Back in the Saddle

I am going to start using the "blog" again. I think this will be a better way to get my message across than simply Facebook.

We'll see!

Remembering What America Stands For

Its been nearly a year since I've expressed myself but times are getting worse not better....

Recently, the President signed legislation clearing the way for American seizure of Iraqi oil assets. This was done despite clear congressional laws banning such theft. This incredible tyranny reminded me to re-read a great poetic document written by a notorious insurgent: Yes, Thomas Jefferson, and the Declaration of Independence. It should remind all Americans, especially Mr. McCain, that the only victory permissible in Iraq is the total removal of all American influence in that country and self determination for the people of Iraq. That would be the American thing to do. I can see George Washington applauding it, even Madison saying “Here, here!”

Jefferson’s litany of evil reads nearly word for word the crimes committed by us against the Iraqis. How about?

“For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
… has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
… has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving … Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
… has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people
… is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy … of a civilized nation.
… has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive … to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
… has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, “

Sounds like us, doesn’t it? We are the evil ones now. Though we can’t undo the wanton destruction and deaths, we can leave these people and beg forgiveness.

But what would be way cool? Have a holiday where the whole day was spent reading and discussing the Declaration and the Constitution. Maybe the 4th of July, or better yet, Presidents Day could be renamed Citizens Day(I bet if those Presidents were around they'd agree) and we could all refresh the ideals that formed our country and separated us from the plague of history, honoring, reminding and informing and becoming our rightful nation a beacon to freedom, liberty and justice.

My Heroes

The thing about evolution that most folks just refuse to grasp is: it has nothing to do with progress. That is, one organism isn't any better than another organism within its particular environment. Equally rejected is the very simple principle that follows: all organisms are equally evolved, that is, we are no more evolved than the bacteria in our gut, or on our butt. We are not "more" evolved than chimps or monkeys or evolved from chimps or monkeys, we just share certain ancestors in common. I suspect, it is this equality that the non-believers can not accept; the idea that, not only are all humans created equal but all life exists equally and eventual extinction and replacement is common to all species.

There has been a trend to greater complexity as life has spread into previously unoccupied niches or expanded into existing niches with greater adaptation. But this isn't necessarily better. One hero of mine, Stephen Jay Gould, pointed out that, of all life forms on this planet, bacteria, the little animals that make us sick or makes our cheese, or actually is necessary for us to live, and lives in 10,000,000 other places, is currently the most successful form on the planet. Bacteria occupy some space in nearly every environment on the planet, from the deepest ocean, super heated water, upper atmosphere, certain subterranean soil formations, inside and on all other life forms except viruses and certain single cell organisms; they are just about everywhere. We, as an example, primarily occupy an extremely narrow band of the atmosphere about 12 feet thick and that over land. Infinitesimal compared to the successful realm of bacteria. And yet, as he would also remind us, in our essence we are also the same, we do the same things, we are just tubes that take food in on one end expel waste on the other and procreate. Only it appears that bacteria do it better.

Some folks say, well, we can think, use tools and build things and other good stuff. It might be good but it isn't true. Other forms think, especially mammals and I've always suspected trees do too. And many others use tools and certainly build things, architecturally and with engineered complexity that rivals, if not exceeds, our own. We don't even have the handle on destroying our environment. Some viruses seem to have the same bent of killing off all their hosts until the strain too dies off because it has no place to live.

Some folks say, well, we have God. I myself have two problems with that. The first is: I really feel other creatures have a sense of the majesty of life, creation if you please, perhaps even less confused and more fulfilling than our own. Why would they strive to keep living long after their usefulness to their species has finished? The second, the dominion thing…the exclusive communication thing, I think is proven false by evolution. All things are equal to their place in time.

But we do have a choice. Two other heroes, Harry Hay and John Burnside, both for courage, and Harry for his mind and drive and John for his spiritual sensitivity (though an equal intellect) reminded me often of that fact. John would frequently counsel me that we are half realized (at best) beings, that we must, those with conscious, strive to better ourselves to break free of our reptilian nature. It seemed to me he was saying we could break free of evolution, that conflict and competition could be replaced with compromise, fear could be replaced with understanding, that the wolf and the lamb were not metaphors for true humans. True humans would be people of spirit not burdened by difference but encouraged and joyful of difference. What gave his words force was his own demeanor. He was well on his way to becoming a true human.

