Climate Change: Information Statement of the American Meteorological Society

Adopted by the American Meteorological Society Council on April 15, 2019, issued on April 22. Its last statement on climate change was in 2012. The body of this statement is only a little more than five pages.
Web-page version
PDF version

A lot of news stories talk about people being scared of climate change. Reading this kind of thing is more likely to anger me because of failure to be more responsible.

Excerpts:
"Global temperatures were last on par with the present ones in the previous Interglacial Period (125,000 years ago), when sea level was 6–9 m (20–30 ft) higher than today. Projected warming over the next century will likely place global temperatures in a range not seen in millions of years of geologic history." Page 1

"In addition to the widespread warming, the oceans are becoming more acidic and the amount of dissolved oxygen is decreasing, impacting marine life. These changes are consequences of well-understood chemical and physical processes. Seawater becomes more acidic when it absorbs some of the excess carbon dioxide that has accumulated in the atmosphere. Observations show that the oceans have become 25% more acidic (0.1 pH decrease) over the last century. Ocean acidification affects marine organisms, notably those that build calcium carbonate structures, including shellfish, corals, and many species of marine plankton. Pervasive surface warming has led to reduced ocean oxygen levels that, when combined with coastal pollution, contribute to ocean 'dead zones' and massive fish kills. An increase in the magnitude and duration of ocean temperature extremes represent an acute near-term threat to many marine ecosystems, including coral reefs, as apparent from the global-scale coral bleaching event of 2015–2016." Page 2

This is what Senator Gaylord Nelson, the founder of Earth Day, said in a speech during the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970:

"Our goal is not just an environment of clean air and water and scenic beauty. The objective is an environment of decency, quality and mutual respect for all other human beings and all other living creatures. 

Our goal is a new American ethic that sets new standards for progress, emphasizing human dignity and well being rather than an endless parade of technology that produces more gadgets, more waste, more pollution. 

Are we able to meet the challenge? 

Yes. We have the technology and the resources. 

Are we willing? That is the unanswered question."

From text of speech Denver, CO, April 22, 1970

http://www.nelsonearthday.net/docs/nelson_26-18_ED_denver_speech_notes.pdf

Frida Kahlo: "Still Life: Pitahayas" (1938) at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art

"It is fuchsia on the outside and hides the subtlety of a whitish-gray pulp flecked with little black spots that are its seeds inside. This is a wonder! Fruits are like flowers: they speak to us in provocative language and teach us things that are hidden.” Frida Kahlo on this painting

"Still Life: Pitahayas" was back on display at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art until February 3, 2019. I think fewer than 20 US museums have her art in their collections. The museum lacks galleries to permanently display art that it owns, which disappoints me. I wonder what pitahayas taste like.

 About "Still Life: Pitahayas":
"Pitahayas: more than a still life–a self-portrait of Frida Kahlo"
https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/TwJCvMnyaXG2LQ

This recent episode of the BBC's The Forum--"Frida Kahlo: A Life in Colour"--is a helpful discussion among leading experts on Kahlo.  https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/play/w3cswpsl [44 minutes]

Website with images of paintings mentioned in this show:
https://www.fridakahlo.org/

I took the above pictures this past winter. Last month I visited the National Museum of Women in the Arts, which is in DC. Frida Kahlo's self-portrait there:

The note in her hand reminds of Chinese paintings that have calligraphy by the artist. I think it would be interesting if more current artists would sometimes include writings like poems with or in their paintings.

By the way, an interesting quotation floating online seems to be incorrectly attributed to Frida Kahlo:
"I used to think I was the strangest person in the world but then I thought, there are so many people in the world, there must be someone just like me who feels bizarre and flawed in the same ways I do. 
I would imagine her, and imagine that she must be out there thinking of me too.
well, I hope that if you are out there you read this and know that yes, it’s true I’m here, and I’m just as strange as you."

Someone asked Quote Investigator about the source. What possibly happened was that someone wrote this on a postcard with Kahlo's image. The card got posted online, and some assumed that the image of Kahlo meant she said it.
https://quoteinvestigator.com/tag/frida-kahlo/

Hillside in Lawrence, Kansas

Lawrence Ferlinghetti--born March 24, 1919--still alive
From ending of "The Astonished Heart":

"There is a great crowded bluff
 in Lawrence Kansas
 that looks a long way
 into the astonished heart
of America."

