the gar spot

fiction and musings from a gay black dude with delusions above his station

Menu
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • SIN AGAINST THE RACE, a novel
Menu
the gar spot fiction and musings from a gay black dude with delusions above his station

My Date With Climate Change

Posted on December 18, 2011April 22, 2021 by gar
The Pale Blue Dot

I came up the long escalator from the Underground and found myself on the grey streets of London, home to Doctor Who, The Prisoner, and Monty Python.  I was in heaven.  Late March 2000, just in time for my birthday, saw my partner and me overseas for the first time.  Everything about the trip excited me from beginning, where I had to “translate” for my partner what “take-away” meant when he ordered coffee, to end, where we flew over Greenland on the flight home.

Greenland.  From 30,000 feet up, it was nothing but white enchantment.  Shadows caused by the angle of the sunlight gave away the contours of this forbidden land, but otherwise, all I saw was white, white, white.  Sheets of white ice that looked as if it had never been touched by human feet, hands, or machinery.  I stared out the window the whole time we floated above this amazing landscape, marveling at a piece of earth I had hitherto never seen.  The voyage truly left an impression with me, one of the great highlights of our first trip over the Atlantic.

In October 2002 we took our first trip to Continental Europe, visiting Berlin and Amsterdam.  Given that I hadn’t properly studied German since college — and had to rely on my rusty memory and some cramming done months before the trip — I did pretty good with the language.  And in Amsterdam, everyone spoke English.  It was another enchanting voyage for us both.  And again, on the way home, we flew over Greenland.  It remained as pristine as I had remembered it from two years prior.  Once again I enjoyed the view our 30,000-foot vantage point offered.

Our trip to Europe in 2005 did not include views of Greenland, but the one in November 2007 did.  My partner watched the inflight movie while I stared out of the window.  It had been a wonderful trip, capped by visiting an extensive exhibition at the Pinakothek der Moderne museum in Munich of the works of Max Beckmann, my partner’s favorite artist.  (Examples of his work can be found here at Artsy.Net.) The exhibition covered Beckmann’s paintings while he was in exile in Amsterdam during World War II.  He left his German homeland, never to return again, on the eve before the Nazis opened their Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art) Exhibit, which featured works by Beckmann and others the fascist regime disapproved of.  As for so many during that time, Beckmann’s world had changed for ever.

On that flight I witnessed the change our planet had gone through just since my last viewing of Greenland in 2002.  From our 30,000-foot vantage point I saw the endless sheets of white interrupted by brown rock and grey stone islands.  It took no more than an instant for me to realize what had happened and why there had been a change.  And I wept.

I hadn’t realized how reassuring the sea of white had been or what it signified for me.  I just knew that it was changing.  I could see rock where before I saw only endless pristine ice.  I remember wondering, in desperation, if I had in fact seen any rock on the previous flights.  I already knew the answer, but still I searched for any explanation other than the one that caused water to flow freely from my eyes.  Science has never scared me.  I love science.  So the science behind climate change and global warming never seemed foreign or unbelievable to me.  I also remembered my astronomy, which I majored in for two seconds before switching to history.  Venus is the outstanding example in the solar system of a runaway greenhouse effect.  The planet’s thick carbon dioxide atmosphere traps the sun’s heat, elevating surface temperatures to a toasty 870° F.  It’s hotter on Venus than it is on Mercury, the closest planet to the sun, because of this greenhouse effect.  In fact, it’s because the earth has a modest greenhouse effect that out planet is as comfortable as it is.  But there is clearly such a thing as too much of a good thing.  Life is nothing if not balance.  The climate change documented by the scientific community demonstrates quite clearly that things are tending towards a dangerous imbalance.

As it happens, there have been recent reports that the ice on Greenland is melting so fast that the big island is actually rising due to the loss of weight from the ice.  So no, sadly, I had imagined nothing on that routine transcontinental flight in 2007.  Greenland had changed.  If anything , I expect the situation now, four years later, is worse.

Politicians continue to dither about in regards to climate change, as the recent conference in Durban, South Africa has demonstrated.  Maybe they need to take more flights over Greenland, the Arctic, or Antarctica.  Maybe they need to compare then and now photos of the Swiss Alps or Kilimanjaro and play the old Sesame Street game “one of these things is not like the other.”  Maybe they need their own date with climate change.  I can say that even though I continue with the business of day-to-day living and day-to-day issues great and small, life for me after my date has changed forever.