I certainly view folks like Gandhi, or Einstein, or even Jesus or Buddha with awe and admiration. But, they are not of my time, they are already figures of myth and conjecture. I have little faith. I need to see and hear and best, if possible, touch, hug or hold my heroes.

Which brings to mind another hero of mine: Scott Ritter. Certainly the bravest person I have ever heard of, right up there with Gandhi or Jesus or Socrates or Harry Hay or Stephen Jay Gould. Have you ever thought about this guy? This fellow confronted a brutal dictator and lying treasonous president with bull dog tenacity, regardless of his personal safety. A fellow who suffered the slings and arrows of a corporate media determined to destroy him, labeling this great patriot a "traitor".

War criminals still infect the executive branch of government and possibly the congress and judicial branches. They are still lying and claiming "we didn't know" and folks still believe them, even, when Ritter's testimony showed the truth was clear, evident and available. And no parades or medals of freedom or Nobel prizes for this man of conviction and bravery who did everything within his power to stop the despicable murder of hundreds of thousands of people, many women and children by the American government and the American people.

Yes, at this point the blood is on our hands as well. Complacency IS complicity, that's what we said of the Germans and the Japanese, and it is true. We must honor Mr. Ritter by demanding the ouster of Bush and his cohorts. We must demand the congress stop the killing and turn the criminals over to the International Court of Justice, like we did Milosevic. We Americans must demand of our government that it acknowledge the rest of humanity and become a leader on the journey to becoming true humans and break the bonds of natural evolution.

More Bad News and Stupid Smart Ideas

You might recall that a few months ago I raised the conjecture that the skinny whale syndrome might be the result of having to travel too far to reach traditional feeding grounds. Over the past weekend I have heard most Pacific coast scientists tend to concur with this hypothesis. Interestingly, it appears many pods are adapting to different foods and different locations to feed. Time will tell if this will be a successful adaptation for the species.

Of greater importance, though, is my conjecture concerning diminishing quantity of ice algae, "minute vegetable forms of exquisite beauty.”, correct? If so a substantial portion of the sea will be a virtual desert in short order. If this is so, numerous species that rely on this environment will be threatened. While the peregrinate gray whale might survive diminished, other species without the intelligence or adaptability will probably disappear. This includes all higher organisms that feed on benthic crustaceans with limited range, especially walrus and ringed seal which also form a substantial part of indigenous human diet.

I was also listening to NPR, James Lovelock, creator of the Gaia hypothesis, was talking about his idea to spur the oceans to capture large amounts of CO2. This guy is dangerous. His simplistic idea is compelling and worse saleable. He totally ignores the oceanic surface layer as an insulator wishing to force cold nutrient rich water to the surface, ironically heating it. He claims that the resulting algae bloom would be no different than those naturally occurring, of course, the natural ones are quite often toxic killing all life for hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles around.

But the worst aspect of this scheme is it is a symptomatic relief not a cure, mitigating one environmental disaster by creating another (which in my opinion would ADD to global warming) is frankly stupid. No technological idea no matter how much money it makes the oil companies and the schemers can replace conservation as the primary corrective feature. We simply have to stop creating CO2 and H2O as greenhouse gases AND stop heating the waters.

A Night at the Opera

I went to the symphony last night. The main performance was Orff’s Carmina Burana complete with a choir of nearly two hundred members. You might think this was a hokey cow-town performance: it was not.

I’m not familiar with Orff’s works. I suspect his overtly Germanic nature made him less than admired in my family, there seeming to be a correlation, the more popular a composer was with the Nazis the less liked around the kitchen table in Grandpa’s house. Wagner was never even suggested. The favored contemporary composer/musician was Fritz Kreisler, born an amalgam of Jewish and Catholic and the best violinist, perhaps ever. Mendelssohn (also a Jewish Catholic amalgam but by choice) was also well loved. But, Mahler was my favorite. I did enjoy the intellectual nature of Stravinsky, but my heart went to Mahler.

