Wed 19 Oct 2016
Letter #611
Dear President Obama,
I write to vehemently oppose the Senate proposal that “biomass” be ruled carbon-neutral. Senators Collins + King want to clear cut forests for “Biomass Generators” – burn wood to make electricity.
This is LUNACY. An untouched forest has individual trees that grow and that die, but when you clear-cut, you take away the carbon sink of living trees and then it takes decades to replace them with mature trees capable of absorbing the carbon again. Biomass is a loose word including sawdust, corn husks and decades old living trees. Corn husks may be carbon-neutral, but FORESTS are not. Do not let bad science hide behind convenient jargon. I remember being in the Montana mountains in 1974 and seeing all the clear-cut mountain tops. Environmentalists and locals knew then that clear-cutting was bad – and that was long before I knew about GHG and global warming. Renaming clear-cutting to “Biomass generation” is a fraud and will never make burning forests carbon-neutral. Get firmly behind the EPA on this one. It is critical that we don’t burn forests for energy. Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, A Forest is not Biomass
Thurs 20 Oct 2016
Letter #612
Dear President Obama,
I never really wrote to you about the horrific Louisiana flooding in mid-August that was at least a 500 year flood – and the second catastrophic flood there in 5 months.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/16/us/louisiana-floods-deaths.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/17/us/louisiana-flooding.html
Many places were severely flooded that are NOT on flood zone maps. Ellicott, MD had a flash flood that ripped out concrete sidewalks – something no one had ever seen there. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/01/us/ellicott-city-flood-maryland.html
Carlisle, England has had 200-year floods in 2005, 2009, and 2015.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/science/carlisle-england-climate-change-flooding.html
25 inches of rain in 3 days in Louisiana. How do you plan for that? We talk about preparedness and resiliency – but you cannot prepare for off the scale weather that has never occurred before! These sudden extreme weather events are ever more frequent and always affect the poor and helpless the most. The old smooth slides of weather from one season to the next are becoming jagged and sudden weather shifts. Carbon pollution is the culprit and we are nowhere near stopping it! The urgency is critical. Please do everything you can in these final months to cut US carbon pollution. It will not be fast enough, but you must SPEED it UP! We need your leadership as the poor get pummeled over and over. We must KIITG! Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, 500-year Floods Now Common
Mon 24 Oct 2016
Letter #613
Dear President Obama,
I write to you about environmental RACISM and how race and economic status decide how devastating any particular natural storm is.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/08/science/global-warming-louisiana-flooding.html
Jelani Cobb in the New Yorker aptly tells us that storms are natural, but “disasters are often the work of humankind.”
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/08/24/race-and-the-storm
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was much weaker than the Japan 2011 quake, but killed 15 times more people. After Katrina, New Orleans went from 67% Black to 59% Black because fewer Blacks had the money to rebuild. The happy-talk word of local governments is “Resilience” – But reality is that rich people rebuild because they can, and poor people leave because they must find shelter. As climate charge brings more and more stalled storms dumping apocalyptic rain, poor non-white people will bear the brunt. Each new storm brought on by carbon pollution, brings tragedy and devastation in uneven doses. The only non-racist response to climate change is to KIITG! Keep it in the ground. The longer you delay, the more poor non-white people get hurt. So do ALL you can NOW to stop carbon pollution. Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, Resiliency is Happy Talk
Sat 29 Oct 2016
Letter #614
Dear President Obama,
Since my 10 Sept letter #601 to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline, the situation at Standing Rock North Dakota has worsened severely.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/29/us/dakota-access-pipeline-protest.html
The recent scattered violence is entirely the fault of excessive police brutality: attacking peaceful protest with dogs, strip searching people arrested for trespass (simple peaceful civil disobedience), riot gear, military vehicles, swat teams. You must immediately send in Federal marshals to curtail excessive police force and deny the easement permit so that the pipeline cannot go under the Missouri River. I am deeply grateful to the brave indigenous people who are standing firm to protect the water for ALL of us after hundreds of years of mistreatment at the hands of the US government. They are true democratic heroes. If you truly believe climate change is terrifying, then STOP this pipeline. It facilitates the use of fossil fuels and worsens carbon pollution. The science is clear.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/29/opinion/why-dakota-is-the-new-keystone.html
The Standing Rock Sioux are protecting us all. You need to choose and get on the right side of this environmental battle. Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, Praise for Standing Rock Sioux
Mon 31 Oct 2016
Letter #615
Dear President Obama,
Happy Halloween. I sat at my front door this evening and gave out Halloween candy – and also gave the parents brochures for “Neighborhood Solar”. I’m getting solar panels on my roof and getting a 15% discount through a group buy program – everyone in Cambridge is eligible. So I combined Halloween with solar canvassing! Really fun. Great costumes and some great conversations with neighbors. This is how to fight climate change. Neighbor to neighbor – passing on info and getting more renewables on our grid. But we also need YOU! You need to do everything you can to stop useless pipelines (#NODAPL) and to KIITG! Keep it in the Ground. We are all in this together, and each of us has a responsibility to do as much as we can. You can do LOTS. So do it! Pull your weight. I am just a homeowner and citizen. You are president! Please do everything you can to KIITG. Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, Fan of Neighborhood Solar
Mon 31 Oct 2016
Letter #616
(2nd letter today)
Dear President Obama,
My wonderful friend Sylvia Gilman died Friday – I was with her until a few hours before she died. Her cancer had metastasized – but we thought she had a couple of months – it turned out, she went very quickly. She was 80, a climate warrior and peace activist. She and I each got arrested 2 years ago trying to save a Silver Maple Forest in a nearby flood-plain from development. We did not succeed in saving the forest – it was clear-cut for yet another expensive condo development. The land was zoned for dense housing years ago; before we recognized the value of our floodplains – and the greedy developer just cared about his profit – not the flooding of that property and the surrounding area.
