Pope Francis Was A Climate Activist

Pope Francis, who died Monday at the age of 88, 
was a climate activist who frequently spoke of 
the dangers it poses to humanity. 

Much is obviously being written this week about Pope Francis, who died Monday at the age of 88.

Many aspects of his life and his role as Pope stood out, and one of them was the fact he was a climate activist. 

"Over his 12 years as head of the Catholic Church, Francis repeatedly raised the problem of human-caused global heating from burning fossil fuels and he encouraged people - including world leaders  - to do something about it."

It wasn't surprising from the very beginning that Pope Francis was an environmentalist. He was the first pontiff to take the name of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and ecology. 

It's also no surprise that the MAGA crowd in the United States was no fan of Pope Francis, given how it's a drill, baby drill crowd who thinks climate change is a hoax.  Our buddy Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Crazy, Georgia responded to the pontiff's death (without naming him directly)  by writing on X:

"Today there were major shifts in global leadership. Evil is being defeated by the hand of God."

If Greene detested the pope for his climate activism, she's got plenty of evidence, so I'll give her that much. 

NPR again: 

"In 2015, Pope Francis issued a papal letter - or encyclical - titled Laudato Si.  It recognized climate change as a global problem with significant consequences, especially for the poor. He criticized developed countries like the United States and China, which have contributed the most planet heating pollution. Francis reserved the most severe criticism for the 'wealthier sectors of society, where the habit of wasting and discarding has reached unprecedented levels.'"

Francis had said poorer nations, which contributed the least to climate change, should get more aid from developed counties that had caused a larger share of climate change. 

That thought was a key element of the Paris Climate Agreement, which then-President Obama and other world leaders agreed to later in 2015. 

NPR notes that the 2015 Pope Francis encyclical inspired a number of Catholic climate activism groups.

In recent years, the Pope stepped up his climate rhetoric and activity.

In 2018, according to the Washington Post, he even gathered oil executives - including leaders from BP and Royal Dutch Shell - at a 16th century villa, urging them to transition from planet-warming fossil fuels to clean energy sources.

In a 2021 BBC broadcast, he listed climate change as among the top crises facing the world, right up there with the then-raging COVID-19 pandemic and deep economic difficulties around the world.  

Pope Francis in 2023  released another document that focused almost exclusively on climate change. He wrote,  "....with the passage of time, I have realized that our responses have not been adequate, while the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point."

The pope's words on climate basically were preaching to the choir.  For all his work on climate, 'I'm not sure he moved the needle much on climate attitudes.  But the Pope's efforts surely did affect some hearts and minds, and inspired climate activism among certain groups of Catholics who agreed with his stance. 

Catholicism  is essentially a conservative religion, but at least here in America, climate change does not resonate with conservatives at all, be they Catholic or of some other religious persuasion. 

As the Washington Post explains:

"There is little indiction that Francis's activism shifted attitudes among American Catholics, In a 2023 Pew Research Center poll, 44 percent of U.S, Catholics said the Earth was warming because of human activity, compared with 46 percent of all U.S. adults. 

There was a sharp political divide. 82 percent of Catholics who identified leaned Democrat called climate change a major problem, compared with 25 percent for Republicans." 

Of course, we don't know how the next Pope will deal with climate change, if at all, since we don't know who that will be quite yet. 

But Pope Francis's calls to action on climate were one of many indications he was truly a man of the people, not just the elite. That's an increasingly rare trait among world leaders these days. 

Trump Executive Order Targets Vermont "Climate Superfund" Law

One of Donald Trump's zillions of executive orders 
specifically targets "climate superfund" laws in
Vermont and New York, but whether the order has
any legal teeth is entirely another question. 

To nobody's surprise and to lots of eye rolling in Vermont, Donald Trump released an executive order targeting the state's climate superfund law.  

Trump says the law "extorts" energy producers. 

The law would work much like the federal Superfund law that's been around for decades. 

