health

Let’s talk about “from the river to the sea”

/ Tracy Abell / 4 Comments

Yesterday,  I read and commented on a blog I’ve followed and interacted with for years. The poster is Jewish and wrote about, among other things, their fear at the way people on social media and college campuses are voicing solidarity with Palestinian people. There was much in the blog post that made me shake my head, but my comment focused on what is meant when we say “from the river to the sea.” Here’s what I wrote:

If I may, [name redacted], “from the river to the sea” does not call for the eradication of Jewish people. Rather, it is a call for Palestinian people who are now living under apartheid to live with the equality, freedom, and dignity accorded others. It is a call for Palestinians to have free movement from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. I don’t believe anyone should feel threated by the liberation of an oppressed people. 

A protester holds a placard reading ‘From the river to the sea, we demand equality’, during a protest in solidarity with Palestinians, in Berlin, Germany, Nov. 4 2023.      Clemens Bilan

They pushed back on my comment which started all sorts of thoughts swirling in my head, but because I didn’t want to step further into their space to examine this issue, I’m putting those thoughts here.

I kept waking last night, my thoughts immediately on the reactions to those six words–from the river to the sea–and how it’s deeply racist and Islamophobic to believe that freeing Palestinians from apartheid would result in the slaughter of Jewish people. Also, I couldn’t stop thinking about how those six words are being used to silence opposition to this genocide happening before our very eyes. When I woke, I found an eloquent piece on this very issue written in 2018  by an associate professor in the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies  at the University of Arizona.  Dismissing or ignoring what this phrase means to the Palestinians is yet another means by which to silence Palestinian perspectives. Citing only Hamas leaders’ use of the phrase, while disregarding the liberationist context in which other Palestinians understand it, shows a disturbing level of ignorance about Palestinians’ views at best, and a deliberate attempt to smear their legitimate aspirations at worst. You may read the entire piece HERE.

As I struggled to fall back asleep, I also couldn’t stop thinking about the 13 year-old boy in southern California who last week was suspended for three days for saying “Free Palestine” after another kid called him a terrorist. As you can see HERE, the principal’s reason for suspension: “Said threatening remarks to a young lady in class. He said, ‘Free Palestine.'” Suspending a child for voicing support for the liberation of an oppressed population?! This suppression of free speech isn’t only happening in the U.S. An Israeli high school teacher was assaulted and arrested by the IDF after making a Facebook post sympathetic to dead Palestinian civilians.

Meanwhile, Israeli officials who brazenly announce their intent to commit genocide in Gaza are given platforms to spew their genocidal rhetoric AND continue to receive the unwavering support of the U.S. government despite the majority of voters supporting a ceasefire.

I don’t know about you, but I find the specific violence of those words much more alarming than calls for “from the river to the sea.”

How are they allowed to come right out and state their murderous intent? For one, there’s a full-blown propaganda and normalization effort happening. “Embedded journalists” from the U.S. must allow the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to okay their materials. CNN interviewed Netanyahu today as if he’s just some regular guy rather than a far-right, genocidal maniac. If you’re watching mainstream media, you’re getting a very slanted take on what’s happening. For instance, they don’t want you knowing that millions upon millions of people around the globe have been and continue to march in solidarity with Palestine (see ceasfiretoday.com for the huge list of protests around the world). Also? Israel is targeting journalists.

Per the Committee to Protect Journalists, as of November 12:

  • 40 journalists and media workers were confirmed dead: 35 Palestinian, 4 Israeli, and 1 Lebanese.
  • 8 journalists were reported injured.
  • 3 journalists were reported missing.
  • 13 journalists were reported arrested.
  • Multiple assaults, threats, cyberattacks, censorship, and killings of family members.

But the real threat here is people chanting “from the river to the sea”????

There’s so much more to say about all this, so many horrifying aspects: Fascism. Settler colonialism. Another Nakba. Bombing refugee camps. Bombing hospitals. Shooting people in ICU. Bombing solar panels off a hospital roof. Dead infants as a result of no electricity. White phosphorous melting skin to bone. Targeting UN workers. Deliberately withholding food, water, electricity, and fuel. Bodies decaying in the rubble. 900+ entire Palestinian families killed. Doctors Without Borders’ new acronym: WCNSF which stands for Wounded Child No Surviving Family.

From the BBC: “Most of the children in my family photo are dead”

To be honest, this whole endeavor has been overwhelming and I’m going to stop here. If you’ve read this far, thank you thank you thank you. And please remember: the college students and the rest of us protesting our government for funding and enabling this genocide are NOT the problem.

Until we are all free, none of us are free. 

Finding our shared humanity: LIGHT IN GAZA

/ Tracy Abell / 6 Comments

I’m taking advantage of the many resources on offer right now to help people such as myself become more educated on the Palestinian experience and the history of Palestine. As mentioned earlier, Haymarket Books has made three Palestine-related ebooks free to download.