Sylvia was marvelous. Musical, artistic, elegant – she held herself with such poise. She was modest about her art and steadfast in her activism. She was fun and optimistic and a wonderful addition to any conversation. We will miss her. In her honor, please please do all you can to quickly reduce carbon pollution. Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, Honoring Sylvia Gilman
Wed 16 Nov 2016
Letter #617
Dear President Obama,
I write to you today about water scarcity in the southwest, particularly on the Navajo reservation and the extraordinary Navajo woman Darlene Arviso, the “water lady”.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/20/opinion/for-these-americans-clean-water-is-a-luxury.html
Now, because of help from the non-profit Digdeep, she has 2 trucks and she and a partner can deliver twice as much water. Bravo! Once again, Native Americans teach us how important WATER is. The rich lands have been taken from them, the arid lands have been poisoned with mining, and conservation is practiced rigorously. I honor their traditions, their values and ask you to become a water protector, to join with those at Standing Rock because Water is Life and oil is death. The profits of one pipeline company are nothing compared to oil fouling the Missouri River, major tributary to the Mississippi, providing water to Millions. In honor of Darlene Arviso, please stop the Dakota Access Pipeline today. Pull their permits. Tell them NO. It’s the right thing to do. Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, Honoring Darlene Arviso
Thurs 17 Nov 2016
Letter #618
Dear President Obama,
I was saddened that your 7 November letter to me about the Dakota Access Pipeline speaks only of safe infrastructure and respect for native people. You avoid all mention of how terrifying climate change is. You and I also both know that the DAPL got no environmental review. The owners used a loophole to break it up into hundreds of tiny segments, as if it were hundreds of small driveways or such like. It is reprehensible that they were allowed to do this.
So get out your pen. Use your last 10 weeks to sign hundreds of executive orders. That will at least slow down the climate deniers and it will show your true colors.
Raise your voice, raise your pen. People worldwide will respect you for it. We must all continue to fight for a swift transition to a low-carbon economy. It is so important and we are almost out of time. Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, Thank you for writing
Thurs 17 Nov 2016
Letter #619
(2nd letter today)
Dear President Obama,
I am still haunted by the thought of Sandhya Chauhan and her family living in 2 basement window-less rooms in India (Delhi, I think) with temperatures over 100° F , this May being by far the hottest ever.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/13/world/asia/india-air-conditioning.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/27/upshot/indias-air-conditioning-and-climate-change-quandary.html
They bought an air conditioner on credit and now can sleep. Of course India needs air conditioners. And of course the Kigali accord on limiting HFCs had to be structured in tiers. But we, the greedy ones, are not doing nearly enough. We shouldn’t even sell air conditioners that cool to below 78°! We need to bring our HFC use down much faster. And we need to give much more money to third-track countries like India so the air conditioners they buy are non-HFC. Do not congratulate yourself on the Kigali accord. It is way too little, too late. The US needs to step up and take on much larger upfront costs to avoid the worst climate disasters. We caused much of the problem and we have the wealth to fix much of it. India needs cheap non-HFC technology. Let’s do it! Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, Help India Air Condition
Mon 21 Nov 2016
Letter #620
Dear President Obama,
Back in June I was moved by a NY Times article about a large tree in the Prouty Garden at the Boston Children’s hospital.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/21/us/boston-hospital-expansion-prouty-garden.html
The hospital needs to expand, so wants to remove the tree and garden. I signed a petition, with 16 thousand others, to save the garden, but last week heard the hospital was going to bulldoze the tree and garden anyway. Their decision claims the needed addition can be built cheaper and quicker by taking out the tree and garden. They could expand 3 other buildings 3 stories each, but that would take longer permitting and be less convenient. The 60 years it would take to replace the tree is of no value to these accountants. But they are wrong. A space with a large tree is worth a fortune. Just look at the recent article on NYC row houses on Macdougal and Sullivan streets with a shared common garden.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/29/fashion/new-york-secret-garden-anna-wintour-bob-dylan.html
These small houses go for $5m each with small dark rooms! So 21 houses, each selling for $1m over market gives $21m and only about 10 large trees – so each tree is worth $2M. Considering the amount of carbon a large tree can absorb, and public health + mental health benefits, we MUST re-value large trees. The Climate Change Emergency behooves us to do so! Thank you.
Susan Ringler, Large Trees are Worth Millions ALIVE
