It’s fitting that smoke obscured this photo of a coal plant I took as we drove past on Saturday.
Craig Station. August 7, 2021
We’d been camping at Rifle Falls State Park and woke to the valley filled with wildfire smoke. We quickly packed up and left. Turned out, the entire western half of Colorado was (and continues to be) choked with smoke from wildfires in the northwest. There was no escaping it.
I’ve spent much of the past several days closed off in my bedroom with an air purifier. My climate anxiety was already high and then the UN released its climate report yesterday. (Just typing those words sent a surge of anxiety throughout my system.)
I called my Senators and Representative today, all wealthy white men from Colorado which has been experiencing the worst air pollution in the world, to urge them to drop their incrementalism and vote to save humanity. The Democrats stuck us with a bi-partisan infrastructure bill (something the loathsome yet highly disciplined Republicans would never, ever have done) and we desperately need the reconciliation bill that addresses climate and poverty. The Progressive Caucus in the House is saying #NoClimateNoDeal if climate is stripped from the reconciliation bill and I can only hope they, for once, hold firm. However, I’m not naive enough to believe they’ll use their power to do the right thing. Time and again, they go along with the status quo that’s currently killing us.
Still, I think it’s well-worth a couple minutes of everyone’s time to call their representatives to demand they vote for the people and planet. Demand they keep the reconciliation bill intact. The Capitol switchboard (202) 224-3121
#NoClimateNoDeal
Thank you in advance.
Tracy Abell 
The situation with the wildfires is horrendous and I’m sorry to hear that the smoke is affecting your area too. I hope government leaders use wisdom when it comes to the environment and that everyone supports them to do what’s best. I can’t comment too much on your country’s politics, Tracy, as I’m in the u.k., but I think this is something that involves the whole world and we need to stand together.
It’s a great photo and very representative of the situation.
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Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post and to offer such a thoughtful comment, Lesley. The entire situation is heartbreaking and rage-inducing because the solutions are so clear and readily available. You are absolutely correct that this involves the entire world and we need to stand together. As is, the US continues to do the greatest damage which hits the most vulnerable hardest. I cannot wrap my head around being a person with the power to effect positive change and, instead, continuing on such a destructive path. Thank you again.
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You’re welcome, Tracy. ❤️
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It drives me bonkers when I can’t go outside due to wildfire smoke. Two years ago it was really bad. It was very unhealthy for about two solid weeks. This year the smoke has avoided us due to the shift in the jet stream, but that’s also why we are frying under excessive heat and drought. I’m frustrated too. Politicians do the bare minimum when it comes to making real policy change because its so much easier to kick the can down the street and let it be someone else’s problem later on down the line. The only future they really seem to care about is their own.
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I’m sorry you had two weeks of being trapped inside but very glad to hear you’ve avoided smoke so far this year. It really does a number on my mental health. Politicians are basically worthless, except for an occasional burst of decency here and there. Biden’s been tweeting about tackling the climate crisis at the same time his administration is pressuring OPEC to pump more oil. He sucks.
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I was talking to a friend and she said I should run for Mayor with all my ideas and I was like, “Yeah, but you know how much I loathe politics.” And she said, “That’s why you’d actually work FOR the people!” So maybe we need to coerce decent folk into running for politics to truly make a change? IDK. The current political climate is so hostile right now. I almost went into a Master’s program for Public Administration and who would have thought that public health officials would one day be receiving death threats over wearing masks! Yikes!
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I agree about the need for decent folks to run for office. However, I do wonder about politicians who presented as “decent” who lapsed (quickly) into upholding the status quo. I used to donate to candidates around the country who seemed to truly want to fight for the policies I value and then….crickets. I’m done with electoral politics and am focusing on mutual aid in my community. (To be clear, part of that stems from the money allowed to pour into campaigns that are designed to do nothing more than crush the more progressive candidate. That’s what happened here in CO with our Senate race last year. The Democratic machine coronated their candidate and absolutely buried the more grassroots candidate with money/ads. And now that coronated candidate is one of the “moderate” Senators voting with Republicans to keep the filibuster, etc.). And YES, a huge YIKES to death threats over mask mandates. We’re a sick society. 😦
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