One of those books, Light In Gaza: Writings Born of Fire is an anthology of Palestinian writers and artists sharing their lived experiences. Reading about daily life in Gaza helps me better understand their lives while also broadening my perspective.

“Let Me Dream” by Israa Mohammed Jamal begins with an exchange with her third-grade daughter as they worked on a school lesson together about tourist sites in northern Palestine. The daughter exclaims, “What beautiful places we have in our country. Let’s go there, Mama! Please!” The mother/author had never been to any of those places, either, and has to explain to her daughter that because Israel occupies the West Bank and blockades Gaza, they cannot go to those tourist attractions.

As someone who heavily relies on nature to maintain my emotional and mental health, I can barely imagine a life in which I was prevented from not only traveling freely, but seeking out the calming influence of the natural world. My body literally constricts at the thought.  The author’s essay moves from that exchange with her young daughter to some of her childhood and adult experiences, such as various family members leaving Gaza and the ensuing loneliness that enveloped her. She also writes of the party plans for her firstborn daughter’s first birthday in 2009 made in defiance of the fact that Israel was bombing Gaza then, plans that had to be abandoned when the bombs targeted their neighborhood, forcing them to flee to a relative’s house where they watched the news on their mobile phones because the electricity had been cut.

The essay ends with the author’s dreams for her children, including this excerpt:
I wish to witness the miracle of the liberation of all our occupied lands. Then, I can go to our home villages with our children so they can feel where they originate and belong and feel ownership of their homeland. I hope to erase “refugee” from their vocabulary, because this word is full of disappointment and weakness. They will go to every place in our country. They will see the beautiful places on the West Bank, without fear from armed soldiers, and will have peace of mind without being restricted in their movements inside and outside our ancestral land. They will discover those places by themselves and will live the adventure of traveling to new places such as cities and forests. Gaza doesn’t have mountains or forests, so we have never gone on safari and enjoyed the glory of nature.

Everyone on this glorious planet should have access to nature. Everyone deserves freedom of movement and, after reading “Let Me Dream,” I’m more grateful than ever for the ability to come and go as I please.

But the truth is, none of us are truly free while others are oppressed.

Ebike learning curve

/ Tracy Abell / 9 Comments

Last week, I gave thanks for our new ebike. I also mentioned that I hadn’t ridden a bike in quite some time. No biggie, right? Everyone knows that saying, “once you learn to ride a bike, you never forget.” Well, I’m here to say there might be things you forget. At least, I did.

I took my first ride on Friday, the day after the bike arrived. I was nervous but mostly excited. Zippy is a dedicated bicyclist and has invested in a carbon-fiber frame bike that weighs 18 pounds, and he offered to ride next to me as I rode the ebike that weighs 60 pounds (plus another eight pounds or so for the two baskets) to make sure I knew how to use all the controls. When we took off up the street, my handlebars were wobbling like mad which made me think he hadn’t properly mounted them. I panicked a bit but he assured me they were tight and that the wobble was due to my death grip. So I relaxed my grip and pedaled without wobble. Yay! A few minutes later, I needed to stop to make a seat adjustment so I squeezed the hand brakes and started to put my foot down. Well, I didn’t get my foot down in time and the bike tilted to the side. I tried righting it but those 68 pounds were too much for me and I went down with the bike.

BAM! I hit my right butt cheek on the pavement. This photo was taken today and, as you can see, the four-inch bruise has reached the vibrant multi-colored stage.

It wasn’t just me that got messed up. The right handlebar also hit the pavement and now the plastic end-cap is torn up. Oh, and the back basket also has a scrape along the side.

My maiden voyage was off to a bad start.

I’m happy to report I continued riding without incident and logged ten miles in our very hilly up-and-down neighborhood. The next day, we headed off to the library. Again, as we started down the street, my handlebars wobbled like mad. The death grip was back. But the wobbles were over quickly and we rode the five miles to the library. Some of it was in traffic which made me nervous, but Zippy was there to show me the way.

After I’d returned books and checked out another batch, we were at the bike rack preparing to leave again when a petite woman in her 80s struck up a conversation about ebikes. Turned out, she loved bicycling and is searching for a suitable ebike. I told her in no uncertain terms to get one that was small and light, and then told her my tale of woe. She nodded with understanding and then proceeded to tell us about the day she rode her bike down a big hill on Morrison Road. She’d wondered why the cars were moving so slowly and then realized it was because she was going so fast. Right after that realization, she encountered a situation that prompted her to use her brakes (which she said she should not have done), and went sailing over the handlebars. She showed us the six-inch scar on her elbow that’d shattered. Aside from being horrified on her behalf, all I could think was “I wish you hadn’t told me that right before I get back on my bike!” She was very cool, though, and I’d love to be as active as her at that age because she also shared that she’d put on her in-line skates the other day just to see if she could still go skating. Fortunately, she decided that wasn’t wise, but I admire the hell out of her spunk.