Under the Vermont climate superfund law, a company that produces large amounts of carbon dioxide would have to pay a share of what climate change has cost Vermont, based on how much the company contributed to global emissions during the same period

Not long after Vermont adopted its climate superfund law, New York followed suit with a similar law. Trump's executive order takes aim at both states.

Trump's characteristically whiny order states:

"New York, for example, a 'climate change' extortion law that seeks to retroactively impose billions in fines (erroneously labelled 'compensatory payments') on traditional energy producers for their purported past contributions to greenhouse gas emissions not only in New York but also anywhere in the United States and the world.

Vermont similarly extorts energy producers for alleged past contributions to greenhouse gas emissions anywhere in the United States or the globe."

That's not quite right because the laws do take into account the targeted companies' overall emissions, the laws only seek to receive compensation for the expense of climate change in those states. 

The executive  order is not just about New York and Vermont and their climate superfund laws. 

Per Vermont Public: 

"The document broadly seeks to restrict states' abilities to set local energy policy, particularly policies that support climate action or renewables like solar and wind, or that impeded the development of new domestic energy sources."

With his executive order, Trump is sticking his nose into something that is already being litigated through the courts. 

The fossil fuel industry is already suing Vermont and New York regarding this law. In a normal world, without Trump, this would be litigated through the courts to determine whether these climate superfund laws are constitutional or not. 

But that's not the world we live in now. King Trump, or so he thinks can just wave his magic orange wand and everybody will just bend to his will.

Until they don't. 

Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark, of one, is unimpressed. 

She told Vermont Public that Trump's order has no legal teeth and as no bearing on Vermont's enforcement of its own laws.

"The president has a lot of power; he does not have the extent of the power  he wishes he had, which is why we see all these executive order that say a lot of words but don't actually do anything.....And this is another one of those examples."

Clark felt compelled to offer this basic elementary school civics lesson to Trump:

"Congress passes the laws. The executive branch, the president, carries out the instructions of Congress, and it's the courts that get to interpret the laws."

There are legitimate legal questions about the Climate Superfund laws, such as whether it interferes with interstate commerce.  The fossil fuel industry also questions whether companies should be held responsible for the actions of society at large. 

Under the executive order, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has about two months to simple a report and recommend actions to prevent states from engaging in climate policy she deems illegal.

Again, that's really up to the courts and not Bondi or Trump to decide. We hope. But there will be court appeals, no matter what happens. 

The fossil fuel industry is not just relying on the courts.  It appears that Trump's executive order has to do with a meeting oil executive had with Trump earlier this year. In that meeting, they asked Trump for help in fighting the Vermont and New York climate superfund laws, as the Washington Post reported in March. 

Apparently, the oil executives got what they wanted.    

Southern California Still In Grave Danger As Fires Continue, As Do Arid, Strong Winds. Also, Please Stop Abusing Victims

The huge wildfire that originated near Pacific Palisades,
California Tuesday was spreading into fairly distant
Brentwood Saturday, as this image from the
Los Angeles TV affiliate shows. 

There's still much to talk about regarding the ongoing Southern California wildfire tragedy,  more than we can fit in a single post. 

But, as always, we have some thoughts. 

At last report, at least 13 people have died in the fires. Unfortunately, I still expect that toll to rise. This was a quick ferocious and incredibly fast moving firestorm.  With that many people living there, I can't imagine just 13 people were not able to get out of the way in time. 

I hope I'm wrong about this. 

At least 180,000 people have evacuated. At least 12,000 homes and businesses have been destroyed, and I think that's a conservative figure. 

And the crisis is far from over. 

At last report, there were six active blazes. There's no reason why more can't break out, though again, I hope not.

The weather is not going to cooperate. The normal winter rains that should be in California are still nowhere to be found, and not in any forecasts I've seen. Even worse, the strong, dry desert winds are forecast to keep blowing at least until next Wednesday. 

