Thursday 17 April 2014
Letter # 361
Dear President Obama,
With all respect for the human tragedy of the senseless Boston Marathon bombing one year ago, I was also dismayed at the massive amount of news time and media reporting on the anniversary, and the types of details that were stressed. There were lots of human interest stories and pictures of prosthetic legs. But a particularly chilling article about the day to day existence of the bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was relegated to yesterday’s newspaper.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/15/us/marathon-bombing-suspect-waits-in-isolation.html
He is not a threat to others, but is being held in isolation under special federal rules that are inhumane, in order to punish him. The prosecution is seeking the death penalty and withholding documents from the defense. This is not how a civilization based on due process under the law should operate. We are only as free as the least free person in our society. Thank you to the journalists for reporting on his confinement, for treating him as a human being, and to ACLU for their efforts on his behalf.
To pull together after a tragedy is a positive community-building enterprise. But to seek retribution is tribal, exclusionary and profoundly negative. I am ashamed at how this tragedy is playing out day by day. We can do much better.
Community-building is perhaps the most important work that we as humans can perform. As the population rises, we must work together to provide a decent life for all. The biggest moral and technical challenge for humans in the next decades is CLIMATE CHANGE. We must work together, and share solutions, and trust each other, or we will all suffer dire consequences.
So in the spirit of community building, please STOP the Keystone XL pipeline.
We must quickly stop using fossil fuels. We live on Planet Earth together. There is no more time to waste on tribal divisions.
Thank you.
Susan Ringler, Tsarnaev Deserves Humane Treatment
Thursday 17 April 2014
Letter # 362 (2nd letter today)
Dear President Obama,
There is no gefilte fish for the Passover seder for many Americans this year. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/15/nyregion/gefilte-fish-is-scarce-this-passover-taste-buds-are-ambivalent.html
The main ingredient in gefilte fish is whitefish that we fish from the Great Lakes. But the winter has been so cold that several feet of ice still cover the fishing grounds. This is certainly not a very important problem, and indeed, it may give the whitefish an unexpected respite from overfishing. But it IS one more example of a seasonal product whose availability from year to year may vary wildly in the future. Late springs, early springs, we can expect much more deviation from the norm.
Gefilte fish was a frugal dish that could be made ahead of time. We are not being frugal with carbon and we are not planning ahead on how to quickly stop using fossil fuels. Please stop the Keystone XL pipeline NOW! Do it today! We need to act more frugally and emit as little carbon as possible, so people can enjoy wonderful meals together for millenia.
Thank you.
Susan Ringler, Let’s Be Frugal
Friday 18 April 2014
Letter # 363
Dear President Obama,
I write to you again today on the subject of Pvt. Manning who leaked thousands of documents to WikiLeaks.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/us/manning-sentenced-for-leaking-government-secrets.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/opinion/bradley-mannings-sentence-is-excessive.html
My previous letter about Pvt. Manning is # 136, from Friday 26 July 2013.
Major General Jeffrey S. Buchanan has just denied clemency for Manning.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/15/us/politics/general-denies-clemency-to-manning.html
He has ruled that 35 years in prison is an appropriate sentence. 35 years! for leaking documents that have enlarged the public conversation on drones and government surveillance! Buchanan is mistaken and inhumane. Manning is neither an anarchist nor a traitor. She deserves clemency.
We waste way too much money on surveillance and don’t spend nearly enough on trying to protect our climate against the ravages of carbon pollution. Please stop the Keystone XL pipeline! Stop it NOW! If you don’t, I really worry what the climate will be like in 35 years. 35 years? what am I saying? I worry for what it will be like in 10 years or 15. Save these letters. They may prove prophetic – and give clemency to Pvt. Manning.
Thank you.
Susan Ringler, Clemency for Pvt. Manning
Saturday 19 April 2014
Letter # 364
Dear President Obama,
On 15 April Dr. James Hansen spoke at MIT to a large audience of mixed ages on a rainy afternoon. He was invited by the MIT student group FossilFreeMIT.org that is working to get MIT to divest from Big Oil. Dr. Hansen speaks well and he emphasized what steps we need to take NOW. He calls for:
- a quick phase-out of coal
- NO shale oil, tar sands, or fracking, and
-
an immediate price on carbon.
If we do these things starting right now, we have a chance. If we delay, things look bad. Please stop the Keystone XL Pipeline today to take the first step down this path to carbon-free energy. This is urgent. Please do it NOW. We need to reduce fossil fuel consumption by 30% by 2024. This is huge. Let’s get started!
Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, Fan of James Hansen
P.S. My letter #5 speaks of Dr. Hansen.
Tuesday 22 April, 2014
Letter # 365
Dear President Obama,
Enamel Brooch, 1940-50
Bernard Instone, Birmingham
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Here is a beautiful green enamel pin to celebrate Earth Day and my 365th letter to you! I was thinking about being an environmentalist and about decision-making, and I wrote a haiku for you:
In the quiet of the night
Listen to your soul
Some things ring true.