Published in "Open Eye, Open Heart" (1973) and "These Are My Rivers: New & Selected Poems 1955-1993" (1993)

The picture is during a graduation ceremony at the University of Kansas looking south from the football stadium to the side of Mount Oread. When I lived in the J. R. Pearson dorm, I often liked to walk across this area from the Union and nearby classroom buildings. Later on, I sometimes would buy a submarine sandwich from the Yellow Sub and sit on this hillside to look north at the valley where the Kansas River runs. This was especially great when someone was playing the carillon in the campanile. But I don't think I ever took a picture of that view. Most of the time I rarely I saw anyone else there.

There aren't many places in Lawrence that could be called a bluff. I think he meant somewhere on this large hill on which the heart of the campus sits or by the riverbanks. But I don't think the latter are high enough to be bluffs. I now wish I'd contacted him when he was younger to see if a specific site influenced him, maybe to place a small monument to poetry with this line or the entire poem inscribed on it.

White Horse Temple--Luoyang, Henan Province, China

In the 1990s I visited the White Horse Temple with my students at the Zhengzhou Textile Institute during Luoyang's Peony Festival. Founded in 68 AD, the temple is regarded as the first Buddhist temple in China. We also saw the Longmen Grottoes.

On the large incense burner, running vertically it says White Horse Temple (traditional Chinese characters--白馬寺; simplified-- 白马寺)

I decided to go to China to take a break from my graduate school program in political science at the University of Michigan since living in China would help me learn about the country, which was one of my specialties. I picked Henan Province because I'd shared an apartment in Kansas with Chinese from Henan and few foreigners  lived there. I was so caught up being with my students and Chinese colleagues that I didn't see another native speaker of English until about 1/2 year had gone by. When a teacher from Britain who was at another college knocked on my door, I was stunned. I wish I'd taken more pictures without identifiable people so that I could share them without violating someone's privacy.

I loved spending time in the department office helping my Chinese colleagues or in the classroom talking with my students when they were studying. (College students in China tend to have a home classroom where they study, although some like to go to the library or their dorms.)

Climate Change and Child Sexual Abuse

In recent years I've been focusing more on the environment and child sexual abuse. This week while reading Betrayal: The Crisis in the Catholic Church, a book by the Boston Globe about its Spotlight investigation on child sexual abuse, I've been reminded more strongly that central to both problems are outrageous failures to act on obvious evidence that simple steps must be taken. Not acting as soon as possible made matters much worse. This past December I felt similar shock and even anger about this while reading a good summary of climate change published by Oxford University Press--Climate Change: What Everyone Needs to Know, by Joseph Romm. It was the 2014 first edition, so his discussion about how climate change increases the likelihood of wildfires in California exasperated me.

Climate change and my own health have combined to motivate me since I was an undergrad to walk to reach places. I've nearly always lived within less than a twenty-minute walk of at least one grocery store. In this century, in places like Gettysburg, Madison, and Baltimore, it's usually been at least two grocery stores, which is great for taking advantage of sales.

My concern about child sexual abuse has increased while thinking about what to cover in criminology and intro sociology classes I teach, after learning about Adverse Childhood Experiences research, and when people have confided to me about this happening to them. Many of my students have told me that they'd learned nothing or very little about this before. I wish that I'd known years earlier about the extent and harms of child sexual abuse. Another thing I have been doing is contacting legislators and the news media to get more done. A couple of examples are to enact Erin's Law to teach about sex abuse prevention K though 12 and for public radio talk programs to do shows on the topic. I'd thought that sending letters glued into greeting cards would more likely get attention and action, but I'm very disappointed that I got almost no response. Because of the renewed attention to child sexual abuse in recent months, I'm trying again. I suppose people who were abused would feel a lot worse if they got no response.

Mildred Thompson and Abstract Art

A few years ago, I became interested in abstract expressionist art by women after I learned of an exhibit organized by the Denver Art Museum: Women of Abstract Expressionism, held there June 12, 2016 - September  25, 2016. A lot of the paintings appeal to me more than ones done by the more famous men. In March 2017 I was lucky to see a small exhibit of paintings by Mary Abbott at McCormick Gallery, her official gallery in Chicago. I very much like the variety of colors she chooses. Because she's still alive at 97, I'm thinking of writing her to let her know how much I appreciate her paintings.

While Mildred Thompson was alive, she didn't get as much appreciation as she deserved. According to a tour guide yesterday at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, someone once suggested to her to recruit a white woman to stand in her place so as to increase the chances of selling her art.