Those winds might not once again get extreme as the 60 to 100 mph gusts we saw during the worst of the firestorms. But with tinder dry conditions, the winds will be more than strong enough to fan the flames.  

We're going to see even more destruction, even if it won't be at the same fast past we saw Wednesday. More houses, perhaps maybe more neighborhoods are seriously at risk of burning down over the next week. 

The wind is forecast to pick up for a time late tonight and Sunday. Then, a lull in the wind is anticipated Monday. But then, very strong winds, possibly in the 45 to 60 mph range in some areas near L.A. are anticipated Tuesday and Wednesday. 

That could easily just make a catastrophic situation that much worse.  

The largest, the Palisades fire, with more than 20,000 acres burned, was only 11 percent contained as of late Friday. Last night, the Palisades fire shifted and flared up, threatening new heavily populated neighborhoods, this time in Brentwood and parts of Encino, Bel Aire and Sherman Oaks, forcing new evacuations. 

At least one home in Brentwood has burned, though firefighters have been able to protect many other homes because winds are lighter than they were Tuesday and Wednesday.

News video this afternoon showed a pitched battle between intense flames at the edge of a dense Brentwood subdivision versus an army of fire trucks and helicopters trying to dump water on the flames. 

 Meanwhile, the so-called Eaton Fire around Altadena and Pasadena is only 15 percent contained. 

Another fire erupted the other day around Calabasas and Hidden Hills was largely contained and hasn't damaged many homes. That fire might have been an arson. 

Another fire broke out in the Granada Hills Friday. Two other fires, one in the Antelope Valley and the other near San Fernando, are largely contained at last report, thank goodness. 

 GOOD PEOPLE, HORRIBLE PEOPLE

As in every past national tragedy, I'm gratified to see so many people reaching out to Californians. They all need our support

That said, there's more 

There's so much hate in right wing MAGA circles for the "elite" - whatever that is - that they're ecstatic that their houses burned down.  Some of the homes destroyed belonged to millionaires and celebrities, and somehow, that fact makes them deserve the wildfires' destruction. 

"The Hollywood Hills are on fire....It's almost poetic," one far right poster hideously wrote on X

Just because you're rich, doesn't mean you deserve to have your house burned down. Sure, people with money have more resources to recover, but they still have lost a lifetime of memories, not to mention their sense of security. 

By the way, if you still don't care about the rich people who lost their homes, maybe you should care about their landscapers, personal assistants, housekeepers, nannies and others who just lost their jobs because the multi-million dollar mansions where they worked just burned down.

Also, lost in this "rich people suck" narrative is that most of the people who lost homes and businesses in California were not particularly loaded with cash. Lots of lower and middle class families lost their homes..

Me being of the somewhat liberal persuasion, as anybody who reads this blog knows, I still winced back in September when a few people started making fun of people in deep red GOP counties in North Carolina and Tennessee and Florida who lost everything in Hurricanes Helene and Milton. 

This following should be obvious to everyone: You, or I, might hate somebody's politics, we might think some of them are terrible people that we can never respect, never mind be friends with. 

OK, fine. But they still do NOT deserve to have their lives lost or at the very least completely upended by a tragedy like a wildfire in California, or a hurricane in Florida, a flood in North Carolina or a tornado in Oklahoma. 

I can't believe I have to lecture y'all on this, but I have to say it. 

Most people who are reacting to the California firestorm have been very kind, and there's been a wonderful outpouring of support. But the jerks making snide comments really just need to shut up at this point. 

 Videos:

The massive Palisades fire spread into Brentwood Saturday. While firefighters managed to save scores of houses in threatened Brentwood neighborhoods, this house succumbed. Click on this link to view, or if  you see the image below, click on that:

In the next video, firefighters take a stand against massive flames on the attack in Brentwood, California, Saturday (Notice the many fire engines parked ion the streets).   Again click on this link to view, or if you see the image below, click on that. 

