing whole chunks of marsh to calve off.
Specifically, the Elkhorn Slough, a coastal wetland,
Connected to the Monterey Bay area, once lost all its Sea Otters.
But now, with their return, they are ravagingly consuming the crabs,
Resulting in stronger marshland soundness and reduced erosion.
The otter's recolonization controls the crab population
And strengthens our shoreline to battle with the new impending threat.

As a footnote: Sea Otters control sea urchins, which destroy the kelp beds.
Concerning top predators, reintroduced wolves into YellowStone National Park
Are controlling elk and moose populations which consume tree saplings,
Thus alleviating the erosion-effect along riverbanks.

Each time we inadvertently destroy another creature,
We are weakening our own existence.

Fashion vs Function opus 294

In 1978, when I returned to my country after nine years away:
Teaching abroad--Turkiye, Africa, and Sweden.
My mother found a 37 acre property in Davis, California.
The original house was situated in a north-south orientation.
She wished to add on for her own personal abode,
So we discussed, by letter, the position of the attached new home.
The orientation, of course, was a right angle--east-west position,
That was to catch the rays of the sun!

Upon my arrival, Mother hired a contractor and commenced the building.
I stayed out of the further design and construction--
Her temperament was such that one did not interfere.

My mother has now passed and I live in her former abode.
All has been well, except for some of the house design.
The tiny, unrealistic solar box has been relegated, obsolete.
The magnificent timbers, supporting the beamed ceilings
Protrude out of the roof, emulating the ribs of a large dinosaur.
All was well, until the huge climate change storms began to emerge.
The 'ribs' had conducted intense rainstorm flows into the house!
Three buckets are now engaged with each storm
To prevent the flowing drips, moistening the contents within!
The moral of this is, which even Frank Lloyd Wright might have learned,
(A few of his designs are documented as having difficulties),
Flaunting architecture could be redesigned to render a humbler display.
(Consider the huge cumbersome tail of the Peacock to attract females
Against the overwhelming 'non dimensional' vocalizations of the Nightingale.)

A Payback for being Abused? opus 304

The greater and the lesser of us
Are positioned ever-more the same,
By that Great Equalizer--
The increasingly disciplinary weather.

What Are We Governing? opus 308

Sadly, it has now come to the point,
Where one governor, out of spite, busses immigrants
Arriving to his (and it is 'his') state, to a fellow governor's state
With no discussion, warning, nor planning together.
Political differences of old, have now mutated to plain dislike
And this dislike is making us numb with inaction--so far!
This inaction is exasperating the ever-increasing and required action
To, together, quell the greater crisis of planetary temperature increase,
Looming on the horizon of our children's lives, throughout the entire nation.
Can we not, please, work together?

Flying XI The Snowstorm opus 320

{It has been quite a while since I wrote my last 'Flying X'.
There have been many distracting world events to deter me!
These Poems and Thoughts were initiated to pass on some personal histories
For my two boys and any other family members who may be interested.
It has thus evolved, as well, to include commentary of all sorts,
But still remaining within the realm of my thoughts and concerns.}

While at Cornell as a graduate student, I flew small planes,
Having joined a University flying club.
To maintain some sanity during all the serious PhD studies,
Music in the Cornell orchestra and occasional flying here and there
Were the antidotes to clear my head from the challenging academic thinking.

After a few years of flying, I became quite proficient,
So I met more and more challenging weather situations.
In the winter of 1967(?) I was flying back to the Ithaca airport
When, suddenly the weather changed as it did often in northern New York.
Snow flurries from the Great Lakes spread across the area.
I had landed at an airport about half an hour flying time from Ithaca.
I called the control center and explained I needed to return to my home base.
(Probably the need was the result of a pending oral exam!)
After some discussion I convinced them I could fly on.
I had told them I knew all the highways leading to Ithaca
And that I would fly above the roads, following them to the airport.
Ok. I took off, flying at about 1000 feet, still maintaining a visual of the ground.
The snow was light, but thick around me.
I remember seeing the vehicles passing below me.
It was a sight I would never dismiss from my mind.
I did wonder, while above them, just what they thought of all this!
I followed the main highway west, turning left or south,
Then on to the anticipated runway ahead.
I believe I came down on runway 31 where I had learned to fly!
As I touched down and the wheels squealed in joy with the earth,
My heart was relieved, but in harmony with the joyful rubber below me.

The Deafening Silence of Quiet Snowfall opus 329

My son just sent me a few-second video from the mountains,
Where he is introducing my grandson to the snow!
The video was dark, but depicted the soft-falling flakes in the limited light.
I suddenly remembered my first skiing attempts
On our neighbor's Massachusetts backyard slopes.
I then remembered my trips with my two boys--separately--
Because of their different ages,
To the ski slopes of our neighboring Rockies in eastern California.
Thereafter, my thoughts went further back to my student days,
Where I taught as a teaching job in the Alps of Switzerland.
The school, The Ecole D'Humanite, was in Goldern, above Meiringen,
Above which was the Rosenlaui Gletcher (Glacier),
Where Sherlock Holmes was 'first murdered'.
One day it was announced the school would all use the Gondalbahn,
To be transported to the actual 'Alp', the highest elevation of the mountain.
From there, we would ski down, ending up in the school yard!
I remember it was overcast and gently snowing.
The powder was so very soft and glass-like.
Descending on the slope was effortless--almost as if one were levitating!
Stopping now and then--there was no speed competition--
I listened to the absolute silence of the falling flakes,
As they gently accumulated around me, muffled in their fall.
It was a chilling experience of so much surrounding activity,
Accompanied with absolutely no sound.
My Heart shudders at 82, 60 years later,
From having had the privilege of partaking
In such an incredible human experience with our beautiful Nature.

