Things That We Do... Kids Suing Obama and the Big Brothers...

I asked Ross, the chaplain in my last teaching post; “What if climate change will actually melt the ice cap... and the sea level rises...?”

Ross did not answer... because he was upset... whenever we talked about nature he was passionate and he drowned his grief with yet another glass of whatever he was drinking at the time... Ross did not answer... because he realized that we were powerless to do much... 

He did not answer but his fury was visible in his face... which became more red than before... and the blood vessels became visible on his forehead...

Ross was angry... He had his unique way of expressing his anger... He stop talking and he stirred the ice cubes in his glass and then ordered a new drink... he said the one that he had become to watery...

He stirred the ice cubes... and they melted... and the drink was indeed water... He said... “The melting ice drowned my drink, but the melting cap will drown much more... Florida will be under... The Pays Bas will be under...” He always liked to use some French... it reminded him of his Montreal background... and his sophistication... 

He was sad... He loved both Florida and Pays Bas... though he had not been there... I guess he had been there in the books that he had read... and he had a passion for both places... 

Humans are ruining the human habitat... and Ross did not know what he can do... what anyone can do... !!! He was not pessimistic but he did not know what to do... He was at a loss... The task was colossal and the adversary overwhelming... Ross was indeed overwhelmed and disoriented... 

I never had seen him drink more than two glasses... That day he ordered more... and more... and again... 

After our downtown visits... we said bye at the subway... But that day I drove him home and made sure that he was in safely.

I never told this to anyone... This is a first and I am sure he will not mind... He might even be happy... Maybe today he is raising his glass again... wherever he may be... Somewhere over the rainbow... in eternity...

***

It is a difficult task to kick against spikes... It is difficult to convince people to be satisfied with whatever they need and not be greedy... Chasing millions after millions is obscene... against God's laws... against human decency... against humanity...

Ross was right... we are almost impotent... against human greed and unfettered profit chasing...

It was eight years ago... Obama got elected... I declared the day "holiday" for my classes... I did not teach any math... I asked the students to connect my laptop to project on big screen the inauguration... It was fun... lots of discussion and activity in the classroom... The admin knew better and they did not question my action... They knew that I have always delivered very well in my classes... So they kept quiet... and the people witnessed the making of history...

At this point in time... in the twilight of his presidency... am I disappointed... I may be... But like Ross, my chaplain friend, I know that swimming against the tide... kicking against the spikes of human greed and profit chasing is very difficult... and deep down I am convinced that he would have done more...if he could!

But almost at the end of the line...twenty-one young people (ages 8 to 19) are suing him, President Obama and the feds over making a mess of th planet for the future generations...It is indeed the climate version of the old story... David and Goliath... and in the old version we know that David won... But in this new version... I am not sure who will be the winner... After all, like Ross... we all realize that it is hard to kick the spikes...

A bunch of kids suing the big-bad feds...
Twenty-one young people from around the country filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration on Tuesday accusing the federal government of violating their rights by contributing to climate change through the promotion of fossil fuels.

The plaintiffs, who range in age from 8 to 19, filed their complaint in US District Court in Oregon. The complaint lists numerous defendants, including President Barack Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry, the Department of Energy, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency.

"Defendants have for decades ignored their own plans for stopping the dangerous destabilization of our nation's climate system," the plaintiffs said in their complaint, which was filed with the help of the Oregon-based nonprofit Our Children's Trust. 

They claim... The "Defendants have known of the unusually dangerous risk of harm to human life, liberty, and property that would be caused by continued fossil fuel use and increase [carbon dioxide] emissions."

Kids cleaning the woods... After all, humans passed through the woods!!!

***

The Raping of the Amazon...of the World...

They call it Mother Nature... 

And Ross, my good chaplain friend... after a long... very long interlude... one morning he visited me in my classroom... my music was on... the Gregorian Chants were marvelous... he stood in front of my desk... with coffee and muffin for me and asked; "What will people do when they rape their mother...?"

I was startled...It was early in the morning... not even seven... and the question did not relate to anything... Why dangle an odd question like that in front of me...very early in the morning...? It did not make sense... He noticed my confusion... and smiled... It is the answer-question to our conversation that evening... few weeks ago... 

I remembered... when I drove him back to his home...

Non of us had any answer... and I was disoriented the whole day... I am not sure if the students noticed my lack of focus or not... maybe they did... most of them were smart kids... But then maybe they did not... After all, kids are just kids...!!!

But now they are suing the president and the fed agencies...     I hope they win... I am not sure they will win... The spikes are too sharp and they are too small...

But then... you never know... I have tried to convince my pupils that everything is POSSIBLE...

...And Ross, wherever he is now... beyond the horizon... with the new celestial galaxies... I am sure he will be proud of these kids... 

***

  

Meet some of the inhabitants of the rain-forest...

   

Golden Lion Tamarin                   Poison Dart Frog...                    Can grow 6-10 ins, but the tail grows             May be poisonous...some of them are...       to 12-15 ins... Sleep in tree holes...           some are not...   

 

 Anaconda                                      Jesus Lizard...                              May grow to 30 ft and 550 lbs...                        Cannot perform  miracles... but can           They eat 40 lbs of prey each day...                   run over water...    

    Peanut Head Bug                         Macaw                                        Mimics lizard's head to escape predators...   They are social and the beaks are strong can crack Survival of the fittest...           enough to crack nuts... (nut heads?)