Her official website: 

http://mildredthompson.org/

Her art contributed the name of an exhibit held at the museum from October 13, 2017 through January 21, 2018--Magnetic Fields: Expanding American Abstraction, 1960 to Today. I wish I'd seen it.  

She also worked with wood:

I think I've posted too much on here that's personal, so I might start making much of it private. I went down that path hoping that someone would want to know me better and no one else would be interested enough to be reading those posts anyway.

Statue of Liberty: Lake Mendota, Madison, Wisconsin, February 2, 2019

Photo taken from the University of Wisconsin Memorial Union Terrace

History of Madison's Statue of Liberty https://news.wisc.edu/history-of-lady-liberty-on-lake-mendota/

The only times that I've walked out on the ice is during an official event like this when experts check the safety. To the right of this was an ice fishing shack. 

a song

"Far Off, Close By" (1968) by Willis Conover and Alec Wilder:

https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/wilderworld/episodes/2006-12-16T22_55_54-08_00 (2 min 15 sec)

I first heard this song in China while listening to a VOA special on Willis Conover. 

Colorful tables at National Gallery of Art and Baltimore Museum of Art

Whenever I enter or exit the National Gallery of Art's main building, I sometimes walk by this table near the west entrance. I very much like the colorful marbles on the top. I think it would be neat to try to make something like the top but with more affordable materials.

The Baltimore Museum of Art has the other one of this pair.

Climate Change

In Harwood Community Garden, southwest corner of Whitridge and Greenmount Avenue, Baltimore (The garden is briefly discussed in this 2018 article: "What’s Growing in Baltimore? Community Gardens!")

Many of my previous posts could be tagged as about climate change since trying to reduce greenhouse gases relates to a lot of my habits going back to the 1980s, such as walking or eating close to a vegetarian diet. This past October, as I looked over the points raised by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C,  I realized that I should have been much more and consistently active over the years.

I like this perspective from environmentalist Paul Hawken:
"The single most important thing to do about reversing global warming is to recognize there is no one single thing, that addressing global warming is a way of seeing the world, a way of being in the world, a pathway to understanding that human systems created the problem and thus the cure is within the whole of the system. The most impactful act an individual can do will depend on that person’s life, knowledge, community, influence, relationships, courage. It will be different for everyone. Together, we act and make a difference. It is not about what 'I' can do. It is about what we can do. Carbon is an atom (and molecule) that holds hands and collaborates. That is what global warming is telling us to do.” From "16 Sustainability Leaders Weigh In: How YOU Can Help To Reverse Global Warming"

While I was teaching in China, I was so immersed in living there but losing touch with life in the US that in 1994 I decided to go to the English-language room of the Beijing National Library and read Al Gore's Earth in the Balance. So much has changed in China since then. I usually felt happy there from spending time with my students and Chinese colleagues. I have too many thoughts about that time and my life now. 

"--for time is the longest distance between two places." Tom in The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. I'm quoting Tom, but I more often feel like what his sister felt. That's one reason why going to China was one of my best decisions.

"Due to too much snow, we have cancelled the Snow Show this afternoon."

A few weeks ago I learned about a special event on snow that was going to be held today at the Natural History Society of Maryland. I was thinking about going because it seemed really interesting.

From the event announcement:

"At this Nature Connections we will be taking an in-depth look at snow and learning all about how Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley took his 1885 iconic snowflake photographs. Martin Schmidt will demonstrate how snow forms in the atmosphere and grows into storms. And in a special presentation, Kathy Hrechka will be showing us her approach of photographing snow with a process called photomicrography."

But it has snowed so much in the area this weekend that they had to cancel it. 

Website on Wilson Bentley: 

http://snowflakebentley.com/

"The Druid"--tree stump sculpture in Baltimore's Druid Hill Park

On March 26, 2017, I posted about the "Green Man" tree stump sculpture in Druid Hill Park. It slipped my mind to post pictures of the other one in the park by Marc Acton, "The Druid," which sits on a hill north of the park's reservoir. I took these in February 2018. The reservoir is being worked on, so I haven't gone through this area recently. I like the feeling of this setting when the leaves are gone but it's not that cold. For more on the tree carvings, you can read this December 20, 2012, article in the Baltimore Sun, "Dead trees in Druid Hill Park are carved into sculptures." 

A little east of this spot is the Latrobe Pavilion, which was a built around 1860, according to a site on engineering in Baltimore. I like the yellow, green, and red colors. 

