Eta, Iota, and a Threatened Biota

“I feel no option other than keeping the faith. The mere thought of the alternative is too grim and scary.”

Credit: Author

I’m not the only climate conscious voter who feels let down by these election results, right?

I held a lot of hope before Election Day. I envisioned a Blue Wave that would put cooperation at the center of American — and therefore global — politics.

My hopes were quickly dashed; quite frankly, the moment I saw Trump gain massive support in Dade County (where I grew up) relative to 2016, I knew Election Day would not fare as well as I expected.

Biden won. But it was an incomplete victory.

Perhaps it was pollyannaish for me to expect a definitive repudiation of the forces that stand in the way of a robust climate response — toxic masculinity, toxic nationalism, toxic partisanship. The air we breathe is toxic; the discourse we create and consume is toxic; and the forces that have conspired to pin us in this dreadful position are toxic.

For almost all of my soon-to-be 26 years (geez, I feel old) on this wonderful planet, I have carried a prevailing pessimist mindset. I’ve been conditioned to hope for the best but prepare for and expect the worst. I’ve carried my membership card to the…