(Sadly, with the Climate Crisis, many areas of our planet
Will no longer have skiing, let alone even snow!)

Permafrost opus 338

Rising temperatures on our planet are no longer debatable.
Permafrost--weak frozen soil structure--is no longer 'perma'.
Northern villages built on this soil-type are sinking.
Visitors' faces were once seen through a window,
But now a viewer through that window sees knees!
Roads are undrivable, comprised now of soft mud.
Graves in cemeteries are submerged under mud and water.
Inhabitants are steadily being forced to move.
This is yet another subtle manifestation of the Climate Crisis,
Which is creating ever-more individual Eco-nomads.
Now, permanent melting is added to the Crisis list comprising
Heat, desiccation, fire, violent storms, forced animal migrations,
And impossible agricultural conditions.

Awareness opus 340

Two youthful fish were swimming together,
Deep into their normal fish-clicking language,
When an older, wiser, member of their type
Passed them by, nodding in the customary manner
And clicking out the greeting, "How is the water?"
The two nodded with respect and swam on.
Suddenly, the one stopped the other and clicked out the query--
"What the hell is water?"

When I lived for several years in Turkiye,
I learned that one of the first greetings upon meeting
Was "Su nasil?" (How is the water? -- meaning in your village.)
The basic point which I am sadly and nervously learning,
Is that our population is consumed with their own immediate needs,
With no idea how important
The surrounding world is for their very existence!
People now-a-days have no thought, for instance,
Of their companion plants--
These include grasses, flowers, shrubs and trees--
All, once vital to the indigenous people of the past.
But little do the Moderns realize of their importance to them.

Farmers and gardeners well know
How the changing rainfall and heat affect their livelihoods.
(Even planting temperature zones have been recently modified.)
Ornithologists well know of the disrupted avian food supplies world wide.
Ictheologists well know of decreasing fish populations,
Affecting both 'man and beast'.
Climatologists, like Yoda, see the changing overall picture.
To top all this, especially according to geophysicists,
Our planet may soon be subtracting a nanosecond from a future year
Because of the slower rotation of the earth,
Due to the melting north and south, and causing shifting
General equatorial planetary mass distribution.

Are we aware or even care about the fish' 'water around us'?
Or do we just continually bicker amongst ourselves
About what may turn out to be exceeding bits of trivia?

Coping With the Climate Crisis opus 342

The temperature in our world is absolutely ever-gradually rising.
This is a result of our own success in polluting technology.
Industry, transportation, cooling and heating of our living quarters.
There are two approaches to this problem:
The first is to temporarily alleviate the great heat--
Planting more trees, covering irrigation canals with solar panels,
Painting all rooftops white, lightening black asphalt with coatings,
Photovoltaic panels, batteries, solar box cooking,
Using methane production from human waste to burn for energy.
But these are only environmental bandages.
The second and ultimate effort must be to radically change our technology
To less polluting systems and attitudes therewith in how we basically live.
This change will take willpower,
But it is a must for a comfortable and successful future.

Heat--The Silent Killer opus 344

Our farm workers are laboring in rising temperatures.
When will they completely revolt to defend their lives
In conditions of blistering heat
While the rest of us are consuming our nourishment
In artificially cooled and comfortable environs?
Do we truly appreciate and are we grateful
That these invincible workers labor on?

The basic question, though,
Is why would certain (e.g. FL and TX) governors
Sign laws to counter efforts
Of more humane members in their governments
To allow temporary shade and water and rest when needed
For harvesters of our food, toiling over the heated earth?
One governor is caught blurting out
If heat remedies "are enacted here and there, it will cause
A lot of problems 'down there' for our farming businesses."

We still, sadly, value our fellow persons on a scale.

'The Seasons of Man' opus 345

Humans have various important times during their lives--
The so-called 'Seasons of Man'.
While observing my seed-laden bird feeder,
I have noticed that the myriad of sparrows
During the winter months have declined drastically,
Now that it is almost May. Why?
Contemplating the seasonal food intake of sparrows,
I realized that not only are the natural seed sources now extant,
But that the new voracious nest-bound offspring
Demonstrate the need in their young lives
To have huge amounts of pure protein for growth.
The adult need for seed intake now requires protein-laden insects!
The behaviour of seed gathering
Is dominated by insect hunting for the young.

There are several examples of specific food needs throughout life.
One is the vegetarian frog tadpole
Metamorphosing to the insectivorous-carnivore adult.
Mammals also switch from high nourishment milk
To a carnivorous, vegetarian or omnivorous life.
But, through natural selection, most European humans, especially,
Have managed to continue consuming milk in their 'adult stage'.
We are all familiar with the lactose intolerant individuals
Who, because of the adult, milk consuming culture,
Must have a lactose-free 'milk' to continue imbibing with their fellows!

Glimpsing a Touch of the Sixth Extinction opus 354

When I arrived in Davis, California, in 1978,
I took over a small 37 acre former sheep farm.
Using the local newspaper and local expertise,
I learned about sheep, swine, cows, gardening and aquaculture.
However, being a biologist, I noticed and learned
The many native species, from plant to creature, surrounding me.
In the evening, as it darkened, twenty or more toads
(Bufo (now Anaxyrus) boreas)
Would congregate under an outside light to feast on 'hapless' insects.
Time passed over the years and, as with many of our amphibians,
My toad population slowly dwindled to--nothing.
Was this due to disturbance, rising temperatures or acid in the air?
I know not, but all I know is they were gone.
All that occurred in the early '80's, and then there is now.
I was carrying a bucket of greens by the north side of my house
To feed the rescue tortoises I have accrued,
When I noticed the movement of a grass clump to my left.
Being always curious and empirically longing to know,
I spied a small body, moving 'toad-like' away from me.
Oh, my god, after 40 years, what did I see, but a toad!
I watched in disbelief as it worked its way to hide.
My mind raced in thought--are they returning?
Is this the ultimate and absolutely last one?
Could there be some mutation, resulting in a more resilient form?
Not at all sure, watching the tiny creature disappear,
But nonetheless, leaving me with emotions of joy and despair