 :

 

California Horror Gets Exponentially Worse; A National Gut Punch. Climate Related Disasters Are Overwhelming Our Abilities

Horrifying image of the California fires
from television station KTLA.

 Much if not most of Pacific Palisades, California is wiped out.  Aerial views of that area look like Hiroshima after the 1945 atomic bomb. 

Downtown Altadena, California is gone, as are many neighborhoods there. 

So far, five people are known to have died in the fire, but unfortunately I fully expect that toll to rise. One person was found dead, garden hose in hand, after unsuccessfully trying to save his home. 

So much that is familiar to local residents, and to an extent the rest of us are gone. The Reel Inn in Malibu, which had been a seafood restaurant destination for celebrities and visitors was destroyed after four decades in business.

The Palisades Charter High School, which you probably saw in movies like "Freaky Friday" and "Carrie," was also destroyed. 

The unique Bunny Museum in Altadena is history, too. 

The Getty Villa, home to 40,000 pieces of priceless art, was saved only because of preparation and firefighting. The grounds of the center burned, but crews had a policy of aggressively removing brush as it would try to take over the property. Since there wasn't all that much to burn, firefighters were able to keep flames out of the building. 

The Pacific Palisades fire is now described as the most destructive fire in Los Angeles history, Previously the worst fire in Los Angeles County history was the Sayre fire of November, 2008, which wiped out 604 structures in Sylmar.

This one was far, far worse, with 1,000 structures gone so far. That's a preliminary estimate. The actual number is probably quite a bit higher.

Yet another fire broke out Wednesday night in Studio City and the Hollywood Hills last night, which looks like it destroyed a few more homes.  Somehow, firefighters, after an intense 90-minute battle, got that fire largely contained before it could attack another large swath of Los Angeles.  Most of the evacuation orders with that fire have been lifted for now, fingers crossed. 

Somewhat calmer winds today are raising hopes that firefighters can begin containing some of the fires.

Hollywood has for decades cranked out more epic disaster movies and shows than anybody can count. Those movies were an escape. Now, reality is hitting us with real catastrophes that we thought just belonged on the big screen.  

When it becomes real like it did this week, it's a a national gut punch. 

These huge disasters keep coming, one after another, with more and more extremes and greater frequency.

I know those of us who don't live anywhere near California can't feel sorry for ourselves, given the suffering of thousands of people who have lost their homes. 

But it's still distressing to everyone to watch California burn, or North Carolina wash away, or Valencia, ,Spain to scour away in unprecedented floods, and on and on it goes. It takes a toll on all of humanity, really. 

CLIMATE, MEGA-DISASTERS AND RESOURCES

It's clear that climate-driven disasters like this one in California are overwhelming infrastructure designed for the climate we used to have a few decades ago, not the one we have now.  

The remains of a Christmas tree as seen through
the window of a burning home in California'
this week. 

In the old climate, the Los Angeles cataclysm we just saw shouldn't have happened. Yes, there have always been destructive wildfires in the region.  And yes, more people are now living in the way of those wildfires, making both fighting and fleeing the fires more difficult. 

Still, this fire shouldn't have been so awful.  But climate change made probably made it worse.

The two previous winters in Los Angeles were much wetter than average. That created lush growth in the steep brush lands that surround so many neighborhoods. Then, this winter, the rain failed. The lush growth turned to tinder. 

The rainy season should have started by now. It didn't. So when the Santa Ana winds howled, fires started and here we are.

Emergency officials knew days in advance a dangerous situation was brewing. In Pacific Palisades, three huge tanks, each with a million gallon capacity, were filled to the brim ahead of the fires. But firefighters used so much water so quickly to fight the flames that the tanks quickly emptied. Water pressure waned. Hydrants became almost useless. 

In some cases, they could only stand by and watch neighborhoods burn. 