The library trip was a little over ten miles in total. And today I just rode another ten miles around my immediate neighborhood and the surrounding neighborhood to practice some more. There were no wobbles, no falls, and no scary stories of tiny women flying over handlebars. A pretty mellow experience, actually.

I’m thinking/hoping that my bike-riding procedural memory has fully kicked in. HOORAY!

 

Climate Movement Monday: STOP utility shut-offs during extreme heat

/ Tracy Abell / 3 Comments

Welcome back to Movement Mondays in which I typically highlight a frontline community enduring the worst of the climate crisis and then offer a quick action you can take on their behalf. Today’s frontline communities are the elderly and low-income households, especially people of color. I’m amplifying a message received from 198methods.org regarding utility companies shutting off people’s power despite the extreme heat still slamming much of the country.

Image by Claudia Engel from Pixabay

The following background info is from an email received from 198methods.org but if you’re pressed for time, click HERE to personalize a letter to your two Senators and one Representative, asking them to use their power to increase funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). If we can send billions of dollars to fight a proxy war in the Ukraine, we can certainly afford to make sure people don’t die due to the combination of extreme heat and heartless utility companies shutting off their AC.

Please take two minutes to click HERE to personalize a letter to your two Senators and one Representative, asking them to use their power to increase funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

Thank you for reading and taking action! Please, if you or someone you know is  suffering extreme heat and have had the power turned off, reach out via my contact form and I will get you some help.

Solidarity! ✊🏽

Seize this hazardous moment: please take 1 quick climate action

/ Tracy Abell / 4 Comments

The northeastern portion of the United States is currently experiencing what millions around the world endure on a daily basis as they struggle to breathe polluted air. The smoke from wildfires in Canada are engulfing the northeast and I feel horrible for the people living there (and everyone else around the globe breathing bad air).

I appreciated the contrast of the photos in the above tweet, but the text is incorrect: NYC is currently experiencing HAZARDOUS air quality (they’ve moved far beyond Unhealthy) as seen in this chart:

NYC is at 342 on the AQI.** 

The one bit of good news in this dystopian nightmare is that the experience of hazardous air quality might finally, finally shake the power brokers into rethinking their climate stances. Third Act is encouraging us to send a quick email to the CitiBank CEO (Jane Fraser), her chief of staff (Margo Pilic), and the Chief Sustainability Officer (Val Smith) who are currently breathing that hazardous air.

MESSAGE: “Please stop funding the expansion of fossil fuels so that we may all breathe easier.” (Note: I also included my Colorado wildfire smoke experiences)

(I sent one email addressed to Jane Fraser and CCd the other two):
jane.fraser@citi.com
margo.pilic@citi.com
val.smith@citi.com

Thank you for reading and I hope wherever you are, you and your lungs are safe. Solidarity! ✊🏽

 

**updated AQI 392

Climate Movement call to action: dirty debt ceiling deal

/ Tracy Abell / 5 Comments

Remember Sen. Joe Manchin’s Dirty Deal? We keep beating it back ( see here, here, here, here, and here) and Manchin keeps resurrecting it like some climate-bomb zombie that refuses to die, this time with the help of Joe Biden. And now they’re calling it the “Fiscal Responsibility Act” but it’s just the same old giveaway to fossil fuel companies. PLEASE, we need phone calls and emails today and tomorrow! We’ve won before and together we’ll do it again!

Here’s the context from Protect Our Water, Heritage Rights (POWHR): Bipartisan negotiations between President Biden and Speaker McCarthy have resulted in a debt ceiling bill called the “Fiscal Responsibility Act” that forces completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline by requiring the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to issue permits for the Mountain Valley Pipeline within 21 days and prohibits judicial review of permits, drastically guts core environmental protections like NEPA, hamstrings agencies, shrinks social safety nets and harms communities as part of a manufactured crisis.

The GOOD NEWS is that Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia has submitted an amendment to remove the Mountain Valley Pipeline from the Fiscal Responsibility Act, stating “This provision is completely unrelated to the debt ceiling matter.” And just minutes ago, Rep. Jennifer McClellan (also of Virginia) announced she and the entire Virginia House delegation have submitted their own amendment to remove MVP from the bill. YES!

The following numbered action items come from (POWHR) and are listed in order of priority, but ANY action you can take is appreciated!

Sample script- short version

“Hi __, I’m __ from __. Please oppose the “Fiscal Responsibility Act” and pass a clean debt ceiling bill.”