I’ve not really had the opportunity (or overwhelming desire) to see much live music in the past 25 years or so. I haven’t lived in a city or suburb ‘till recently. And orchestral music, though the force of my childhood, had faded into dreams, like my tricycle and my wagon, it seemed too small to carry my emotions through adulthood. I’ve now grown past that phase and it seems symphonic music is about to re-enter my life.

I greatly enjoyed the piece, it was nearly surreal…in fact, it was surreal. I think what Orff referred to as magical images were in actuality simply the distortions of realization. What 80 years of history have made clearer about the myth of Roman Germania is the same evil myth echoed in today’s American patriotism in its benevolence and murderous conquest.

What, of course, came about was the empathy for the exploited, the vision of the pay-offs and the guilt of enjoying this evening. Music especially that with human voice is inherently political, from conception to performance. Orchestral music is the most obvious and incongruous. Composers with voices in their heads having to kiss royal, political or religious ass, became literally reliant on whim for bread to eat. And musicians? Well, “you better not quit your day job” isn’t a modern expression. Musical expression, even today, is not permitted to go beyond what is politically acceptable or useful, or, obscurity and poverty await.

One might wonder how a very small city, 2500 miles from anywhere, can have world class music, even if it is fascist? Not too much thought brings images of tin barons in Bolivia or the opera house in the depths of the Mojave. The first words from the podium, “We thank Conoco/Phillips…” reminds us that Alaska is a colony, a resource colony, wholly owned and operated by the oil companies. We, like our brothers and sisters in the capitals of other colonies, enjoy the benefits of our owner’s excesses and desires…like symphony music and opera, fresh fruits and angus beef…provided we are the few lucky ones who can afford to emulate our keepers.

Fact and Fiction

Recently a buddy of mine suggested that I read Michael Crichton's novel "State of Fear"(2004) as a way I could understand the issue of global warming. I haven't yet, but I don't think this novel will replace science at least not in my mind. And it simply can't replace observation of the natural world, especially here in Alaska.

He suggested that Crichton had provided scientific proofs to his contentions that the earth is actually cooling, and he had checked out Crichton's facts. I suspect Crichton used some data from the 70's that actually brought concerns about cooling even a possible ice age. At the time this was the best science available and also was supported by atmospheric chemistry. The concentration of sulfates and nitrates in the atmosphere had risen expontentially since the 30's causing what is referred to as a "forcing" of climate change. That coupled with nuclear testing, volcanism, "dimming" and other natural factors led to the trends noted at the time. This might have led to what science (at the time) predicted; reentry into an ice-age in less than 5000 years. Except for two mitigating factors or at least what science now thinks mitigated the situation, it might have been the case. The first being a tremendous increase in CO2 and CH4, greenhouse gases, and the second, an incredible decrease in sulfates, especially those produced by coal and diesel burning. Surprisingly, if we wished to return to the sulphuric acid fogs over London and the brown air of Los Angeles we might reverse the warming issue!

Crichton may also have used, and my buddy may also have seen certain "government" testimony refuting Dr. Hanson, the first voice to raise questions about global warming. The "government" manipulated Hanson's testimony and even his presentation of models to make him appear a "crack-pot". Luckily, his work had been published and peer reviewed, and, though the government lies are still on the books the real Hanson work has stood the test of time and is surprisingly accurate 20 years later.

But the issue is Crichton's work of fiction, or, Gore's dramatizations are just that, money making ventures into entertainment. The fact is global warming is a trend that can be measured and plotted. It does not discount local trends like cooling in certain areas. Interpretation of the facts is still wide open, like it was in the 70's. And like the 70's, and the fact of global cooling, attention to science may allow an interpretation that provides us a world that still has ice and snow.

ps: I figured on such an old book there had to be a lot of comment. This site run http://www.realclimate.org/index.php?p=74 by laboratory climate scientists shows the fiction in Crichton's "facts" point by point. They do it lot better than me, after all, I haven't read the book.

500 Miles

I’m gonna take a trip down south and see my wits. I’m also gonna see John Harrelson maybe one last time. This obsession with his first and now second death is therapeutic , keeps me from obsessing ‘bout mine.

