“I used to think the top global environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. I thought that with 30 years of good science we could address these problems. But I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy, and to deal with these we need a spiritual and cultural transformation, and we scientists don’t know how to do that.” (James Gustave Speth)
While this coming election makes a lot of choices really easy* there’s Proposition 30, on the California ballot: this is an environmental/climate related measure and simpy put, it would tax higher incomes (above $2 million annually) in order to help speed up the adoption of and transition to electric vehicles (via tax credits, charging infrastructure investments). A smaller amount of the collected tax would go towards wildfire prevention measures, and all that is bundled into some kind of “clean air” language. I guess that all sounds rather good?
Two weeks ago I went to Lake Hodges for one of my photo club’s monthly activities — I thought it would be nice to take people on a local trail with an opportunity to enjoy the landscape, the little flowers and all the signs of springs.
The pendulum keeps swinging. Back and forth, back and forth. Just when I thought I had figured something out (Photographs as Interpretations), the photographic world throws a wrench into the works, of course.
Supposedly, December and the days and weeks before Christmas are “the quiet time of the year.” Naturally, the Southern California weather doesn’t really help to induce any winter feelings — it’s supposed to rain a little bit this week, at least — but I don’t see it or feel it, either way: the annual Holiday madness is in full swing.
The water crisis in California is real. Of course it is. In July, governor Newsom asked Californians to cut their domestic water usage by 15% — which sounds reasonable and doable. But then the first numbers came in, and usage only dropped by 1.8%.