Longer version

“Hi __, I’m __ from __. Please oppose the “Fiscal Responsibility Act” and pass a clean debt ceiling bill. Exempting the Mountain Valley Pipeline from the law and judicial due process is unconscionable and sacrifices impacted communities. Gutting core environmental protections, slashing social safety nets, punishing the working class and forcing completion of the MVP must be rejected. Please reject this and pass a clean debt ceiling.”

  1. Call your representative to demand a Clean Debt Ceiling
  2. Call these Democrats (note: I identify myself as a “global climate constituent):
  3. Call your senator to demand a Clean Debt Ceiling (can also send email via Appalachian Voices action alert)
  4. Call these senators (thank Kaine and ask the others to support his amendment)

The entire POWHR action tool kit containing sample tweets, graphics, and the complete list of numbers to call is here.

Thank you for reading, taking action, and fighting for a livable planet! The Appalachian region is NOT a sacrifice zone. We the people have the power to create a better world. Solidarity! ✊🏽 

 

Climate Movement Monday: in support of Kalamazoo, MI

/ Tracy Abell / 3 Comments

Welcome back to Movement Mondays in which I highlight an issue and the frontline community most impacted, along with suggestions for a quick action or two on their behalf. Today’s focus is on a predominantly Black community in Kalamazoo, Michigan, that I learned about via a Twitter thread from independent journalists at Status Coup News (@StatusCoup). I highly recommend reading that thread plus an earlier one I discovered while researching this post, but here are the basics:

Graphic Packaging is an international paper mill which makes packaging for food and beverages, etc., and it’s been operating in Kalamazoo for over a decade, spewing 30+ toxic chemicals day and night.

Image from journalist Jordan Chariton 2.9.23 Twitter thread

Children do not go outside at recess or play outside in their neighborhood because the smell is so bad. People do not open their windows. The smell worsens at night and those in the neighborhood suffer many health issues, including asthma, COPD, stomachaches, and headaches. Residents in the area suffer chronic lower respiratory diseases and since 2015, 1,950 Black babies (under the age of 1) have died in Kalamazoo. Despite ongoing complaints from the community to Governor Whitmer’s Health and Environmental Department, in 2021 the Whitmer administration approved a $125 million bond deal to help Graphic Packaging expand the Kalamazoo paper mill! Now the toxic air is impacting a predominantly white neighborhood.

Guess what? As of February, the state of Michigan has mandated that Graphic Packaging release data from their air sensors measuring toxic gases at the site. In addition, the multi-billion dollar corporation was hit with a whopping  $109,270 fine.

This is where solidarity comes in: even though the majority of people reading this do not live in Kalamazoo, those communities can use our help. 

TAKING ACTION

If you like phone calls:
leave a message for Gov. Whitmer at 517-335-7858
(tip: press 5, then 2)
Gov. Whitmer requires email via this form

If you prefer email, here are the addresses for the Mayor, Vice-Mayor, and City Commissioners (copy and paste from below):

TO: mayor@kalamazoocity.org
CC: cooneyd@kalamazoocity.org, hessj@kalamazoocity.org, praedelc@kalamazoocity.org, deckerq@kalamazoocity.org, hoffmans@kalamazoocity.org, juareze@kalamazoocity.org

Here’s what I sent (feel free to modify): Letter re Graphic Packaging

Thank you for reading this far. It’s completely coincidental that last week’s post also focused on Michigan, but I hope you’ll also speak out on behalf of the Kalamazoo communities. And if you want to support Status Coup News, you can do so here.  Solidarity! ✊🏽

Good governors don’t frack their people

/ Tracy Abell / 2 Comments

Today there was an anti-fracking rally at the capitol in Denver. As mentioned in this post, rallies are being held around the country this week in honor of climate warrior Joye Braun. Our local rally had lots of good speakers, with an emphasis on fracking in the state of Colorado. I learned that Colorado is now in the “top” four states for fracking and that despite Governor Polis’s talk about climate action, he’s okayed over 5,600 well permits since he took office in 2019 and rejected just one well permit. 

You can see his likeness in the upper center of the above image, smiling away while selling this state’s health and well-being to the oil and gas industry. (There’s talk of him running for president which some think is wonderful since he’s an openly gay Democrat with a husband and children. I’m here to disabuse you of that nonsense. Polis is bad news. He’s a Libertarian who threatens vetos on progressive legislation from the majority-held Colorado legislature. He’s worth hundreds of millions of dollars and paid nothing in federal income taxes from 2013 to 2015 and paid an effective rate of 8.2% from 2010 to 2018, substantially lower than the 19% paid by a taxpayer who made $45,000 in 2018. Trust me, we don’t need this rich guy playing with people’s lives on a national scale.)