Subsiding Cities opus 355

The magic of water is that it occurs in the form of
Steam, liquid, and solid ice--three intuitively predictable forms.
The mindblower is that the solid--ice--is less dense than water and floats!
Biologically this is important for the survival of aquatic creatures in winter habitats.
Now the world's climate is changing and floating ice is liquifying,
Thus slowly creating a new world of drowning, coastal cities.
Our beloved Japanese gifted cherries near the Lincoln Memorial
Are drowning because of the backed up Tidal Basin of the Potomac River.
In South Florida, even on a fair day,
Water is backing up and flowing out of the sewer systems.

Perhaps more alarming, as I have recently learned,
Is that many coastal cities in China are literally sinking.
This is, of course, due to the neighboring--and yes--rising sea.
But, unlike many other countries, a large number of Chinese cities
Are built on softer river deltas, from under which
Groundwater has been pumped out in large quantities.
Perhaps within a hundred years, a quarter of China's coastal land
Will be below sea level, much due to subsidence.
This is an international phenomenon and, within our own turf,
Our beloved New Orleans, sharing similar geology,
Will disappear under the waves.

Why the Denial? opus 372

So much evidence accumulating;
So many denying that anything is happening.

When did you last hear of such violent turbulence manifesting,
That two planes, within days, experienced such turmoil,
That many passengers, even one who died,
Resulting from huge destructive loss of altitude,
Pounding travellers against the cabin roof and racks?
I am almost 83, have followed aviation history,
And cannot recollect such atmospheric strength.
It is more and more evident that these changes
Will be increasing as a result of the ravages
Of the prevailing Climate Crisis.

It is noteworthy that most governing our Southeast
Absolutely deny even the mention of such change,
In spite of the revenge of the Climate
With its ever-greater tornadoes, both in size and number,
Crying out to demand the choosing of either our survival,
Or Climate's increasing destruction.

Historically, after great effort and cost,
We have vanquished dictators.
Why is it we cannot marshal and vanquish
An even worse and more horrible creeping foe?

Wouldn't it be Wonderful opus 380

Might you be able to contemplate
If all the resources which humans utilize
To kill, maim and wound others,
In order to prove some stupid point,
Might be mustered to aid each other
To solve or ameliorate the pending Climate Crisis
Which, in the end, will tragically challenge us all?
We need a Great Climate Crisis Truce
To stop senseless wars and focus on the nitty gritty
Of real-life actual survival of Humanity.

On This Day Three Decades Ago--Our 4 July opus 382

On our 37 acre farm, we had 14 fish ponds.
Every week I harvested Channel Catfish for local farmers markets.
On this day three decades ago, I first, then later my two boys,
Paddled out to the center of our largest pond bearing legal fireworks.
As dusk arrived, the fireworks, from the middle of the pond,
Would be released to the delight of all onlookers.
My mother, Elizabeth, was still alive and especially enjoyed them.
In those days it was quite safe, being in the mid-pond,
But with today's temperatures of 110 degrees F and such surrounding dryness,
To do such would be an act of folly and probably would be called in!

Dear Women opus 385

Have you completely thought through the implications of how you will vote?
Remedying the Climate Crisis--how it will affect your children.
Maintaining our world treaties, thus stability for your child's future.
Women's health--how the wrong choice will jeopardize
Your sisters' and your daughters' and your fellow women's lives.
Please use your feminine intuition in making this most important choice!

I speak as a humble man.

AI and Honey Bees--New Introductions into Society opus 390

AI is a new 'entity' entering our society.
It shall bring many 'benefits' to medicine, education, research and warfare,
But shall also be utilized by those who will harm society.
AI, in the greater picture, with its thirst for power, will be affecting climate change
In a major and exceedingly harmful way,
Unless several breakthroughs to lessen negative effects on society are
manifested.

Similarly, the introduction of the (European!) Honey Bee has had a
parallel biological effect.
It was introduced to produce honey, but more,
To pollinate the ever-increasing flowering plants in our 'growing' agriculture.
Being introduced, this 'new' species in a new place is vulnerable to the whims of evolution,
Including the many pests which have taken advantage of a vulnerable 'foreigner'.
If the use of Honey Bees fails, due to disease and increasing Climate Crisis temperatures,
Will the whole pollinating system of North America
Crash to a halt with simultaneously decreasing tumultuous food production?
Great ideas and systems may appear ingenious and invulnerable,
But in the long run, may not survive the desired intended human system!

Are We in Climate Reversal with AI? opus 394

AI has now come into our lives--for better or worse.
The number of data centers
Have nearly doubled in the last 5 years.
This means greenhouse gas emissions
From them have almost doubled in those 5 years.
This also manifests that, all the plans
'Of mice and men' concerning the Climate Crisis
Are severely challenged and have changed
The whole carbon emission calculations.
A single 'ask' to our 'Chat' requires the power
For one light bulb for 20 minutes!
The use of the internet requires a pittance compared to AI.
And all those data centers in the world now humming
Use as much electricity per year as all of Italy!
The goal of Google and others is to build ever bigger,
Finally reaching the level of supercomputers
With their huge electricity consumption,
Which will produce ever more CO2 emissions
Increasing the Climate Crisis effect.
Could Google's pledge of net zero emissions by 2030 now ever be met?
Their latest quote is cleverly announced as "reducing emissions may be
challenging."
So, where does that leave us, the common person who just wants to breathe?