© 2011 – 2021, gar. All rights reserved.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

SIN AGAINST THE RACE, a novel–Click image for info

Sin Against the Race

Contact

  • email gar

Twitter

Follow @the_gar_spot

Instagram

garmcveyrussell

Pride brunch. #pride #pridemonth #pridesunday #pr Pride brunch. 
#pride #pridemonth #pridesunday #prideday #pancakes #brunch
Dug up from the archives. I can’t believe we hav Dug up from the archives. I can’t believe we have to fight for this again. 
#abortionrights #abortionishealthcare #cisgaymanforchoice
Time to write more letters to encourage people to Time to write more letters to encourage people to vote. Tempus fugit.
#abortionrights #abortionishealthcare #roevwade #mymarriageisnext #voteblue #voterepublicansout
Pride flag over the Claremont Hotel. Don’t think Pride flag over the Claremont Hotel. Don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. 
#pride #pridemonth #berkeley
New outdoor dining set. #backporch #alfresco #hom New outdoor dining set. 
#backporch #alfresco #homedecor
Consulted with my editors this morning. I value th Consulted with my editors this morning. I value their feedback. 
#trees #hiking #oakland #writersofinstagram #iputmyfaithintrees
Remembering Roger Ebert on what would have been hi Remembering Roger Ebert on what would have been his 80th birthday. 
#rogerebert #writer #legend #cancersucks
Fly me to the moon (not pictured) Let me play amon Fly me to the moon (not pictured)
Let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On Jupiter (the brighter one) and Mars
#backyardastronomy #jupiter #mars #predawn #goodmorning
A gorgeous day at the #oaklandgreekfestival #oakla A gorgeous day at the #oaklandgreekfestival #oakland #greekfestival #greek #music #food #ilovemycity
I used to rock the hell out of these. Cards of dis I used to rock the hell out of these. Cards of discovery and endless possibilities. I still miss them. 
#cardcatalog #library #knowledge #og #searchengine
A sunny Saturday in 1990 found my sister Tania (@m A sunny Saturday in 1990 found my sister Tania (@makeuptogoblog) and I outside of the Julia Morgan Center waiting. I had seen the great Maestro Pt. Shivkumar Sharma in LA—he even autographed an album for me. And I was studying tabla with his accompanist Ud. Zakir Hussain at the time. We couldn’t wait. But wait we did, because the maestros weren’t there. As my sister and I stood at the front of the line, they came. Ud. Zakirji was laughing and joking. Pt. Shivji looked as if he floated in as he passed and entered the theater. After we got settled in our seats, it was on. A beautiful concert with the two maestros playing rapturously, holding us spellbound. Pt. Shivji floated in like a deity and played to the heavens, taking us all with him. By far one of my favorite concerts. 

Words cannot describe how devastated I am at the great master’s passing. His gifts to music and the world are incalculable. My condolences to Panditji’s family, to @zakirhq9 , and to all who loved his beautiful music. #ptshivkumarsharma #indianclassicalmusic #santoor #rip
This makes me very happy. #oaklandgreekfestival # This makes me very happy. 
#oaklandgreekfestival #theyreback #yahoo #greek #oakland #ilovemycity
Happy 85th Birthday to legendary Maestro Ron Carte Happy 85th Birthday to legendary Maestro Ron Carter! The most recorded bassist in history, he was a huge inspiration for my late brother Robert. And he continues to inspire bassists and musicians to this day. 
#happybirthday #roncarter #legend #bassist #jazz #music
Dinner on the back porch. #alfresco #dinner #pizza Dinner on the back porch. #alfresco #dinner #pizza #arizmendi #evening
My sacred music day where I pay homage to Duke Ell My sacred music day where I pay homage to Duke Ellington (1899-1974) and Ustad Alla Rakha (1919-2000) on their shared birthday. This year I’m also celebrating the 100th birthday anniversary of harmonica and whistling maestro Toots Thielemans (1922-2016). Enjoy the music of all of these legends! ✌🏾 ❤️ 🎶 
#dukeellington #allarakha #abbaji #tootsthielemans #centenary #happybirthday #music
Happy Birthday Ella Fitzgerald! Born on this day i Happy Birthday Ella Fitzgerald! Born on this day in 1917. 
#ella #ellafitzgerald #firstladyofsong #jazz
It’s the only home we got. Let’s treat it with It’s the only home we got. Let’s treat it with respect and love. 
#earthday #earthday2022 #home #planet #environment
A harrowing day, but it ended safely. I’m home n A harrowing day, but it ended safely. I’m home now with a nice cup of tea. ☕️ 
#berkeley #shelterinplace #allclear #home #tea #murchies
This pale blue beauty is destined to become part o This pale blue beauty is destined to become part of my #sundaybrunch #pancakes. Fresh from my next door neighbor!
Celebrating the centenary of a great musician. Hap Celebrating the centenary of a great musician. Happy 100th Birthday Ustad Ali Akbar Khan Sahib!!! His great legacy lives on. 
#aliakbarkhan #centenary #indianclassicalmusic #sarode
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Facebook

Subscribe by email:

Archives

Blogroll

  • Life During Wartime – The Trump Years
  • Patricia Dunn – Author
  • Philip Robinson, poet
  • The Outspoken – You're Welcome
  • Uppity Negro Network

Interests

  • Cassini Probe @ Saturn
  • Daily Kos
  • Doctor Who
  • KCSM – Jazz 91
  • Makeup to Go!
  • The Root

Tags

99% african-american AIDS Bay Area bigotry Billy Strayhorn black Black Lives Matter climate change Duke Ellington dystopia dystopian fiction gay growing up gay healthcare history homophobia jazz LGBT LGBTQ literature marriage equality music North Korea novel Oakland police brutality politics queer queerlit queer lit racism rant reading Religion Republicans Romney SATR science fiction Sin Against the Race Trayvon Martin Trump women in jazz writing

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
©2022 the gar spot | Theme by SuperbThemes