But back to the rally. I also learned that despite the PR surrounding the oil and gas industry, it actually accounts for less than 1% of jobs in Colorado. This surprised me because I’d fallen for the fear-based propaganda about how oil and gas provides MANY jobs. The speaker mentioned there are ten Colorado counties in which the industry does account for many jobs and that there needs to be a concerted effort to provide a just transition to clean, renewable energy jobs.

Here I am clutching my signs with my no-grip mittens. I’m anti-incrementalism because we’re witnessing climate collapse and timid, half-measures aren’t going to cut it. Polis is very much into incremental steps which is really the same as being a climate denier.

One of the speakers led us in chants and it was fun imagining our voices disrupting Polis’s “State of the State” address inside the legislative chamber.  At the end, Micah from 350 Colorado led us in song. “Rise Up” was a staple during my time with Sunrise Movement and it filled my heart to sing with other activists again.

People power for the win!

PLEASE wear a MASK

/ Tracy Abell / 11 Comments

I went to a department store today to pick up an online order. As I wandered about trying to locate the pick-up area, I probably saw about fifty people. Fifty unmasked people, many of whom were standing right next to each other in the check-out line.

This is the first time since the start of the pandemic that I’ve been somewhere in public where I was the one and only person wearing a mask. It’s very troubling. Horrifying. Rage-inducing.

What is going on? Peer pressure? Don’t trample on my freedom? Denial?

Because despite the powers that be saying the pandemic is over, it absolutely is not over. Those officials are downplaying the entire situation in order to protect capitalism. They are more concerned about the economy than people’s health. The equivalent of 9/11 deaths are happening each week. We are witnessing a mass disabling event. And if our for-profit healthcare system isn’t there for us now, do you think it’s going to offer support and services when the entire workforce becomes disabled?

Pediatric hospitals are overflowing as young children battle multiple viruses they are more susceptible to as a result of previous Covid infections. Children are dying from Covid, the flu, RSV, and Strep A. There’s a shortage of pediatric antibiotics and fever medication, not to mention the year-long baby formula shortage. 

There’s so much more to say: the huge increase of “sudden deaths,” the blood clots, the seizures, heart attacks, the brain damage, etc., but I’ll stop here because I’m about to cry from anger and frustration.

Please, for the love of humanity, wear a mask (and not those saggy blue surgical masks). My public library gives away free KN95 masks and I bet yours does, too. But if you can’t access any, contact me and I will order some to be shipped to you. I get mine here.

Dark too early

/ Tracy Abell / 6 Comments

Each time the sun disappears behind the foothills it feels like a door slamming shut, locking me in a dark dungeon of despair. I mean, five o’clock and it’s pitch black outside? As G.O.B. would say on Arrested Development, “Come on!” But as a friend reminded me, we’ll start gaining daylight on December 22nd. I just have to hang in there until then.

I searched Pixabay for a night image that would convey my misery and happened upon this delightful Eurasian Pygmy Owl.

Image by Erik Karits from Pixabay

I’m going to try to reframe my outlook and think about this time of day being good for owls. It makes me slightly less grumpy to think about them out there in the dark, stalking and killing unsuspecting prey. At least someone’s enjoying themselves.

Our first Corsi-Rosenthal Box

/ Tracy Abell / 8 Comments

A while back we offered to build a #CorsiRosenthal Box for my sister-in-law’s 2nd-grade classroom because Covid is airborne and we wanted them to stay healthy. After she figured out where she could put it in her classroom, she gave us the go-ahead. There’s a rush on furnace filters so it took a while to find some in stock and then we had to wait a bit for them to arrive.

And then we got to work. Zippy did most of the main construction and I took over when it came time to pretty-ify the device. I wanted it to look less like an invasive machine and more like a welcome member of the classroom.

I used our kids’ old ZooBooks magazines (and yes, I absolutely did get lost in looking at photos and reading some captions) to create three panels. They should also lower the noise a bit, too. It feels good knowing they’ll have clean air in their classroom and I’m hoping other teachers will see this and want one of their own.

 

 

 

 

We’re going to build one for us next, but we learned something we hadn’t foreseen: cats want to scratch on the box. I had to chase Marcel away as I worked, so maybe we’ll have to place ours higher, on a table or something. After I got him to stop scratching, he got busy climbing in and out of the box the filters arrived in.  But that’s kitty behavior I can get behind.

One of those pandemic days

/ Tracy Abell / 5 Comments

This day started off pretty well — among other things, added 20 minutes to my yearly hoop-dancing total — and then Zippy and I went out to deliver food boxes to people via Rocky Mountain Mutual Aid Network. And I think that’s where the day began to feel not-so-good, when we were out and about, and saw that the vast majority of people were unmasked in indoor spaces. It wasn’t news: this is how it’s been for months and months. For some reason, it hit me harder today. How can we as a society normalize mass death and disability? How can we sacrifice our health for “freedom”? What will we do when our healthcare system collapses beneath the weight of our selfishness?emot

Anyway, here’s a pretty flower.