Challenges opus 406

We are now, regrettably, truly witnessing
Many adumbrations of pending planetary chaos (challenge?):
Food production, transportation challenges, new needs for shelter,
Extinction of many fellow creatures and plants,
Increasing range of disease, survival with rising temperatures,
New needs for nonpolluting energy sources,
Now even new rotation times for our very own planet,--
(The melting ice becomes increased weight of water at the equator),
All will be presenting a new existence for humans,
As well as for all companion flora and fauna on our planet.

An Old Biologist's Plea opus 417

It is August 2024, with now enough evidence accrued, to realize
What our children and grandchildren will face
Living on an ever-challenging planet,
Due to the accelerated human pollution of our air and seas.
Climate changes have occurred many times on our dynamic home--
Sea temperatures and the rise and demise of trilobites and their cousins;
The change of African forests to grasslands,
Giving rise to bipedalism in human evolution;
The mini ice ages of Europe, affecting crops and survival;
But none of these changes equal the accelerated transformation
Of what we have caused and will be living through while alive on our earth.

It is just plain happening so comparably fast,
That many will not admit we are slowly cooking like the proverbial frog.
When will we, as a world population, realize this
And reduce the many frivolous 'fun' trips and activities,
Motivating ourselves into a greater group
To slow down and perhaps reverse the ever-violent storms;
The methane-melting tundra with sinking villages and roads;
The rapidly incinerating forests consumed by fire;
And the warming, carbon-acid seas with all those implications?

Let us now reduce our activities of play and amusement,
Going into action to organize and educate and vote,
Perhaps preserving at least some of our known way of life.

A California Saga--Freezing! opus 419

I have lived and farmed here in Davis for decades.
In the 80's the winter task was to wrap pipes,
And cover plants, preventing freezing.
On the plus side, I skated with my two boys on one of our fishponds!
Never, would we have envisioned a warming, changing so much.
Now it is drought, fire, and water challenges--
Wells, once dug to a depth of thirty feet,
Are now obligated to excavate to hundreds (200 then 400)!
I am near the end of my time on this earth--
How, in 'god's name', will my offspring
Cope with these huge, rapid, human-induced changes,
Manifesting, on the once climatic 'golden age' of our planet we so loved?

Technology May be Our Salvation (At Least for a While) opus 421

We are working towards human habitation on the Moon and even Mars.
Without technology, there is no possibility of such an occurrence.
Here on Earth, will some life at least, be 'salvaged'
Through our future innovative technological climate change inventions?
Ironically, soon, survival on our Earth,
May be synonymous in methodology,
With our inventive exploits for outer space!

Norumbega ('Belonging to Norway') -- The Site of Vinland? opus 426

My father (and mother) loved to go fishing,
So he took us all (mother, John, Susan, and me),
To the Charles River (named after Charles I in 1614--
Charles was only a prince then, but explorer, John Smith
Had expectations for the lad--who later lost his head--
And then came the wicked Cromwell and thereafter,
The exiled , enlightened son, Charles II.)
(This is why the new British king is Charles III!)
Lots of history where I grew up--
I shall attempt to control my being an historiaphile!

At any rate, we often fished near a 40 foot fieldstone tower,
Built (1889) to pay homage to the supposed Vinland--
A Viking fort and settlement (1000 AD) started by Leif Erikson.
As children (and once as a returning adult) we, now I,
Often climbed the spiral staircase.
The Tower still quietly stands surrounded by comforting trees.
The fishing usually produced a sunfish or bluegill--occasionally a catfish.
Our family also enjoyed, at other times,
Norumbega Park's amusements across the river.

Later, in High School (Newtonville), I took classical double bass lessons
At the Newton Music School in one of the eleven 'Newtons'.
Our 'final exam' was the School's public outreach,
Performing Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor, op. 16.
This was my first public performance with a large audience
And it was played in the very famous Totem Pole Ballroom at the Park.
(The Park itself survived from 1897 to 1963--the Ballroom, from 1930 to 1963.)

This Ballroom was to come twice again in my life,
When my first love Seta Derhohannesian, a senior,
Invited me to the Newton High prom,
Followed by Susan White, who accompanied me for my second senior prom.

Years later, for my 50th High School reunion, I returned to the Park,
But now (2008), I stayed in the Radisson Hotel now on the beloved Park's site.
The hotel's position was near the two bear cages I remember from childhood.
That year, while there, I looked up Seta and spent some lovely
innocent time with her.
We talked birds, as she was just starting some serious birdwatching--
I remember, hearing for the first time, in my hometown, Newton,
A Cardinal's vocalization--they have shifted north resulting from the
Climate Crisis!

The Park was a focal point--not planned-- throughout my life.
It was called one of the many 'trolley parks' from the 1890's,
Where many parks were created for business at the end of a trolley line.
This park at that time, and little known to me, had been declared
New England's finest amusement park--including the Totem Pole Ballroom
Which heard the music of Miller and Dorsey echoing through its walls.
I truly have lived a life surrounded by wonderful history,
Which has obviously nurtured my mental ontogeny!

The Canaries We Need to Watch opus 427

Our world farmers are the canaries in the coal mine.
Already we are noting that many are moving to more favorable climes,
Or, if impossible, leaving food production altogether,
Or, if possible, forsaking their traditional crops
And experimenting with 'new' xeric plant producers,
Or transporting themselves with their crops to more northerly climes,
To maintain themselves until the ever-increasing temperature
Forces them to a further unknown way of life.