The other reason is to look up some ol’ physicist buddies of mine. You old time readers of my works know I have been on the Global Warming kick for the past 10 years. It’s time to check the numbers, ‘cause my predictions are coming true.

A few weeks back I predicted a major heat wave, a devastating one. Well, looks like we got the heat, but luckily, 500 miles south of devastation. This year isn’t over yet, but probably we won’t get it this year so that gives us at least a year to prepare…if anyone would listen.
The other “good” news, the folks who monitor arctic ice have changed their predictions by SEVENTY years, now saying the arctic will be ice free by 2030. I’m still betting 2015 if not 2012. The issue is: they admit their computer model is wrong but they are still using it! Any model based on atmospheric chemistry and motion has got to fail. The model for global warming must be based on heat absorption and capacity of water bodies, it’s the only thing that makes sense. Free Water!

Time to go catch the Red Eye to LA…see ya!

Elitists Fight Back

Over the course of the last decade tremendous strides have been accomplished in the democratization of art, especially technology based art, like photography. Concurrently and symbiotically the democratization of the distribution of art has followed the exponential growth in the number of available images, or videos, or songs, or poems, or stories.
Two very dramatic and "Smithian" results have occurred. The first due to the magnitudes of increased supply; the currency value of any particular work has decreased by magnitudes. The second and perhaps most important is, creation of art no longer requires a person to accept or even address the philosophy of an art. Here the quality of the art itself is the sole market force. Like an infinite number (or even a very large number given the new developments in language acquisition) of chimps at computers running Word 2007 and connected to the internet can produce the Wikipedia in short order, so does art rise to the surface of the mass of human accomplishment. That is, art or the Wikipedia are both of value to the human spirit regardless of how they may have come to be.
Some argue erroneously that cheapening of art has diminished the quality, that two hundred million bloggers makes writing valueless and inartistic or 12 trillion images does the same, the opposite is true. Of those trillions of words and images, so many more great words and beautiful pieces have emerged than perhaps the species deserves. We are blessed by access to our creative side(s) and by access to the creativity (even accidental or unconscious) of our worldwide neighbors. True there is a lot (ok most is) of self-important prattle and ultimately valueless, but we don't shutdown Walmarts either.
A consequence has been many artist writers, photographers, and others can no longer get adequate compensation for their work. Always undervalued for their contributions to society (unless lucky to have a good agent and market) until they are dead and easily exploited, artists are now desperately in need of good government; societal patronage. Especially in societies like ours and those in the Middle East dominated by religious fundamentalists where a concept is a gift of God, these require state sponsorship not only of priests, but poets as well.
In the mean time a nasty outgrowth of the changing markets is commercial elitism. Whining commercialists like Andrew Keen, face of a corporate patrimony, who are losing market share to better, or obscure or even worse, amateurs , are writing books decrying the loss of culture(while continuing their blogs and websites) others shape gangs like a group of photographers and their media puppeteers to make "rules" of the trade only applicable to non-party members to hold their market from other "charitable" organizations . Keen has no trouble using died penniless Kafka's name to make a buck, while crying about others plagiarism and theft. Those elitist photographers haven't a problem torturing caged animals to stage a scene for a "wildlife" photo, but, if a non-party member would do such a thing it would be evil incarnate: which it is for everybody regardless of affiliation.
Market forces will eventually supplant fascist elitists, sure some will make millions, but eventually most will get their due. And market forces will eventually separate quality art from its neighbors. And narcissism? Well, it takes a tremendous effort to keep up ones blogs and websites, especially if there isn't any feedback. Look for the chaff to blow away in the steady winds and artists to die penniless, like they always have.
© Copyright 2007 Gregory Gusse, All Rights Reserved

John Harrelson's Blues

There are some things I know and understand inherently, as in, genetically or at the very least, prenatal components of my being. Two subjects (and more if you consider the connecting spider webs) I am unable to evade in any thought process; engineering and music.

Now, I am not a musician. There are physical talents, like perfect (or any) pitch and normal size fingers, I simply did not inherit. My mother, and grandfather, grandmother, and all my great-uncles (OK, not Luigi), were outstanding, actually recognized, world class musicians. The sound of perfectly played violins, cellos, violas, organs and pianos surrounded me in the womb and in my formative years. The perfection was a deterrent to me and I gave up my little fiddle by the age of six, after only four years of training. This was also when I stopped attending Mass everyday with my mother who played the organ each morning. The two occurrences probably are related.