Wild aster. July 13, 2022

Wishing you and yours a safe and healthy weekend.

Gratitude

/ Tracy Abell / 8 Comments

This morning started out rough as the weight of all we’re enduring hit me. Sometimes I wish I could live in a happy state of denial (“the pandemic is over and X, Y, Z aren’t happening, either!”), and eagerly greet each new day. Alas, I’m not wired that way.

The good news is, I’m feeling better now.
The birds are singing and the sun is shining.
Gratitude!

Backyard. August 4, 2022

And I’m forever grateful that sunflowers exist.

Climate Movement Monday: STOP the Dirty Deal!

/ Tracy Abell / 3 Comments

Welcome back to Movement Mondays! Today my time-sensitive ask is that you make quick phone calls to your representatives AND/OR send emails regarding Senator Manchin’s side deal portion of the Inflation Reduction Act that would gut environmental regulations (Clean Water Act!) and accelerate the federal permitting process for energy projects. This legislation is a gift to the fossil fuels industry and Manchin’s #1 project priority is the Mountain Valley Pipeline.  [NOTE: more background info and links below.]

Basic message: Vote NO to this side deal that will accelerate the climate crisis and is just a gift to the fossil fuel industry.

CALL
917-791-2257 will give you a brief script then connect you to your Senators (thanks to the People vs. Fossil Fuels Coalition).

202-224-3121 is the Capitol Switchboard where you can ask to be connected to your senators and representative.

You may also, of course, call directly to your representatives’ DC and local offices

EMAIL
If you aren’t comfortable making phone calls, you may use your representatives’ email contact form to send your message.

BACKGROUND INFO:

This action is VERY important and phone calls from constituents carry a lot of weight. PLEASE take the time to urge your representatives: NO to the permitting side deal!

Solidarity! ✊🏽

PSA: We’re all in this together

/ Tracy Abell / 7 Comments

A friend is struggling mightily right now, and she’s not alone in her feeling of overwhelm and hopelessness. Every one of us is dealing with personal stuff on top of the societal and planetary crises. I want to note this here and now, as a reminder for the next time someone cuts me off in traffic or doesn’t return a wave or any number of completely trivial things that might wind me up.

Everyone is dealing with way too much these days. But we’re all in this together and we are all we’ve got.

So, it’s good to extend a little grace whenever we can. 🌻

My Five Touchstones

/ Tracy Abell / 6 Comments

Like many others, I’ve been struggling under the weight of reality. (I started to list the many crises here then realized there’s no need to drag me or my readers down yet again). The point it, stuff’s really hard. Some days I’m not sure how to keep going. Those feelings were so strong a couple mornings ago that I was compelled during my intuition activation session to ask “What’s the point?”

I received five words:
Joy              Nature               Compassion               Justice               Peace

They immediately resonated with me and are my new touchstones for keeping me afloat. When I start feeling overwhelmed and defeated, I return to those five words. Today, I dedicate this post to them.

For instance, the JOY I felt when watching Emma enthusiastically splash and drink from the stream while hiking last September.

Cataract Lake. September 27, 2021

And on that same hike, glorious NATURE completely rejuvenated my soul.

Cataract Lake. September 27, 2021

The best way to live is by showing COMPASSION for others, as exemplified by this child as he helps a lamb reunite with its mother.
https://twitter.com/yoda4ever/status/1533782002964393984

This morning I rejoiced in the news of JUSTICE served in Louisiana after the community organized to defeat Formosa Plastics in its attempt to build one of the world’s largest plastics plants in a Black community. Solidarity!

Finally, there’s always a sense of PEACE when watching birds in our yard, especially in the quiet after a snowfall.

Goldfinch in backyard.  October 24, 2019

Yes, life’s a hard row to hoe. But there are always glimmers of good along the way. Remember: JOY. NATURE. COMPASSION. JUSTICE. PEACE.

Climate Movement Monday: in support of Healthy Gulf

/ Tracy Abell / 2 Comments

Today is the 17th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the 1-year anniversary of Hurricane Ida. These devastating storms destroyed Gulf communities that are still struggling to rebuild. The storms were climate-induced, but the negligent government response was 100% man-made. [Note: Below is a Twitter thread re Katrina along with an article that includes profiles of people in Louisiana coastal parishes fighting to rebuild after Ida. I highly recommend reading both.]

Photo by Jerry Brown (HUD) aerial view of impact of Hurricane Katrina 9/12/2005

Healthy Gulf is a coalition of five states along the Gulf of Mexico. Their core values include Environmental Health: We believe that supporting the environmental health and ecosystem richness of the Gulf region is necessary to secure quality of life, sense of place, economic vitality, and social justice within all Gulf communities.