Two Canaries to Watch opus 433

I have just finished writing about how our farmers are the world's canaries.
One example in California is the prediction--already seen occurring--
Is that it will be impossible for fruits and nuts to be profitably
produced in that state.
Are they certain? That is the nuts and bolts of California agriculture!
In Yolo County, where I live, funds are slowly being diverted to agave,
A drought-tolerant plant to produce alcohol for Tequila to rival Mexico.
Surely we might come up with something which is a little more 'noble'!
(By the way, because of the drought, California might revert to hydroponics
To be able to continue raising tomatoes!)
With the loss of major crops and the dwindling aquifers,
Will California just revert back to the semi-desert
Which the European pioneers first 'discovered'?

Now jump to the east and Pennsylvania and their potato crop.
Potatoes are a sensitive crop, which in Pennsylvania,
Are confronting higher temperatures and excessive rains,
As well as struggling in 2016 with a newly identified bacterium
For which there is no cure (soft rot).
All these factors will be a challenge to the potato industry
Which produces chips, fries, and many other potato products
For and from the state.

As an aside, Pennsylvania MacIntosh apple trees are being removed
(The days are not cold enough).
These trees may be replaced with peaches
Which (temporarily?) might improve production with the warmer weather.

A footnote from neighboring Michigan: Several northern tribes have decided,
Because of a warm, dry winter, to let the sugar maples rest this coming season.
Will this continue to obtain with all these climatic changes?

Google and research the myriads of agricultural challenges
Occurring around the world -- It is mind-blowing.

The End of Yet Another Golden Age? opus 440

We humans have lived through a climate golden age.
With our ever greater success in most things,
We increasingly traverse the world,
Slowly carrying viruses and bacteria with us.
With the human population-increase throughout the planet,
There accompanies an increase
In ever-more confined protein sources to feed us:
Feedlots for cattle, tiny coops for multiple chickens--
Our gallinaceous protein source--,
Ever-more fish farms, confining magnificent salmon.
These confined populations,
Ranging from humans, to our 'fellow-food creatures'.
Exasperates the increased possibilities of transmissionable disease:
Look at bird flu just now in our dairy cattle herds--
Milk still drinkable, yet affecting the caretakers.
Henry Ford's production line increased efficiency,
But that crowding was with the joining of metal and fabrics--
Crowding life with ever-more 'food producers' is not the same.
Some of the oldest forms of life--bacteria and virus--
Are constantly mutating, waiting for a new source of life-support.
(Remember, virus are part of our ancestry and DNA!)

This is the wonder and power of evolution through natural selection--
The thing called life, maintaining a hold on life,
In an ever-changing environment requiring constant adaptation.

Water, Water Everywhere, but For How Long? opus 448

When I returned to California once again in 1978,
The purpose was quite different in that I was to be a small farmer.
The way I looked at my environment was indeed also quite different.
I already knew that this state had at most very few months of rain
And that agriculture depended mostly on its many aquifers.
These waters had remained eternally deep under the Earth's surface,
Until about the early 1900's when the first deep-water wells invaded below.
I also knew that California had no regulations
On well construction and the numbers thereof.
Thus, it struck me deeply during my first forays into ag land,
Witnessing field after field being watered with a torrent of sprinklers.
My first thoughts went deep down to the unseen aquifers below,
Wondering how long this kingdom of agriculture would survive.

Thankfully, 10 years ago, to most, the invisible
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act was passed,
Which started to regulate the amount of water taken out
To match that which comes in.
Lands taken out of agriculture are now harboring
Native species of plant and animal, as well as buffering flooding.
More recently, added to this was the Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program,
A support plan for the transition toward a smaller irrigated footprint.

The great question is, of course, are these efforts far too late,
Or will those in charge be able to make definitive decisions--
Or will food demands, economy, and political party mantras
Overwhelm reason and empirical evidence guiding outcomes,
Driving our way of life, as we know it, to simply collapse, unnecessarily?
I have witnessed the loss of historical forests in eastern Turkiye
As well as loss of the water table in now parched lands of India.

Life Adaptable! opus 452

We live on a planet that rotates and is tilted in relation to its star (sun).
This, of course, creates day and night, climate, seasons,
And incidental weather.
Basically, then, we survive in a world of circadian rhythms.
'Circadian' means daily cycles within our 24 hours.
Our planet originally had a four hour cycle,
Until slowed down by the newly formed moon.
There appear to be many 'Goldilocks' planets which are 'tidally locked'--
In other words, have no rotation--
Rotationally frozen by the near proximity to their sun.
The conundrum created is a planet with eternal night and day.
Can life survive with continual darkness or absolute light?
Could there be a migration from dark to light, allowing rest and regeneration,
Creating a 'circadian' clock in space instead of in time?
Is sleep or rest actually needed for life to survive?
On our own planet, life occurs in complete darkness
In caves, in the sea depths, and within our own bodies!
Additionally, sea life thrives here in complete darkness
Next to boiling, chemical vents.
There are a myriad other ways that cycles could be created,
But the main point is that relentless life may be found
In almost any type of unpredictable situation.
We must be ready for the most bizarre of things to be,
And also to have our very comfortable theologies be shattered.

Ants as a Vector opus 482

A Pennsylvania eight-year-old boy thought he saw ants transporting
seeds to their nest.
This phenomenon is called myrmecochory and the seeds are with
Structures called elaiosomes which entice ants with nutrient-rich fats.
In the nest the ants remove the elaiosomes and leave the seed to later
germinate.
This helps seed dispersal as well as feeding the ants!
Instead of seeds, the boy, Hugo, had discovered the ants were
collecting oak galls.
(This basically rewrites 100 years of insect and plant interactive history!)
Galls are abnormal plant growths (often on oaks) induced by some wasp species.
The gall feeds and protects the larva growing from the wasp egg laid inside.
Oak galls have a structure named 'kapello' from the Greek for 'cap'.
These 'kapellos' (actually, 'kapelli') are also rich in fatty acids to
attract ants.
Similarly, the ants eat the 'kapelli', leaving the gall and larva inside intact,
Which once again gives similar shelter for the encapsulated intact larva.
Both phenomena either attract or exploit ant behavior.
The fatty acids in both structures mimic dead insects,
And ants, being scavengers, are attracted to what seems to be usual food.
This mimicry 'makes certain' these evolutionary strategies
Blur the lines between plant and animal adaptations.
Experimentation showed only similar ant behavior with the two structures.
If oak trees are lost, disruption would occur between ants, wasps, and galls.
This is another example of a vital ecological network
And that ecosystems are certainly interconnected.
We must preserve biodiversity, much of it by controlling the climate crisis.