But I understand and know music, all music, the primitive drums of the Inupiat and the philharmonic orchestra as well.

Another thing I know about is regularly being apprised of and dealing with my own mortality. Curiously, even though everybody dies, this knowledge is not inherent. It has been gained by experience: a little out of body here, a little white light there.

This brings me to my topic: John Harrelson.

I enjoyed my post-pubescence in Claremont, California. It was noted in those days for its rest homes, banks, colleges, artesian wells and citrus groves. It was also a navel of the music world, some resident like lint, some just passing through. One of those folks is John Harrelson, a great performer and a knowledgeable musician.

I don't know John well, our circles of folks, like set theory class, didn't have a lot of commonality. Though our lives have shared the same time and I woulda gone after Cindy when I was in high school 'cept I thought she was so far above me. But our love of music, especially, The Blues, the real Blues is certainly in harmony and has been most of my life. I've sought out John when ever I have been in his neck of the woods.

I've been reading John's blog. He seems kinda despondent. Apparently his doctors don't give him too long to live. That's a subject I know all about too. 'Course our attitudes are a bit different, I said "so what?", he says "fuck, fuck, fuck".

Here's what I think. I heard he is playing this Saturday at The Press in Claremont (curiously the building is part of my youth story too). I think anybody who wants to hear some great music aught to go on down, and while they're there toast him and celebrate his life, before he dies. Yep, this is a great opportunity, how often can ya tell I dead man you love him before he travels on. I can't make this one…but if there is another show…I'm gonna brave the long flight and see him one mo' time…if I live that long.

Long Strange Trip

The last piece on Otis came out of some dreams inspired by my friend David who suggested I should write my “On the Road”. Why it brought back Monterey days I’ve no idea…but then again.

Certainly, I have had a most wondrous life, filled with adventure, some great accomplishment and if I say so myself (as the author would of himself) a love life rivaling the quivering Tropic’s. And despite once sharing a smile and a sunset with Henry, I chose the travelin’ to be a solitary journey.

The Giants are what make Kerouac compelling. Old Jack is a minor character, a chronicler, a journalist, at best an Ishmael in a grand pod of white whales, which he not only knows, but loves intimately. Some would say Jack made many of them whales, but that isn’t true. Those folks breached so very high above the wine red sea.

I, as well, have met many colossal souls on the roads I have walked, in some cases they were like milestones that were noted and passed on by, but seldom did we walk together. And those great hearts like White, Kolp, Hudson-Reade, Rausch, Coupe and David, too, who did bear, the beast. with me: how could my words in the first person do them justice? And dare I ever let them know I hold them above me? It is not that I lack humbleness, I just don’t like it.

I suspect I will write my “book”. There have been several beginnings, actually over one hundred. Perhaps I have stumbled on the solution. A book of beginnings! No end, no middle, just days of conception and conjunction without culmination. That would be like the strange and glorious road I’ve known.

Where's Otis when you need him?

I attempt to avoid introspection. It seems to me that it is an overly complex process of self-gratification. Not that I am opposed to self-gratification, but I prefer the more physical kind with tangible rewards. Occasionally though, the sub-conscious takes over and I am forced to reflect upon my dreams. Luckily, those are usually reenactments of events that have, or will, occur; giving me a rope to hang on.

Last night the vision of Otis slowly letting go “I’ve been loving you…too long….” echoed over and over, like a wolf’s wail in a deep canyon. Forty years have past since then, but the smell of patchouli and grass mixed with the bass notes of love, youth and hope, foolishly reverberates still. 1967 was an especially configuring year to my world’s fragile psyche.

Only two short years later most of us knew the wheel of change had gone as far as it would turn. Though I sat behind stage at the same venue playing my harp with Taj as he beat his National Steel rhythm and carryed us windward with a sad song, I felt like a cartoon character, like the capstan of that great wheel was spinning backward and hitting me in the head with each spoke driving me deeper into the muck and mire, cartoon stars and all. When Jesse Ed Davis chastised and chided my friend for his barefooted guitar playing I knew it was over.