Today’s climate action is to send a letter demanding no new oil and gas leases in the Gulf. As always, the template is there for you to send as-is, or personalize. The most important thing is to lend your name and voice to this fight.

Here’s the link to some background information and the petition.

Thank you in advance for standing in solidarity with coastal communities. We can and must protect them from further needless pollution and catastrophe. ✊🏽

READ BELOW for eye-opening & heart-breaking personal accounts of living through Hurricanes Katrina and Ida.

https://southerlymag.org/2022/08/29/they-want-us-gone-black-louisianans-fight-to-rebuild-a-year-after-ida/

Climate & the Inflation Reduction Act

/ Tracy Abell / 6 Comments

In case you hadn’t heard, this past weekend the Senate voted to approve the Inflation Reduction Act which contains climate policy. There are good components to that policy, but there are also horrific pieces. No surprise there since coal-baron Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia and his fossil fuel buddies pretty much wrote the policy that has Exxon, Shell, and BP executives jumping for joy.  A “climate” bill that makes oil and gas happy is not a good deal for the planet.

For instance: solar and wind projects are contingent upon expanding oil and gas drilling . . . millions of acres on and offshore.  That’s right, the very thing driving the climate crisis — fossil fuels –will be expanded.

And who will suffer most? The frontline communities. The people already impacted by fossil fuel projects are completely abandoned by this climate policy. It is absolutely vital that all of us who care about people and planet show up for them in their fights.

So. Starting next Monday, I’m going to institute “Movement Mondays” in which I post a climate action we can take in solidarity with communities around the country. This might be making a phone call or contributing to public comments about a proposed project. Whatever these communities need, we must add our voices to theirs. Everyone deserves clean air and clean water.

If you’ve read this far . . . solidarity! I hope to see you in the fight.

P.S. Here’s a Twitter thread that contains many of the concerns from many of the impacted communities around the country.

P.P.S. Here’s a bit from Kate Aronoff  in The New Republic:
Multiple things can be true at the same time. The Inflation Reduction Act—the first piece of climate policy to pass the Senate ever—is a historic achievement and vitally important given that Democrats may not get to govern again for a decade. It also consigns more people to living next to more fossil fuel infrastructure for longer; in many cases, that means consigning more people—predominantly poor people, Black people, and brown people—to disease and death. We don’t fully know what the bill will do. The IRA’s passage doesn’t close the book on U.S. climate policy so much as open it. As ever, the best guides to navigating what comes next will likely be the people who won it in the first place, and who’ll have to live the closest to its consequences.

A bouquet for me and thee

/ Tracy Abell / 6 Comments

Yesterday was emotionally rough for me and upon waking this morning, I feared sinking into that dark place again. So, I vowed to keep myself occupied all day. We took Emma for a walk before it got too hot and after that, I cleaned, did laundry, wrote, did my yoga and hooped for a while. Somewhere in there, I also took a short nap with Loki-cat on my chest.

It’s now 7:00 p.m. and I made it through the day without tears. Might not seem like a lot, but today’s success gives me confidence and momentum for tomorrow. I’m celebrating with this wildflower bouquet.

Routt National Forest. July 12, 2022.

This bouquet is also offered up to anyone else struggling out there. You aren’t alone. You are beautiful and enough, just as you are. Keep shining your light.

focus unfocus

/ Tracy Abell / 2 Comments

Sometimes it’s good to blur the lines a bit.

May 9, 2022

Disclosure: my intent in taking this photo was to capture the entire image in sharp focus. Didn’t turn out that way. But that’s okay, because focus isn’t always the be-all, end-all. It’s healthy to balance focus and a lack of focus. At least, that’s what I tell myself when I awaken from yet another bout of daydreaming.

Sunday Confessional: enthusiasm deficit

/ Tracy Abell / 16 Comments

It’s been a rough day on the heels of other emotionally difficult days this week. Despite ordering one of these Let This Radicalize You (rather than lead you to despair) shirts a few days ago, I confess to tilting heavily toward despair right now. No need for me to list the multiple crises we’re facing because that’ll just make me more sad/angry and give people reason to quit reading.

Instead, I’ll celebrate the fact that I’m no longer withdrawing into myself and am here with a post. HELLO, OUT THERE!

Here’s one of my favorite recent photos:

June 22, 2022

Okay, that’s it for my burst of energy. Sending good wishes to anyone who’s read this far . . . 💚

What’s the plan

/ Tracy Abell

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
~ Mary Oliver

June 22, 2022

I don’t know about you, but the events of the past weeks have cranked up my attention-deficit tendencies as my brains thinks “I need to work on that issue which affects this and this issue, and then there’s this other issue which is also connected to this that and the other issue, but they’re all so so important and need immediate attention, so where to focus?”