Please stop the Keystone XL pipeline. It is the right thing to do. It is moral and good for the planet and rings true. I hope lots of people are still making beautiful objects in a hundred years – and not just scrambling to get by.
Thank you.
Susan Ringler, Happy Earth Day
Wednesday 23 April, 2014
Letter # 366
Dear President Obama,
I was thrilled to read Friday that the State Dept. has delayed its decision on the Keystone XL pipeline pending a Nebraska court ruling on the matter.  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/19/us/politics/us-delays-decision-on-keystone-xl-pipeline.html?hpw&rref=us&_r=0
This will certainly push their decision back until after the November mid-term elections. This is wonderful news. Every delay shows how large the opposition to this pipeline is growing!! We do not need this pipeline. We do not want this filthy tar sands oil running through the Ogwalla aquifer. I know this is just a small amount of the oil produced in the whole world, but we need to start somewhere! You need to start showing how important carbon pollution is. Please stop the Keystone XL Pipeline today. Just pick up your pen and do it!
Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, Encouraged by Delays
Wednesday 23 April, 2014
Letter # 367 (2nd letter today)
Dear President Obama,
I was glad to see a large article on the Keystone XL Pipeline in yesterday’s NYTimes Energy section. It is important that more people understand how important reducing world-wide carbon emissions is for us all.
For those of us who have been talking about carbon emissions for years, we certainly realize that the Keystone XL pipeline represents a very small amount of the overall problem. The article mostly emphasized how important your EPA coal and car emissions standards will be in reducing emissions. So it’s basically a political article, trying to get more people on board for your EPA regulations. That’s fine, if it works, but actually your EPA regulations are not nearly bold enough. We need to reduce our emissions by 30% by 2030 if not more. So please stop the Keystone XL Pipeline today to show you are very serious about reducing our use of fossil fuels. You can stop KXL without congress – so do it immediately. It sends a strong signal.
Thank you.
Susan Ringler, Need Sharper EPA Cuts to Carbon
Thursday 24 April, 2014
Letter # 368
Dear President Obama,
I am very sad that 16 Sherpas died on Mt. Everest. They are paid very little for the enormous risks they take.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/19/world/asia/fatal-avalanche-on-mount-everest.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/21/world/asia/after-everest-disaster-sherpas-contemplate-strike.html
I would be happy if they refused to climb anymore this season. Summiting Mt. Everest has become something hundreds of people pay for every year. Two Sherpas for every other climber. They make routes and haul supplies and haul people up practically. So foolish and small-minded of the world’s wealthy who have $50K to $100K to spend on this self-indulgence.
The Sherpas deserve much better. Each should get a life insurance policy for their family’s benefit. So in honor of these brave Sherpas, I ask you to please STOP the Keystone XL Pipeline! Please stop it today. We are all connected on this planet, and our runaway carbon emissions are a social justice problem, as is the exploitation of Sherpas. We need more respect for nature, our climate, and the intricate interactions which create a hospitable world for human life.
Thank you.
Susan Ringler, Honoring Sherpas
Thursday 24 April, 2014
Letter # 369 (2nd letter today)
Dear President Obama,
I return today to North American oil production forecasts (see also my letter #280). We are pumping more and more oil, keeping the price of it low, and consuming more and more! 2013 US oil consumption rose 2.1%. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/25/business/us-oil-production-keeps-rising-beyond-the-forecasts.html
Many in the oil industry are happy to project these numbers out into the future with NO regard for the disastrous effects of carbon on climate change. Yet another article in the NYTimes Energy section posited the likelihood of North American energy independence in 2040 based on increased oil production.
But this is a dangerous pipe dream (pun intended)! The recent dire IPCC reports insist we must urgently reduce carbon emissions. It is irresponsible to make such forecasts. Canada claims it will more than double its annual oil production from 2012 to 2030! We cannot let that much more carbon get emitted into the atmosphere! Please stop the Keystone XL Pipeline TODAY! By 2030 North America needs to reduce its production and consumption of fossil fuels. This is critical for our ability to manage climate disruptions. Please be realistic and sober about the real cost of fossil fuels.
Thank you.
Susan Ringler, Oil Production Must SLOW!
Saturday 26 April, 2014
Letter # 370
Dear President Obama,
I’m here in Washington DC today where I marched with several thousand others in support of the Cowboy and Indian Alliance – CIA – who ask you to Reject the Keystone XL Pipeline and Protect the land and water.
Climate change is such a serious problem that we have to get serious about leaving fossil fuels in the ground. I met a woman from Maryland who marched on a gimpy leg because she believes it is important that you know we care deeply about the carbon problem. I met some students from Williams College who have finals next week but came all the way here to show their support. We came from many states and many walks of life and we ask you to please stop the Keystone XL Pipeline.
Thank you.
Susan Ringler, Marching Against Keystone