Of course, it would take ‘till ’76 before everyone had become bought and co-opted and returned to the control of the corporation. They had to get rid of the war and a bunch of crummy 70’s automobiles first. Where’s my Pinto! By then it was even cool to be a rich black man; way cool! The “Me Generation” was not born, it was made. Now I’m not black, though I didn’t know it ‘till I was sixteen…or I should say I didn’t know I was white. Those were distinctions children didn’t make in Cincinnati’s Evanston ghetto in the 50’s. I did live on the white side of the street but my mom made my clothes by hand from my dad’s acid eaten work wear. We kids dealt in class not color. My best friend from across the street and I traded our little cowboy boots for 5 years old and Mighty Mouse was in black AND white. During the ’67 riots he let me know I was white class had become color. In ’68 they killed King and I was made whiter than ever, or, were they made blacker? In either case, they thrust upon us a false premise blurring differences that should have been accentuated and creating divisions that did not exist. It always surprised me that Burn was not a hit, then again I guess it shouldn’t have been a surprise. It was Brando’s best movie. Today I know I’m white and love my whiteness and I know black and love their blackness but a lot of in-between was lost.

I wish the revolution had been televised. I would watch the reruns like Star Trek episodes with Captain Kirk so I would know it had really existed. But there is contrary evidence, people still must work for starvation wages, war has not only NOT been abolished it has become regular fare, even preemptive, war criminals inhabit the White House, the rich are infinitely richer, the poor couldn’t get no poorer but there are so many more of them, poor children still die from lack of medical care as do their parents and grandparents and so will their babies, pollution of our world has become a God given right along with exterminating anything and anyone who gets in the way and the color of one’s skin is still a criteria for first class citizenship.

Oh, Otis you dead guy! I’ve been loving you…too long.

Mitigation and Global Warming

It seems that there is some question about what I believe. Frankly, not much. I do have some things I know and some theories that come from what I have seen. I don’t understand faith and hope, they seem like tools of deceit. When it comes to global warming we are asked to believe a lot.

Now, I don’t know how much humans have contributed to global warming, I believe a great deal, but not where folks think or tell us. I also believe that some of the science is faulty, not because of errors in the data, but, errors in the question. This leads to misinterpretation of that data or collection of meaningless data. And I believe that there is no mitigation of a problem that hasn’t had a causal definition. I believe there is no mitigation because my numbers show a run-away train that is gaining speed as it heads down the mountain. In my opinion it is stupid to play the game of “greenness” to enrich the oil companies and banks with things like ethanol (that require more energy to produce than is delivered) or “carbon credits”. I believe it is wise and good to be green and a conservationist, both morally and economically: to stop burning fuels, to insulate, to promote solar and wind power, to promote clean air, soil and water, to allow wildlife to be wild. And though, I am a technologist and an acolyte, if not priest, of technology and consumption, I do not believe technology and industry have increased the value of life. Quite the contrary, I believe industry and technology benefit a very, very, few individuals to the detriment of the majority, especially their spirits and appreciation of, or access to the natural.

I know that at least a regional warming trend exists. I know that sea and glacial ice is retreating. I know that several species are nearing extinction. I know that saddens me, for my grandchildren, especially. I believe it is wrong, though, I know extinction is a natural process, that is, should be a natural process.

I have searched high and low for any science of mitigation of this problem. I have found none, just nebulous hopes or outright lies. The most deceiving is that if we begin (in some distant future) to return to some arbitrary point of emissions (a date also in the future, return to the future?) everything will be just fine. This is strange logic and not mathematically sound but probably meets some political need. Another whacky one is the President's absurd connection of “lessening our dependence on foreign oil” to global warming. Hello? Is our domestic oil less emitting? Of course, we hear the ethanol hype which actually works with hand harvested Brazilian sugar cane, but not with Iowa corn. If my math is right(and it may not be but I believe it is) if every drop of ethanol produced went to fuel the tractors and power the distilleries and farms, you would still need several million barrels of oil to make up for the 20% loss, and not one drop of ethanol would be on the market. Nor has one anyone come up with some massive carbon scrubbers, or maybe orbit changing rockets, or even taken my notion of discharging the heat batteries seriously. Where is the mitigation?