And that’s how they want it. They’ve intentionally created chaos and hardship in order to grind us down. A whack-a-mole world in which we’re forced to constantly swing our mallets at the problems, diluting our energies and coating us in a thick layer of despair. (Brace yourselves for an upcoming SCOTUS opinion on the EPA and the end of environmental regulations.)

But, as Mariame Kaba says “Let this radicalize you rather than lead you to despair.” [Note: one of the best books I’ve read, ever, is Kaba’s We Do This ‘Til We Free Us]. And as for my ADD thoughts about where to put my efforts, I found this Twitter thread immensely helpful:

The gist is: keep on doing what you’re doing PLUS be intentional about strengthening ties with other organizations/efforts to create more collaboration. Build on what you’re already doing.

Personally, my current plan is to continue revising my middle grade novel that’s a friendship story set against a backdrop of PIC abolition and restorative justice. Doing that work helps me avoid despair. Creativity has always brought me peace and balance, so add a pinch of radicalism in the content plus weave in some of what I’m continuing to learn, and I’m (currently) feeling solid re my focus in this one wild and precious life.

Please, reach out if you think your efforts/interests might align so that together we can build something bigger and stronger. ☀️

Intentional peace

/ Tracy Abell / 2 Comments

Yesterday, we drove Moby the Great White Campervan to the mountains for some rest and relaxation. Our intention was a few hours of peace and rejuvenation. We’d never been there before and were thrilled to claim a small parking area next to Buffalo Creek. I explored with the camera and captured some nice shots. This is where I sat to work on my novel revisions.

Buffalo Creek. June 22, 2022

I sat in a chair on the little patch of beach at the bottom of the photo and revised a chapter on my laptop as Zippy and Emma napped in the van. Rushing water. Clean air. A shiny, green hummingbird buzzing in for a visit.

The entire experience soothed my spirit and, as I type these words, I’m already looking forward to a return visit. May each of us experience peace and rejuvenation in these very difficult days.

My reign as Domestic Goddess

/ Tracy Abell / 3 Comments

I am incredibly grateful for the domestic gifts Zippy bestows upon me. Namely, handling all the cooking and grocery shopping. Yes, you read that correctly. I don’t have to cook or shop. Except when it’s absolutely necessary, such as when Zippy has Covid. (Note: he is feeling better although still testing positive).

He first tested positive a week ago tomorrow and hasn’t had much of an appetite. Lucky for both of us. Him, because that meant he wasn’t subjected to my lack of cooking skills and me, because I wasn’t forced to exhibit my low-level kitchen intelligence. Zippy tolerated my quinoa and steamed broccoli (that I daringly “spiced up” with some snap peas and cut green beans) and the minimalist spinach “salads” garnished with halved cherry tomatoes and a splash of balsamic dressing. I skated by until last night.

It all started because I’d noticed a head of kale in the drawer.

Image by azboomer from Pixabay

I worried it was getting a bit droopy and asked what I could make with the kale before it went bad. Zippy replied, “Lots of things” in a tone that implied those many “things” were most definitely beyond my reach. “Like what?” I pressed. “Like “kale and potatoes,” he replied. “I can do that!” I proclaimed.

And Reader, I’m pleased to announce I did do just that. I successfully prepared a meal.  All it required was for Zippy to stay on speakerphone through the entire preparation. Halfway through the conversation when I apologized for being so inept that he had to talk me through the process as if I was defusing a bomb, he admitted our cooking conversation was the most exciting part of his day. Sad commentary on a week spent isolating in the basement. But for me, the excitement I derived from the experience was the fact that (with Zippy’s guidance) I didn’t botch the timing on everything as I have in the past when attempting to create something in the kitchen. I successfully timed:

  • the cooking of the kale
  • the browning of the onions, kale stems, and sprig of rosemary
  • the boiling of the potatoes
  • the adding-in of the kale
  • the final combining and cooking of all ingredients

Okay, that last step took too long and the kale still came out a bit undercooked/chewy. Other than that, I killed it!

But wait, there’s more! Today I went grocery shopping, at two different stores. Not only that, I’ve already returned home and put away the groceries . . . and it’s still daylight! So what if Zippy could have accomplished the same amount of shopping in a fraction of the time it took me? So what if I had to call him from the first store to help me locate the sliced sourdough bread? At the next store, I figured out all on my own where the salad dressing was shelved and confirmed there were no avocados. And is ketchup really necessary?

So, yeah. This past week has been a stark reminder of my very privileged life in which groceries and meals magically occur. For many, many reasons, Zippy and I are both looking forward to a full recovery and him resuming his reign.