2021 Life Logs, Day 27: A Good Day for the Environment
Date: Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Weather: Snow Overnight, Cloudy Day; High 37, Low 29 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Today was a good day for the environment. President Biden declared the climate a national security priority and his executive order clearly establishes climate consideration as an essential element of U.S. foreign policy. He has ordered the establishment of a Civilian Climate Corp, he will host a Leaders’ Climate Summit this April on Earth Day, the order has set a date by which all federal vehicles will be electric, the order formally establishes the White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy led by the first-ever National Climate Advisor and Deputy Advisor, and so much more. The National Climate Advisor is a Boston native Gina McCarthy—born in Dorchester and raised in Canton. I heard her for the first time in an interview tonight. She said so many things that made so much sense, but I most liked this comment: “And for crying out loud, respect the science.” That seems to be the theme throughout all of the Biden-Harris agenda. They have only been in office for one week, but things are changing quickly. There is a lot of ‘dark’ news as well, but I am choosing to focus on the bright spots tonight.
Late last night when I went outside with Shadow, I was overcome by the beauty of the new fallen snow. Tree limbs were heavy with snow and it looked like a winter wonderland. If I didn’t have Shadow, I would never had been outside at midnight to enjoy that beauty. So thank you, Shadow. It snowed a little more overnight, but the temp was warm enough that the melting started early. We probably got about three inches of snow, and only a little is left. But COLD weather is coming that might preserve a bit of the white stuff. Tonight, the low will be 20 degrees F and tomorrow night the low will be 11 degrees . . . and the same for the next two nights. The daytime temps will be in the upper teens and twenties, and that is cold for me. I can remember when Mark and I lived in northern Minnesota there was always a celebration when the temp got above zero. I’m glad that is just a memory. I don’t need to experience that again. Nights in the 20’s and days in the 30’s with sunshine and little wind are fine with me. But anything colder is just not fun anymore.
Justin called this evening to catch up on what’s happening here and there. They are doing fine and thinking about letting Ziggy and Coco go back to school one day a week. The private school they were attending prior to Covid has special outdoors activities on Friday, so they are thinking that sounds like a safe re-entry. He also pushed me a bit on my writing project. I haven’t written anything since last April, so I promised to put that at the top of my To Do list. Therefore, tomorrow is writing day!
