Monthly Archives: April 2017

April 29, 2017 – What a too-hot-for-the-season People’s Climate March we had today in Washington, DC, where climate change was on display all afternoon! With so many people sweating and trying to stay hydrated, it was hard to believe this was a day in late April. It felt more like mid-July.

That’s been happening a lot lately, and that was the whole point behind today’s march – that climate change is real, it is caused in no small part by humans, of which there are approximately 7.5 billion now on the planet…in 1970, it was 3.7 billion.

The subject of human population is more important than ever, and it’s among the least talked-about things in popular or political parlance. I find it shocking that humans are still permitted – or even freely volunteer – to reproduce at the rates we do, without so much as a thought for the very environment that supports all things living. And then there’s the cost of raising a child, which in the US as of 2017, was $233,610.

I often think that if the high school sex education conversation included the real environmental impact of another baby on the already environmentally stressed on the world, we’d see yet another drop in pregnancies on top of all the successes in that direction under the Obama administration.

An excerpt from the Guardian article, “Want to fight climate change? Have fewer children,” says this:

The researchers found that government advice in the US, Canada, EU and Australia rarely mentioned the high impact actions, with only the EU citing eating less meat and only Australia citing living without a car. None mentioned having one fewer child. In an analysis of school textbooks on Canada only 4% of the recommendations were high impact.

So, considering this level of denial – and it goes on worldwide – how can we change the conversation? One way is to put a bumper sticker on your car, saying something to the effect, “Hate Traffic? Have Fewer Children.” It will apply every single time you’re in a tie-up, and I’m sure it will get some to think…and perhaps make a few traffic lovers very, very angry.

Another way is reading…and discussing books that deal with sustainability and population issues with others.

I’m with him…and wouldn’t you know it, there was a makeshift bookstand, right smack in the middle of the Mall, with many titles worth getting into. So, yes, dude-with-cool-sign, you can protest and read, too…

…and note the book near the middle, titled appropriately, “Too Many People?”

In an overpopulated world, it’s good to know I am not totally alone.

My mind spinning on all things population as I made my way through the thick crowd, I soon found my group, thanks to the the well-organized People’s Climate March map of where various types of groups were gathering. As I made my way to the Sierra Club contingent on Jefferson, I saw this:

This was right behind where Green America and Sierra Club were gathering…and doesn’t it just have Ben & Jerry’s written all over it? 😉

I’ve been a member of SC for a few years, as it meets the requirements for my investment and involvement: 1) Strong litigation capabilities, 2) Solid infrastructure for individual citizen action, and 3) Fun! But not just any sort of fun – there are groups in every state going out to preserve, protect and enjoy the planet, from hikes in local parks to (hopefully sustainable) group trips around the world.

Finally, the March started, and as we were rounding the corner from Independence onto Pennsylvania avenue, I turned around and saw this person, in costume and on stilts. Just stunning!

But it wasn’t long before I saw him, the Hottest Guy at the DC People’s Climate March, wearing a polar bear suit on a 92-degrees Fahrenheit late April day:

At least he had the sense to take off the top portion of his costume and breathe…and that was when I realized, yep, HE WAS TOTALLY HOT!!

LOL…but this little girl or guy wasn’t so lucky…s(he) was kinda stuck with the condition known as Permanent (Cute) Furry Head.

…but, s(he) had a message:

And, aren’t we all??? Don’t we all deserve policies that help us avoid the cancer, avoid the diabetes, avoid all the sickness brought about by overpopulation and pollution and their damage to our one and only climate?

It was just more proof that the dogs already know the secrets of the universe! I don’t see them picketing women’s clinics, or insisting that Dog/God hates gays, do you?

Next, the obligatory photo marching up Pennsylvania with the Capitol in the background…

…where an impromptu sit-in happened:

After that, the March marched on, and on until we got to the Washington Monument, the White House, or wherever your activist feet took you.

Along the way, I noted something very disappointing, and so here’s a reminder: Please make your signs with recycling in mind. I saw a lot of them simply dumped on sidewalks and streets (not even at Lafayette Park), forcing DC sanitation workers to gather and stuff them into trash cans. We’re supposed to be the good guys, right? Standing for environmental cleanliness and all? I’m all for leaving things better then we found them…

And speaking of signs, I’ll finish off with what I thought were two of the most clever signs…there’s something truly magical about a whole new word that really just says it all:

And this next one says it all, in a very familiar word: DENIAL. Those living along the coasts might do well to invest in a costume like this one:

Hopefully we’ll get our act together, throwing out all present and future Trumps, realizing that if we don’t, it is us who will be sidelined with not only rising seas from climate change, but cancer from the pollution that causes it.

In my case, it’s not “will be sidelined” – it’s “have been.”