In March 2017 I got a message that someone replied to one of my comments on another person's blog. The reply was this: "I wish that you'd update more." At first I thought it was from a third person and meant for the one who created that blog. But then I wondered if it was actually from the blog writer and meant for me because the person replied to my comment. 

I very much hope that she'll contact me, maybe by email or a comment to this or another post. I loved getting to know about her by reading her blog and looking at her website before she took them down.  I'm very unhappy with myself for not doing things differently.

Judith Leyster "Self Portrait" at the National Gallery of Art in DC

Whenever I visit the National Gallery of Art, I usually try to look at my favorites. One of them is Judith Leyster's "Self Portrait," from about 1630, because I like her relaxed mood.

I learned from a video about this painting [4 min 34 sec] that underneath the fiddler is probably another self-portrait. The clothing in this is too unsuitable for her to wear while painting, so I think it would have been neat if the painting within the painting was of her wearing what she'd normally have on while painting. Something like the reverse of what Norman Rockwell created with his "Triple Self-Portrait."

Wikipedia entry on Judith Leyster: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Leyster

--------------------------
Added on November 29, 2018. This is a closer view, taken where the painting is usually hung with the other Dutch paintings on wood wall panneling. I think the colors in this picture are closer to what I see in person.

Labor Day Weekends

This Labor Day weekend, it's been raining a lot. Ever since I was a kid I've associated this weekend in the year with watching the muscular dystrophy telethon hosted by Jerry Lewis while it's raining. I've rarely watched television during this century. The main times were when visiting my grandmother since she often watched it. I liked watching with her some of the telethon because it was similar to the variety shows common on broadcast television before the spread of cable.

Another thing I associate with Labor Day is the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie after I saw it again while I was visiting home during my first semester in college. I especially think of when Gene Wilder sings "Pure Imagination" and the meaning of the lyrics. Writing this has given me the idea to play in my sociology classes a clip of Wilder singing the song and asking my students for their thoughts. The song is maybe too personal for me, so I have to think about whether to try.

Below is "Round Falls"--Dam on Jones Falls river in Baltimore, near the Jones Falls Trail where it follows Falls Road. Location is 2948 Falls Rd, Baltimore, MD 21211. The small trail down to this spot should be improved to make it safer and more accessible. I took this picture in July and include it here because I like the effect of the light rays into this spot.

Sunset over Lake Mendota (Madison, Wisconsin)

This spring I saw these scenes one evening while walking from downtown back to my Madison apartment. A path runs from the Memorial Union on the University of Wisconsin campus to the university medical campus and Eagle Heights graduate student apartments, where I used to live. From there it is about a 45-minute walk to my Madison apartment in the Hilldale area.

The Book Thing in Baltimore--Free Books

One of the more interesting places in Baltimore is this warehouse--The Book Thing--stocked with over 100 thousand donated books in the Abell neighborhood, which can also be considered part of the Charles Village neighborhood, and about a 15-minute walk east of the main Johns Hopkins University campus.

According a Baltimore Sun story, the Book Thing gives away 400,000 to 500,000 books per year. It is open on Saturdays and Sundays, 9 am to 5 pm.

1. The Book Thing website: http://bookthing.org/
2. "Up from the ashes: The Book Thing returns," Baltimore Sun, October 13, 2017: http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/baltimore-insider-blog/bs-fe-the-book-thing-reopens-20171012-story.html
3. "The Book Thing Bounces Back--A Baltimore literary institution gets reborn, thanks to the community," Baltimore Magazine, September 2017: https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/2017/9/19/the-book-thing-bounces-back

Green Room, at front entrance.

The rooms are painted green, red, and blue. The green room in the photo contains sociology, psychology, economics, women's studies, history, etc. (Because I wanted to avoid violating someone's privacy, I rushed before getting this into focus.)



Whenever I go there, I mainly concentrate on getting books that I can use in my teaching or research but can't easily find elsewhere. I suppose that many people would worry that some would abuse this by trying to haul away thousands of books at one time, but I have never seen anyone take more than a reasonable number. As can be seen in this photo, the books are stamped with a Not for Resale, usually on a title page, which I hope that used book stores will see and adhere to. [Varieties of Police Behavior is a classic by the criminologist/political scientist James Q. Wilson. I sometimes teach criminology but have only read parts of it.]

The Book Thing is run by volunteers and donations. I've volunteered a little by stamping, boxing, and sorting books. I think that usually the equivalent of over 100 boxes of books are donated each week.

