Thursday December 12th… Dear Diary. The main purpose of this ongoing blog will be to track United States extreme or record temperatures related to climate change. Any reports I see of ETs will be listed below the main topic of the day. I’ll refer to extreme or record temperatures as ETs (not extraterrestrials).😉
Time Selects Greta Thunberg As Person Of The Year
Dear Diary. This morning Greta Thunberg and President Trump traded barbs since Greta was selected as Time Magazine’s person of the year.
I am very pleased that Greta was selected, of course, on the eve of the next critical decade for the climate. My, Greta Thunberg’s leadership skills have soared as 2019 has progressed. Greta’s star is rising while Trump and the associated fossil fuel interests star is fading…Thank goodness!
The 2020s will be a difficult, transitional decade going towards renewables, but as Greta grows as a person, green movements should also blossom. I’m hoping that Time will select Greta Thunberg again in 2029 as person of the year once the world through her direction sees a clear green light at the end of this dark coal and fossil fuel laced tunnel. I’m optimistic that in ten years there will be success on all fronts.
For today’s main topic I am highlighting a Medium piece by Sandy Gottstein, who tagged my tweet from earlier today:
Quoting some of the linked Medium article:
“Don’t mess with our girl, Greta. Time magazine was right to name her Person of the Year.”
“Granted, in normal times, there might have been more of a contest. In normal times, Jennifer Rubin, with whom I generally agree, and who argues for Nancy Pelosi, the Hong Kong protesters, and The Whistleblower, all fighting for democracy, might have been right to favor them. But these are not normal times. And the problem is those choices all assume a viable planet on which democracy can exist.”
“While these are not normal times, “Now is the time to come to”, as Walt Kelly of Pogo fame once wryly said. We all need to “come to”. Like Greta.”
“And “come to” she has. When compared to the others, only the remarkable Greta Thunberg, wise beyond her years, has “come to” and recognized we are facing a planetary emergency. Among them, only Greta has played a seminal role in pushing a necessary paradigm shift from our fossil fuel-dependent thinking. Only Greta is fighting for a world where life, which is, of course, a prerequisite for democracy, can survive. Only Greta was the right choice, at the right time, for these abnormal times.”
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Now for your convenience here are other linked articles from some major publications about Greta Thunberg’s selection. On this day Greta deserves every bit of the accolades and attention that the honor from Time Magazine affords:
Meanwhile Australia should be having one of the worst December heatwaves in recorded history. This from French meteorologist Etienne Kapikian:
Here is more climate and weather news from Thursday:
(As usual, this will be a fluid post in which more information gets added during the day as it crosses my radar, crediting all who have put it on-line. Items will be archived on this site for posterity. In most instances click on the pictures of each tweet to see each article.)
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Guy Walton- “The Climate Guy”