A Catastrophe Causes Ants to Change Their Diet opus 487

When we imagine ants seeking food, we probably think first of sugar or crumbs.
But because of a catastrophe on the earth which occurred 66 million years ago,
Not only did dinosaurs disappear, but ants also were affected.
Large creatures on the earth's surface were incinerated away,
While smaller, fossorial creatures were often spared.
Of course I am talking about the crash of the meteor into our earth.
It greatly changed things on terrestrial earth, but also in the seas.
The survival of small fossorial mammals gave rise to creatures like us!
There are many stories to be told, but I shall focus on ants right now.
Most food sources for ants, including plants were burned to a crisp--
This major food for ants was, indeed, plants--so what to do?
Interestingly, masses of dead plant material became a major food for fungi
Hungry ants jumped right in and evolved to collect and eat fungus.
Thus today we behold our harvester ants common in many places.
So, a catastrophe and death knell for a major group of animals,
Created, through adaptation, a new food source for another.
The evolution of tenacious life on our planet
Continually strives to maintain the flow of protoplasm
At all costs and beyond the capacity of 'normal' thought.

The LA Fires opus 502

They watched in grieved silence as their church,
Then a synagogue, then a mosque burned to nothing.
Four major fires have ravaged, so far, more than 1200 structures.
Where is their god, to which many have sent earnest prayers?
In our wasteful life of comfort and ease,
Has the voice of god been all around, but has not been heeded?
Surely our collective inner voice has attempted to guide us,
But we are blinded by our votes and present way of life.
Was Carter's then plea, to reduce our use of energy overall,
And our public disdain and impatience with this visionary man,
The very voice which we should have,
Almost five decades ago, wisely heeded?

Those Illegals! opus 505

Are most illegal immigrants crooks and drug dealers?
Los Angeles is now an inferno--already 10,000 structures lost.
Sadly, six with more to come, have lost their homes and lives.
One homeowner, it is reported, remained to attempt to save his home.
He also battled for hours to stop a neighbor's burning home
From spreading to destroy his own.
Exhausted after several hours, he lay down in his house to rest.
Upon returning, he discovered a band of Guatemalan illegals,
Bucketing, in a line, water from a neighbor's pool to stop the fire!
He was overwhelmed and asked them why were they doing this?
This was not their neighborhood, nor did they know anyone.
They simply replied, 'our parents taught us to always do good
And this catastrophe is beyond and above us all for personal safety.'

Paper Whites Responding to the Rain opus 506

The rain used to come in November,
Bringing up the Narcissus Paper Whites,
But now with a shifting climate
Manifesting a new weather,
Our blooming season commences much later.
So, now January, and the real start of the beautiful,
Fragrant blooms
Around pond 12, where they have always come first,
Reminds me of Nora, who started off
Our flower project these forty years ago.
So long, dividing bulbs, continually burst open.
And such a scent, perfuming the kitchen
And reaching out as far as able.
Sweet scent; sweet memories.

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.

An Unidentified Invader opus 526

In biology an apex invader is defined as
Being especially influential and powerful in shaping the environment.
The effects of its invasion is paramount with its name.
The Global Invasive Database has defined the 100 top invaders,
From a plant like kudzu to a bird like the European Starling,
The Norwegian Rat. All these and many more
Have caused chaos and great expense for concerned societies.
The one invader which has not been recognized
In this long list of destructive transplants
Is Homo sapiens or us--our very own species.
Humans have ravaged the world,
Causing great destruction and extinction of other species.
We are now at a point where we are
Causing havoc, not only to our very own world,
But the mass Sixth Extinction on our planet.
(Remember, the Fifth was that asteroid
And the mass extinction of the dinosaurs.)
We are polluting our surroundings with CO2, methane and plastics.
The enigma is that if one enters 'humans' into the Invasive Database,
Nothing comes up. This is pure egocentrism topped with conceit!

Perhaps the Fastest Evolving Animal in the US! opus 541

The American Spiny Lizard is changing--evolving--before our very eyes.
This remarkable lizard resides in the southwestern US,
And studies show its genetic shifts are occurring much faster than expected.
Climate Change, urban expansion and predator pressure
Are giving fuel to its rapid evolution.
Most species have evolved over long periods of time--
This lizard in a few decades.
Noteworthy is its developing resistance to toxins of invasive fire ants,
Including a thicker skin and faster reflexes, evading the ants' attacks.
Also urbanization is causing faster adaptation
To hotter temperatures, with fewer sheltering areas.
Studies demonstrate that urban dwellers
Have higher heat tolerance than rural counterparts.
With shifting metabolism, they remain active in temperatures normally fatal.
Camouflaging colors have also shifted, blending in better
With concrete and human structures.
More noteworthy is the discovery that behavioral adaptations may be learned!
Not just on instinct, these lizards watch, adapt, and problem-solve--
Especially the urban individuals who out-performed their rural cousins,
By better navigating obstacles, escape traps, even recognize patterns.
These results have major implications as to how animals
Will cope with a rapidly changing planet.
This certainly is evolution resulting from natural selection.

