Too hot to think

E45: Bringing optimism back

Boy. When I said “Welcome from London, where the heat is sapping my energy and it is getting almost too hot to think” last week, I clearly had no idea what I was talking about. On Tuesday July 19, 2022 the temperatures in London, UK danced around 40C/104F. Without air-conditioning.

Then, it honestly got “too hot” to think. And our technology gave up way before our human brains did. My laptop suddenly shut down after spinning daisies for a few cycles. My cell phone got too hot to handle - literally. Server farms stopped working in various parts of the country. WiFi was on the fritz. Everything and everyone just s--l--o--w--e--d right down.

The footage on TV seemed unreal for a local London suburb - buses, houses, Dartford Tunnel all ablaze … something I had only seen in California, now brought so close to home.

My sister is a whizz at this stuff. She tutored me in how to help our mother stay cool: stay well hydrated from the early morning, sit with our feet in bowls of cool water in the evening, shutters down, nap at siesta time, eat cooled fruit, lots of liquid.

It is clear - this crisis is accelerating. There are still a number of people who clearly have their head in the sand in discomfort and disbelief. These fiction vs real life memes brought that home:

Ben Phillips @benphillips76

A clip from Don’t Look Up, and then a real TV interview that just happened

(Credit and thanks to creator @Litotadjs Jānis Lācis and the various Tilters who brought this to my attention.)

It kicked home again just how urgent - and uncomfortable - this climate crisis is. If we react to the urgency with fear, it can immobilize. But we still have agency. “It’s not too late.”

Here are some of the things that I did this past week to find agency within the urgency:

• Agency: As part of a panel, I am interviewing candidates who are very motivated to move our town towards net-zero by 2040. (You may recall the job posting in my E40: Bitings edition - I look forward to sharing more about this project in coming weeks.)

• Urgency: Sharing the harsh reality of the effects of these “once in a lifetime” weather events with friends and family across the globe. (Thanks, too, to the many members of our Tilter community who sent messages inquiring after my family)

• Agency: Participated in the launch of The Carbon Almanac. This book is a collaboration by 300 people to create a book of various facts and ideas. It is a book that creates conversations.

• Agency: I surround myself with people who talk about climate with possibility and optimism. Packy McCormick, for instance, has added to his regular newsletter with a weekly Optimism newsletter for a “bigger dose of optimism” where he shares so links to other people’s ideas.

• I am so lucky. I get to hear about great climate related new jobs being created everyday. This is such a great time to be alive!

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