Wednesday 31 July 2013
Letter # 141
Dear President Obama,
Golly Gee. Halliburton got fined $200,000 (the max) for destroying data on the Gulf of Mexico 2010 oil spill. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/26/business/halliburton-pleads-guilty-to-destroying-evidence-after-gulf-spill.html?
That’s like fining me a penny. Our criminal justice system is broken if that’s the best we can do. Perhaps the reason our civil suits have such huge awards at times is because our criminal system lets corporations off the hook for all sorts of harm they do. We need to be better stewards of the planet, we need to charge companies for future pollution costs and environmental damage. We need to stop casting a blind eye on egregious harm for which our children and grandchildren will pay.
Please stop the Keystone XL pipeline. Stop it today. Stop condoning the greedy unacceptable ways of Big Oil companies.
Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, Disgusted by Paltry Fine
Thursday 1 August 2013
Letter # 142
Dear President Obama,
There’s too much rain in the South this summer, 34% in Georgia above normal, and there was too little last summer. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/30/us/too-much-rain-in-the-south-too-little-produce-on-the-shelves.html?
Our weather patterns are changing. The jet stream used to push most weather gently and steadily across the country, but now it keeps getting stuck. Heatwaves last longer, rain storms linger, weather is a lot more chaotic. This weather roller coaster is probably the new normal, brought on by melting polar ice caps – and by the time we can prove it, there will be less and less we can do to alter the pattern. It is imperative that people of vision ACT NOW to combat global warming.
Please say NO the Keystone XL pipeline. Right now, grab that pen, do it today! We are in for weather trouble and the sooner we start cutting carbon the better. Those rain-soaked watermelons that ripened late with low sugar content have a message for us. But we need to hear that message and act on it!
Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, Hate Tasteless Watermelon
Friday 2 August 2013
Letter # 143
Dear President Obama,
I liked Ingraffea’s column about methane emissions from fracking wells. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/29/opinion/gangplank-to-a-warm-future.html?
Fracking is not a clean energy and the sooner policy makers stop listening to the fossil fuel industry about how “clean” gas is, the better. The science is clear, but we are betting our future on political expediency, not science. It is time to wake up.
Please stop the Keystone XL pipeline. Stop it today. There is little time left for turning a blind eye to climate change. We urgently need to act now! How many columns written by scientists does it take? Why is the short term fear of Big Oil greater than the long term conviction that we must act now to avert the very worst of climate change? The longer we wait, the worse the consequences will be.
Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, Concrete Well Casings Will Leak
Saturday 3 August 2013
Letter # 144
Dear President Obama,
I was interested in the article about tools to increase the resiliency of our electric grid in Thursday’s paper. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/01/business/new-tools-for-keeping-the-lights-on.html
I am glad to know about phasor measurement units and hope we install lots of them very soon. The amount of carbon we have already pumped into the atmosphere guarantees that we will stress our electric grid with storms and weather extremes. So these tools will be very helpful. But they are not enough! We need to reduce our emissions drastically NOW! Please say NO to the Keystone XL Pipeline as an important first step.
Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, Learning about Phasor Measurement Units
Sunday 4 August 2013
Letter # 145
Dear President Obama,
Mosaic from Ravenna, Italy 550 AD
I haven’t sent you art in a long time. So here is one of my favorite mosaics – that I first saw when I was 14 years old. The piece is almost 1500 years old and most of that time has flourished under stable climate. What will happen now that we have added so much carbon to the air – just in my lifetime – a tiny fraction of the life time of this beautiful art?
Please say NO to the Keystone XL Pipeline NOW. It’s really important – for all of us and our continued existence as artists.
Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, Love the Ravenna Mosaics
Monday 5 August 2013
Letter # 146
Dear President Obama,
Last week 4 Republican former heads of the EPA wrote a NYTimes column urging immediate substantive action to curb climate change. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/02/opinion/a-republican-case-for-climate-action.html?
They propose a carbon tax and investment in clean energy. They understand how dangerous this problem is. How many more high-profile moderates will it take until this country is spurred to action? “There is no time to waste.” Please do your part immediately. Stop the Keystone XL Pipeline. We need bold action NOW. The only uncertainty is “how bad the changes will get.” Do not hold future generations hostage to the stupidity and self-interest of a few. Please act now. Do what you can.
Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, No Time to Waste!
Tuesday 6 August 2013
Letter # 147
Dear President Obama,
It’s pretty clear that the battle between Steven Donziger and Chevron is one of David and Goliath.
He is one and they are legion. It is clearly another case of a large corporation using intimidation on a small opponent. Luckily for Ecuador and the planet’s environment in general, Donziger is intelligent and dedicated.
As individual citizens we are all just David against the behemoth vested interests of Big Oil. But when we pull together for Planet Earth – our only home – we gain power.
You can help Planet Earth for your grandchildren by picking up your pen. Please say NO to the Keystone XL Pipeline.
Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, Donziger Admirer
Wednesday 7 August 2013
Letter # 148
Dear President Obama,
Today I spent a lot of time posting some of my letters to you on the web. To see them go to https://imaginevividly.com/Climate_Action_Letters.php
I hope that they inspire others to write to you and urge that you act on climate change.
Please say NO to the Keystone XL Pipeline. Say NO today.
Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, Need Web Design Help
Thursday 8 Aug 2013
Letter # 149
Dear President Obama,
Lance Price is a microbiologist who is using genetic sequencing to determine how much drug-resistant e-coli in animals is causing illness in people.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/30/health/tracing-germs-through-the-aisles.html?
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/04/a-science-project-with-legs/?
He is comparing e-coli in meat samples to e-coli that have caused urinary tract infections. He is certain that we need to dramatically cut antibiotic use in farming – and is trying to get the data to prove it – before it is too late and we have broad outbreaks of drug-resistant diseases in humans. This is parallel to the global warming crisis. Vested interests stall and hinder the government from doing what is best for us all. They insist there is no hard data. As a leader, you need to push through the clutter and get us on the right long term path. Please say NO to the Keystone XL Pipeline. Please do it now. We have no time to waste. If our climate gets terminally ill we have nowhere else to go!
Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, We have enough Climate Data
Friday 9 Aug 2013
Letter # 150
Dear President Obama,
Matisse, Marguerite en trois poses, 1906
To make this little sketch, Matisse turned his paper and used different areas of it. This is easy to do with paper, but hard to do with national policy. Technocrats get stuck in one linear mode. They are trained to collect data, compile it, draw conclusions and report. If they act otherwise, they are not serious.
But our brains have a creative side for a reason. We would probably not have flourished without it. Intuitively I like this drawing, the complexities, the overlaps, the different scales. You know intuitively that climate change is a very serious problem. Please stop the Keystone XL Pipeline and show us the way forward with creative action.
Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, Follow your Intuition