Many lizards are thriving in human-altered environments,
Seeking out heat-retaining structures and artificial water sources.
Will these changes cause developmental switches
To create an even more different species?
This all demonstrates that 'Nature' is more flexible than ever imagined.
The question is what other species are changing right before our eyes?
Even our own species might follow this same pattern of adaptation.
Nature seems to always find a way and never, generally, stands still.
(Of course this group of lizards includes our local (Davis, CA)
'Blue Belly' or Western Fence Lizard.)

April; Coping with Less Rain opus 555

I have raised thousands of narcissus and daffodils,
Nurtured only by the rain--the gamble with the elements.
Today the last of the triploids and iris were harvested.
So sad, so sobering, such realization of our changing climate.
In the 'old days' bulbs burst in November
And finalized their blossoming choreography
Sometime in April--now far short of that goal.
The few harvested ones sit in a bucket, no market to receive them;
No lovely person to take and hold them in her hand.
In eight decades, I have seen and witnessed many changes.
Now it is time for the next generation to wake up
And be ready for and realize the coming challenges.
May they use all their wit and knowledge
And common sense to meet this new reality,
Which most, being younger, will only know from historical accounts.

Elizabeth Vrba (1942 - 2025) opus 565

These are some thoughts of Elizabeth Vrba,
A great, but lesser known evolutionary biologist:
'Evolution is not always slow with incremental changes,
But, rather, evolution moves in bursts,
Or abrupt waves of extinction and speciation'--
According to her 'Turnover Pulse' hypothesis,--
'As a result of great climate upheavals.'
She also worked on 'exaptation', the process where traits evolve
For one function, and later are co-opted for another.
She studied 'stimulated paleontology' for a better predictive precision.
'The fossil record is not a static archive,
But a dynamic record of nature's upheavals.'
'Species are shaped by external forces,
Not by internal biological pressures:
Thus, as a result of environmental changes from shifts in climate--
Not always random, nor by gradual competition.'
'The survival of the generalist is greater than that of the specialist.'
Her advocacy of her thoughts and hypotheses will be missed,
But as time and knowledge increases,
More of her thoughts may be actually demonstrated.

There's Carbon dioxide, But What of Methane? opus 595

There is great awareness (by many, but far too few),
Of the slow metamorphosis of our atmosphere
From increasing CO2 levels which is causing warming
And thus melting of our great ice sheets
As well as dangerous acidification of our seas.
But now consider, with warming of our planet,
The slow, but steady melting of the tundra,
With simultaneous release of methane from the frozen organic matter.
(Yes, we also observe methane escaping from gas wells,
And many other 'leaking' sources about the planet, as well.)
Sinking roads and villages are becoming obsolete, demanding abandonment.
Moreover, when one descends underground
Into the experimental deep pits below the surface,
The immediate stench of decaying material is more than evident.
This will be the future great challenge for the human population.
Will the O2/methane balance remain in favor of O2?
Be reminded of the methane (reduction) atmosphere of the past,
And how stromatolites overwhelmed all life,
With their need for CO2 and their exhaled O2,
Shifting our atmosphere to what we know today.

More Guns and More Gas opus 602

As the numbers of guns increase,
So also, shall more mindless deaths.

As earthly CO2 levels increase,
So shall the entire world be profoundly affected.

And, now--the newer challenge of Methane as the Arctic thaws;
How might we humans react to this even more profound challenge?

Katrina Devastates New Orleans opus 637

Katrina--20 years ago today. (29 August 2005).
A storm avenging a city built below seabed.
A city surrounded by inferior levees.
People receiving inadequate warnings.
And many others who would have no way to retreat.
The transport, rescuing people, but refusing their pets.
Water rising so fast, even a rooftop was inadequate. 
Corpses bound to poles to prevent their washing away.
Many dispersing to neighboring states,
Where soon thereafter were once again struck by Hugo's deluge!
How can we live? Where might we go?
Is our manner of living actually the very cause
Of our ultimate downfall?

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.

Like-mindedness or Absent-mindedness? opus 652

Days later I was shopping for food and mainly for a gallon of milk. Jon had shown me four graphs comparing milk with several other 'milks' (almond, oat, etc.). One graph showed the excessive use of fresh water needed to produce a gallon of milk. The second graph demonstrated milk's production requiring excessive land surface. The third graphed the great excess of CO2 and methane produced (from the cows!). The last showed the excess eutrophication or runoff of Ag bodily waste (N being one).

All these facts made me deeply ponder just what I was doing, consuming milk. At any rate, I saw at the store half gallons of Oat Milk, so I grabbed two of them. As I remembered, I then pulled out a gallon of my regular milk purchase. Returning home, I unloaded my purchases, carrying them into the house. I suddenly realized I had not brought the milk into the fridge. I checked and double checked, but could not find the milk! Had I left it at the checkout or in the cart? Being empirical, I perused the grocery receipt-- No milk had been purchased. My absentmindedness might possibly have actually been overwhelmed By Jon's influence, and had hypnotized me with an obedient like-mindedness! At any rate,this week's imbibitions will be mostly oat milk!

CLT--Cross Laminated Timber May Rejuvenate Use of Wood opus 653

In this new age of climate change--or crisis,
Wooden houses would seem to be the last choice for construction.
However, there is a new method of using wood,
Which has superior fire performance, is lightweight, and very strong.
Incidentally, its superiority is also demonstrated with
Acoustic, seismic, and thermal performances.
Because it can be prefabricated to precise dimensions,
It is fast and easy to install, with almost no onsite waste.
With its design, flexibility, and low environmental impact,
CLT is becoming an advantageous alternative
To the usual materials such as concrete or steel,
Particularly in commercial and multifamily construction.
Panels are first formed with bonded multilayers
Of kiln-dried boards stacked in alternating directions.
The panels are pressed into solid, straight rectangles,
Consisting of an odd number of layers (3 to 7)
And are prefinished before shipping.
This preliminary work even includes window and door openings!
With everything cut to size, the finished panels
Are incredibly stiff, strong, and stable,
Being able to handle load transfer on all sides.
Lower grade wood (appearance) and recycled wood
Can now be freely utilized.
With careful harvesting, languishing timber industries
Might now be stimulated to go back into production.
Our climate crisis is stimulating thought in new directions!