Think…and be well,
Alison

April 22, 2017 marked the day of the outstanding Doylestown March for Science, and I can sum it up like this: The Kids Are Alright. Meaning the high schoolers from the Central Bucks School District who put the whole March together. Aside from the 2017 People’s Climate March in Washington, DC, this was the most well-organized march I attended all year.

Lots of people showed up with great signs, and the streets of Doylestown were filled to the brim near the intersection of Main and State Streets, where the crowd gathered for the short march up Main and onto Court Street, where a rally would take place that featured several speakers, all speaking up for the importance of science in our society – and the importance of sustained, effective activism.

Many causes interfaced at this march, immigration being just one:

It should be said that if not for the scientific advantage of the US, World War II might have been lost…to someone now emulated by Donald Trump, who was installed by that 538-member junta known as the Electoral College in the US.

The student emcees of the Doylestown Science March struck a non-partisan pose, but we know the deal. The Republican Party has descended from supporting science and the ERA back into the dark ages of a religious nature, but I have yet to figure out which religion it actually is.

As we marched to the Bucks County Courthouse, it became apparent how big the crowd was, to my left…

…to my right…

…and behind me…

…there were a few people in front of me, but I had a great spot to see the speakers, which included the emcee from CB West, Hina Rub, and Doylestown mayor Ron Strouse…

Soon after, we heard from an array of science-based business owners, scientists, educators and experts, along with environmentalists and other organizers:

And, of course, lots and lots of great signs populated the crowd, representing all stripes. One that caught my attention in particular was this gentleman’s sign, which put two and two together and illustrates how we are all interconnected:

And then, there was my own contribution, which arises from my experiences with science as it has been corrupted by money in the US pharmaceutical industry, where not all treatments for cancer are honored. Often it is only patented medications, which can be profited to the hilt from under the current healthcare system, offered to cancer fighters by mainstream medicine – and thus is its own form of ignorance:

There are many treatments for cancer, all science-based, but not – or no longer – patentable. That is all about the money, and if I am to be fair, I must demand fairness in medicine regarding medical treatments, along with the acknowledgement that sometimes the simplest things, like peroxide and vitamin C, neither of which are patentable and are too cheap for mainstream medicine to profit from with the long roster of players with their fingers in the healthcare pie.

Can we please have a system that is fair, scientifically-based and all-inclusive, instead of one where certain medicines and treatments are weighted differently according to profitability? This is one thing I’m working toward, because I never want to find myself subject to treatment by science which has been corrupted by money to the point where many simple and effective treatments are left completely off the table.

Resist on,

Alison

Saturday, April 15, 2017. A day that will live in infamy. In a big “fuck you” to the American public, the US president, who was not elected, elects not to share his tax returns. I – along with my boyfriend and several thousand others – decided to publicly make our demand for accountability known.

A crowd gathered at Thomas Paine Plaza at 14th and JFK in Center City on this not-too-cold day in anticipation of the 2017 Philly Tax March, which would take marchers around Philadelphia City Hall and down Market Street to Independence Hall. An enterprising group offering to recycle signs occupied one corner of the Plaza while great sign after great sign walked by…one that nailed white male privilege right on its head, another that offered a writerly theme…and even T-Rex showed up:

My sign was actually one of many that shared the same theme, “If You Show Me Yours, I’ll Show You Mine.” There were quite a few of these, but they always got a laugh.

That said, the fact that a sitting US president has refused to show his taxes to the public only says one thing – and that is everything. It tells me he has lots to hide. It also tells me that his followers – this is President Twit after all – accept him at his word, and are neither intellectually curious nor are they concerned with democratic principles that center on accountability and transparency, which the crux of the issue here.

The march ensued, taking us to Independence Hall, where we heard several speakers calling for accountability – and where I saw the best protest sign – or was it a protest salad bowl, complete with sugary-swampy gummy worms? – of the Tax March:

This was an instant classic!

As for those seeking public office who don’t want to show their financials, take a hike…and not at Camp David, aka Catoctin Mountain National Park in Maryland, where the state Senate has approved a bill to require presidential candidates to release their tax returns.

This is a silver lining of the erection of Donald J. Trump is that state legislative efforts have taken on critical importance, and have refocused our efforts on winning state and local elections. This will take time, money and effort, but we’re doing it. There simply is no other choice.

It amazes me that the United States – where presidents have held a tradition of releasing tax returns since Gerald Ford – would be willing to turn the other cheek for an obvious grifter like Trump. But I am glad to see states writing and passing strategic legislation such as this in an attempt at codifying democratic principles and common sense into law – and that also raise the bar for those running for president. After a reality TV actor with a shady financial past gets in, accountability and transparency are more essential than essential has ever been.

Resist on,

Alison