Map of The Book Thing

Madison Food Carts--Avocado Spring Rolls

The main spots in Madison with food carts are at UW's Library Mall and around the Capitol Square during lunch time. I think food carts rather than food trucks are more common here because they can fit on the wide pedestrian spaces and walks at those two sites.  According to the city's Food Cart & Food Vending Guidelines, "Full service food trucks may operate in Madison only at special events and/or if licensed to vend in City of Madison parks. The maximum size for a Mall / Concourse food cart is 56 square feet. Elsewhere in Madison, the maximum size for a food cart is 10 feet by 12 feet. The maximum height for a food cart is 10 feet."

Some related articles:

"Food cart showdown: More than 60 carts vying for downtown vending spots" Isthmus November  2, 2017

"Cart czar: New street vending coordinator Meghan Blake-Horst sees a 'perfect storm' of opportunity" Isthmus February 9, 2017

"The city of Madison needs to embrace innovation in its food cart scene" Isthmus November 25, 2016.

Because I almost always eat at home or stuff I bring from there, I rarely eat at food carts. One of my favorites when I do try one is the huge avocado spring roll sold for $3 by Luang Prabang on Library Mall. 

Blog post by a reviewer who didn't have as good of an impression of the spring roll.

Yelp reviews

During warm weather, food carts and trucks can also set up at some recreation sites in neighborhoods throughout the city, such as by a soccer field north of Sequoya Library early on Tuesday evenings.

Dollar (or less) Days at Baltimore attractions

This past weekend--December 9 and 10, 2017--I visited most of the attractions during the 

National Great Blacks in Wax Museum--
I think Mary McLeod Bethune looked the most life-like.

Dollar Days :

Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum
Geppi's Entertainment Museum
Jewish Museum of Maryland
Maryland Science Center
National Great Blacks in Wax Museum
Reginald F. Lewis Museum
Star-Spangled Banner Flag House
Top of the World (27th floor of pentagon-shaped building at the inner harbor with good views of the area)

Star-Spangled Banner Flag House--The dog is a nut cracker operated by raising and lowering the tail with
the nut in the mouth. I forget what the box on the right is for, maybe soap.

I didn't have time to get to the Historic Ships in Baltimore (which I've seen before), National Aquarium, and Port Discovery Children’s Museum. The Aquarium had long lines. When I walked by on Sunday around 11 am, the line extended almost to the USS Constellation, but at least the employee said that all of those in line could get in. I encountered no waiting at any of the places I visited, which was information I was looking for earlier this fall. 

Geppi's Entertainment Museum

Geppi's Entertainment Museum--
When I was a kid I watched the re-runs of the black-and-white Lassie and the color-version when she was on her own.

Dollar Days is especially great for families with little income. The Aquarium's usual prices are Adults: $39.95 and Children (3-11): $24.95. The Science Center's are Adults: $24.95 and Children (3-12): $18.95. So I will send thank you notes to the sponsors and participating sites. 

Jewish Museum of Maryland--quotes from people who lived in surrounding Lombard Street neighborhood. 

I'm not sure how to rank these. From my perspective I suppose I'd place the Babe Ruth

Maryland Science Center--
Feet on the pad at this end, head on pad at top.
After you lie down on the plastic, the employee raises
the nails that go up through holes in the plastic layer.
I could feel the points, but it doesn't hurt at all.

house at the bottom, except that it's interesting to see the rather small size of the rooms and living conditions of people near the start of the 20th century. My favorite part of the Science Center was the bed of nails. Geppi's seems more focused on comic books but with some OK exhibits on pop culture objects. What mainly interested me at the Star-Spangled Banner House was being in a house from the late 1700s/early1800s and seeing objects passed down through the generations from then. As for the wax museum, I like its uniqueness and focus but wish that more of the figures were doing something other than standing. The absence of one for Frederick Douglass surprised me, and I was told his is in the works for next year, the 200th anniversary of his birth.

In Reginald Lewis Museum

I couldn't attend Dollar Days last year, when the Baltimore Streetcar Museum and the Maryland Historical Society (which was free) took part. According to a 2015 Baltimore Sun article, in that year the sites were the same except that also included were the Carroll Mansion/Phoenix Shot Tower and the Washington Monument (Baltimore's) but not the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum.

View of the USS Constellation from the Top of the World

View of the harbor from the Top of the World. Pyramids at bottom left are the National Aquarium;
hill to the right with trees on top is Federal Hill.