The Lugging of Coal Clinkers opus 662

I just heard that the world-wide use of renewable energy
Has outstripped by more than half the use of coal.
Coal is a dirty, polluting substance which releases masses of CO2.
The mining of coal also causes Black Lung in the human workers.
Ironically and thoughtlessly, the 'regime' wants the use of coal to increase,
But has cruelly cut all research funds towards this terrible disease.

This announcement has brought forth from my childhood memories,
Our urban household use of coal to winter-warm our New England home.
The delivered coal order (by the ton) was poured down a hatch into a huge bin.
Later, the coal was carried in buckets to the basement furnace,
The shovelled black diamonds were cast through a fire-roaring door;
Just how much each time I used to throw in, I do not remember.
I always remember the iron-clunk sound as I closed the iron door.
But that was not all, in order to stay warm.
As days passed, the furnace had to be periodically cleaned!
Burnt coal leaves a so-called 'clinker' waste. (Possibly a New England term.)
We had huge tongs, used to remove these clinkers to a metal barrel.
These clinker-barrels had to be dragged up, out of the basement
And dragged down the driveway to the curb collection site.
A lot of work all winter, just to keep warm.
Contrast that to today, where an urban home just clicks a switch.
Presently living in the country, our counterpart to my childhood travails,
Is wood burning with all its analogous chores.
Now, no more wood burning, yielding to my solar-produced electricity.
We have come a long way.

Leland and Esther. (Wedding 2003) opus 674

Leland Glenna was a wonderful member on my Quail Ridge land trust board.
He was a Sociologist and Researcher at UC Davis along with Esther, a postdoctoral.
They were to be married in May 2003.
There was a Lutheran ceremony, followed by a reception at the Wilson Clarksburg Winery.
The venue at the Winery, near the Sacramento River,
Was modified somewhat by a statement I had made to Leland.
The reception was to be completely outdoors on a Sacramento spring afternoon.

Talking with Leland 22 years later, he declared I had 'saved the day!'
Oh?, forgetting what I had actually done.
Being a farmer, I knew the vagaries of a California Spring day,
And had warned him that in May, it could very well still rain.
"Be careful and have a backup in case of rain!"
The day finally came and, indeed, there was a light (morning) rain during that day.
Leland and Esther had listened to the old farmer/biologist and had an indoor reception..
The moral is, always ask a local peasant about weather,
When planning an outdoor event, involving many guests!

Two Approaches to Climate Change opus 693

Two older male friends had a minor verbal clash,
Discussing the way we each felt about the world's future.
The first travelled often, but vis a vis climate change,
He said it is too late;  there are millions of cars;
There will be ten billion humans within this century,
He will continue to travel to see friends and family
'Because one person cannot ever make a difference.'
To be noted, he has no children.
I, the second protagonist, felt very uncomfortable with this recounting.
I have solar panels, two batteries, drive limitedly, a hybrid car,
And cook with the sun, using a solar box.
Most of my driving now is limited to local shopping and appointments.
I try to consume good, healthy vegetables recycled, 
As waste, from a local store.
Also noted, I have two children and grandchildren--make any difference?
So, I guess I have resigned myself to realizing
That the two of us are just neutralizing each other's life procedures.
Even though we were each adamant, the two of us
Do not at all solve the climate future, if we even wished to.
OR, is there still a chance there are enough of us to make that difference?

Invaders!? opus 715

Today, 24 December 2025, after decades 
Of having bird feeders on my farm,
Two male House Sparrows came, for the first time, 
To feed with my other native sparrows.
As a biologist, so many thoughts and emotions went through me--
Non-native introductions, non-native competition,
Which ravage our state (and the world).
The ever-changing world through a biologist's eyes;
Visions of a hundred years from today and its then, reality.
New dynamics are ever-looming, most out of my control.

The Rivers Turn Red--A Winter Solstice Tale opus 719

Alaska is our greatest wild area remaining.
This is a place to be preserved as is, forever.
Temperatures are rising here, four times faster than elsewhere.
Ah, how nice;  harsh cold winters are diminishing.
But no, the rising temperatures are melting the frozen Tundra,
And slowly materials are being released from the soil.
The flow of melting slush has begun gravitating to the rivers,
And gradually these rivers are beginning their change.
The rivers' waters transformed 
From clear and crystalin to red pigmentation.
All from the neglect of our planetary home,
Our rivers, vessels of the planet, are bleeding before our eyes.

Watermelon Snow opus 722

Generally when we see or hear of the environment turning a false color,
A panic might start, realizing that something has gone awry.
Think of seashores gone red, or a pond choked with green.
Well, there is a phenomenon, about which one does not need alarm.
High in the mountains of the Rockies or during a cold Montana winter,
There are places where the snow turns red--a watermelon snow!
Not only red, but sometimes orange or green.
This is not caused by pollution, but rather by algae!
Studies result showing the colors are caused by different species,
Which are all cohabiting in the exact same place.
Of all the colors, the red species causes the snow to melt the fastest.
The algae are melting the snow to produce life-giving liquid water,
And, again, the red variety appears to melt the snow faster than the others.
One concern is how much the algae will speed up the melt time of our glaciers.
So, in spite of what will transpire with this new discovery,
To behold such bizarre and beautifully colored snow,
Gives one a feeling of awe and wonder for the world around us.