Here’s my prediction. I think in the next year or two, probably towards the end of August, a massive heat wave will center over western Pennsylvania. The area covered by this low pressure system will stretch from Chicago to Maine and Montreal to Washington, D.C. Record breaking temperatures of around 103 degrees will stifle the area, even night time temperature will remain in the mid nineties. Most independent elderly and poor will not have air-conditioning, those that do will refuse to turn them on because of the outrageous costs.
On the third day of this heat wave electric companies will begin disconnecting service to any “questionable accounts”. Bodies will begin to stack up in many metropolitan morgues. But on the fifth day of the unrelenting heat the obsolete and poorly maintained power grid will collapse, service to nearly 200 million people will be cut off. Not only air-conditioning but water pumps, sewage plants, all refrigeration, elevators, lighting, security and communications instantly break to a halt. Riots and looting will break out in every city and town through out the east. Of course, the President, vacationing in Texas, will declare a national emergency. Governors will wish there were National Guard troops in this country as overwhelmed police and emergency crews join the mobs. On the tenth day some abatement of the heat will occur as thunderstorms move in from the mid-west. On the twelfth day some power is restored. Crews in scenes reminiscent of Katrina, Soylent Green and the Plague Years begin collecting bodies from streets and alleys in garbage trucks. More than one hundred thousand die. Three months later most power is restored but bodies are still being found.

Can’t happen? I know all this has happened several times, only the scale will be changed I believe by just a few degrees in temperature.

Skinny Whales and Global Warming

Even if our own species does not go extinct in the near future, a sad consequence of global warming may be watching our neighbors on this planet die away.

Ice algae and ice bacteria are the seasonal food for both krill larvae and adults: the base of the food chain. It significantly contributes to the annual bloom of life in the cold polar and sub-polar waters and may be the primary reason polar seas are so abundant in life. The spring rain of this nutritional matter to the sea floor may also contribute to the quantity and health of floor dwelling (benthic) crustaceans; the food of gray whales.

The impact and appreciation of ice algae is a relatively new science spearheaded by Lisa Clough of Eastern Carolina University, and is still being quantified. One thing has become apparent though, ice algae is a “higher” quality food source than phytoplankton and is not replaceable on a one to one scale. Furthermore, while most phytoplankton remain dormant in dark winter months, ice algae can uniquely extract energy and multiply in brine channels in sea ice. This allows polar krill species to feed year round and maintain significant populations not to mention the spring break-up fertilization of the sea floor
.
Krill, too, are affected by water temperatures. A massive coccolithophore bloom in the Bering Sea in 1998 resulted in a substantive decline in krill populations. Krill could not feed on the diminutive phytoplankton. Krill are not the direct food source for gray whales as they are for other baleen whales but presumably the benthic crustaceans which feed the grays have a similar relation to ice algae. Krill may be a signal but the Northern Gray whale is probably a threshold species.

Recently, it has been noted that the Northern Gray whale population is suffering a drastic weight loss with the accompanying reproductive difficulties, morbidity and mortality. The populations suffering weight-loss may be diseased or may be stressed by other environmental factors, but, one possible hypothesis is that there simply isn’t enough food for them. As ocean temperatures rise there is less and thinner ice and a shorter “winter” as well, resulting in appreciably less ice algae, especially in the shallow Bering and Chukchi seas, where new data shows 20% reduction in sea ice in just the past few years. Seasonal sea ice in the deeper Arctic Ocean is becoming more common and ice algae may be forming in quantity there, but, this does not mitigate the gray whales problem as both the gray’s primary food and the gray’s ability to harvest seem limited to a depth of less than 300 feet.

An additional problem may include the increased distance of migration. The gray whale is already considered to have the longest migration of any mammalian species at about 22,000 km adding another 2000 km might simply be a sea too far.

