Earth thoughts 132 - 138

Earth thought 132 of 365: I'm made like thunderclouds on days when my loved-ones hurt. Inner ecology -our heart-webbed realness.

Earth thought 133 of 365: 1970, 80, 90. We must come to terms with the impression that big universities and intellectuals have been as alive to the environment as drunken partygoers, puking with laughter in the bowl.

Earth thought 134 of 365: I am surprised that I have not heard more about the insurance industry being proactive about protecting the environment. You'd think it were in their interest to avoid environmental risk.

Earth thought 135 of 365: Allen Thompson talks about the importance of adapting humanity. He means adapting who we take ourselves to be -our self-conception composed of ideals and values. This needs adapting in the coming century to the new ecological limits we've encountered and will.

Earth thought 136 of 365: The issues that interest me most about Earth ethics concern how Earth's size, duration and intricacy pose a complex problem that exceeds us. Beyond my concern, I think I respect the intellectual challenge. There is also a kind of humility that interests me, although I am lacking the right word for it. This "humility" strikes me as wise, as the hook for much meaning even beyond its prudential nature.

Earth thought 137 of 365: The macro-perspective of geological time and global ecology makes it hard to keep in view, simultaneously, the human perspective. I look at a book bag I bought alongside my father –from Strand Books. On it, profiles of all different sorts of people. The warmth of that memory, which goes back to when I was young. The thought that every one of those faces has similar memories. From within each of our worlds, our loves are so intense, and it would be inhuman to forget them.

Earth thought 138 of 365: For the last two nights and tonight, the temperature has dipped, and will dip, below freezing. Three weeks ago, April saw the hottest day on record, at some 91 degrees. I have no idea if these extremes are climate change related -and we are forewarned not to generalize from such local fluctuations. But I am using what's happened to imagine what the Earth will be like: more extreme. And let's be real -these extremes this month are minor compared to what grandchildren of my generation will face when they are forty.