Number Five

One’s fifth heart attack may not seem a cause for celebration, but, it is a tremendous affirmation of life. Of course, surviving it leads to greater joy and the ability to join in the festivities more directly than the alternative, but, I would, and was, smiling regardless of the final outcome. And it wasn’t just the morphine, though the nurse at the cardiac unit of the hospital suggested that the transport paramedics had been holding out at 2mls every five minutes and suggested 5mls every two minutes, with a “let’s party” ! I did debate whether dying on Father’s Day is good or bad….I opted for good, in that my sons, who are good young men, don’t dote on me as much as I think they should. This way they would at least remember me one day a year!

Most folk’s simply don’t know they are going to die. Think about it. Unless you have seen the white light or have done the out of body thing, you can try and intellectualize or reason about the inevitable, but, in the end it becomes denial. That is the reality of human nature, that to envision our self as dispirited is impossible and contrary to the generally accepted attitudes and emotions about life. From this two consequences arise. The first is the most basic and reptilian; we can’t understand or reason our own demise, so like all things unknown that affect our physical being, we fear death…some folks with a fear that actually kills them. I would bet that ultimately fear is the true #1 cause of death in most species. The second is more insidious because it allows others to control our lives and seems limited to our species, that is, we invent bizarre scenarios that have us living forever, on earth or elsewhere as the case may be. Add to that the contradiction of folks actually dying around us and next thing you know we need some one to blame and somebody to take responsibility for our misconceptions, oh lord!

Long before this heart attack I garnered a clear understanding of my death. I did the white light and out of body, too. But, mostly I recognized that it certainly didn’t matter a bit if there is or is not a fanciful afterlife, nor did it even matter if I recovered or not. What matters is did I fully appreciate the time I had been given and would I appreciate, as in give greater worth than the initial sum, more time. Within the realities of petulant humanism I could say yes to both those questions. This notion of self worth coupled with relaxed acquiescence, that is accepting how wonderfully blessed I have been, is probably what saved my life, each time. I don’t get frantic, I just laugh and look forward to the ride.

Enough of that!

Some folks have wondered if the pig glands have had something to do with this latest trip. Emphatically, no! In fact, if the tests performed over the last few medical encounters are true, I can say with great certainty that the glands are working quite well. Blood sugars have remained (un-medicated) at near normal levels, around 120-130 fasting glucose, and an ac1 of 6.1. It did spike at 180 during the heart attack which isn’t bad under stress at all. Blood pressure has remained (un-medicated) at 120/75 spiking at 137/92 during the attack. AND a curious and unexpected benefit, my triglycerides, for the first time in my life (whether medicated or in this case un-medicated) are normal!! They have usually (actually always) been so high as to have the lipid test come back un-measurable. My gross cholesterol has always been very good, around 100, except ridiculously low, 18-25 HDL and that hasn’t changed. So! Viva el Puerco!

This is the first MI that I actually had some symptoms, though very minor and easily (not next time!) dismissed. I had a sudden weight gain, nearly 20 lbs in a month. I felt some pain in my left arm, which I presumed was simply muscle pain. Tremendous lethargy and some depression hit me the week before. That was about it.

So what brought this on? Well I’m not sure. The blockage was pretty severe and acute infarction was present in the right ventricle primarily affecting the inferior ventricular wall. Luckily, this was the last unaffected part of my heart. A MI of this magnitude in any of the other three already blotted chambers and it woulda been curtains . Two stents were placed end to end and blood flow was returned to 100%. Another restricted artery was discovered which will require surgery soon but was left while the infarction was dealt with. I suspect the stress of the back injury rupturing a plaque was the culprit. But, I have another possible cause, which will surprise folks.
It might be radiation!

Curiously and with some effectiveness, radiation treatments used to be given for bursitis, some arthritis and other persistent joint and muscle problems even after the advent of steroid usage. It is the same theory of using ionizing radiation to “cook” and breakup cancerous mass. I was going through my bills and I sure was cooked! Three chest x-rays, 2 CT scans of the lower spine, 5 x-rays of the lower spine, in two weeks! That is about 4 or 5 years worth of radiation; if it was all done just right. So just maybe, just maybe, this broke up some plaque that lodged in my little black heart. Or maybe it was the two together stress and radiation. I don’t know. Certainly, all the radiation was directed towards heavily scarred areas with heavy plaque. I know nothing about this I am just surmising.

Anyway, Johnny’s back!