Evacuations were chaotic, to say the least. The death toll could have been much worse as people fleeing got caught up in flames on narrow roads. People fled their cars on foot, and the abandoned cars blocked roads needed by firefighters to access the flames. Bulldozers had to be called in to shove the cars out of the way. 

This reminded me of the 2018 fire that destroyed virtually the entire city of Paradise, California, leveling 19,000 homes and other buildings. Eighty-five people died in that blaze, many of them trapped on winding, narrow mountain roads as they tried to flee. Homes in Paradise were in the woods, and not fire resistant. 

Those rebuilding in Paradise are keeping those issues in mind, changing roads, building houses out of materials that can ward off flames to an extent. They're keeping vegetation away from homes. 

That was an enormous undertaking in just one town. Imagine dealing with this in southern California given the scale of these new, ferocious fires.

It's not just California with fast-moving, out-of-season fires. On December 28, 2021, ferocious winds tore through the Boulder, Colorado area, pushing what became Colorado's worst wildfire in history.  Two people died and 1,000 or so homes were destroyed. 

It was another case of a strangely intense fire coming at an even stranger time of year, when Boulder is often covered in snow. 

It's not just fires. Climate-driven disasters are striking places that "shouldn't" have such extreme trouble. The extraordinary floods in western North Carolina from Hurricane Helene come to mind here.  Roads, neighborhoods, everything was overwhelmed by the unprecedented power of the water and floods. 

They couldn't handle it. Nobody could have. 

We're dealing with this here in Vermont, too. After the big floods of 2023 and 2024, we are thinking long and hard about how to deal with the inevitable next big flood, since storms seem to have gotten more intense.

Do we move people away from river valleys? Who do we move?  What types of bridges, culverts and drainage can we build to withstand floods, and can we afford all that?  Many of our most treasured cities, towns and villages are in flood plains. Can these communities survive? What if they can't? Will the Vermont we've gotten so used to over generations become unrecognizably different?

That's the type of thing that billions of people around the world are grappling with in the age of climate change. These thoughts, these worries, are punctuated by catastrophes like California this week. These huge disasters give us a sense of urgency, and dread and sadness.

I also hope these disasters also motivate us all into compassion and strength.  We need those more than ever. 

VIDEOS

Chaotic news clip from the Eaton fire as a reporter watches new fires keep breaking out everywhere around her, amid a cacophony of sirens. Click on this link to view or if you see the image below click on that:

Palisades Branch Library up in flames. Also in the video what appears to be a church and a school destroyed. Again click on this link to view or if you see image below, click on that

Remnants of burning house collapse on camera. Again, click on this link to view or if you see image below, click on that: 

Footage of homes burning in one neighborhood, and people trying desperately with buckets and garden hoses trying desperately to save houses that hadn't started burning yet. No fire trucks in sight. Click on this link to view or if you see image below, click on that. 

The Elephant In The Post Election Room

I post this photo of Shelly Winters when the boat
turns upside down in the "Poseidon Adventure"
whenever I feel like things re heading south, so....

You might have noticed that until now, I have not yet mentioned the election, which apparently has been decided in favor of Donald Trump. 

Readers of this blog know full well I'm a vocal critic of Donald Trump.  Like many of you - nearly half the nation - this isn't a good time for us, to put it mildly.  

To be honest,  I'm disappointed in the people who voted for Trump.

We have to accept that lots of people were willing to throw away so much of what many in this country holds dear in favor of reducing the price of a dozen eggs at the supermarket.

Or something like that. 

Yes, I'm cynical. But you knew that already. 

Something snapped in me Wednesday morning. It's clear that until now, I was misunderstanding the rule of the game. 

The whole thing is about bullying. That's the name of the game voters have decided upon. Trump is a bully, his minions are bullies, and so are his most ardent fans. They're proud of it. 

I knew right along they were bullies. But until now, I thought our better angels might prevail. I was wrong. 

Trump gave his worst follows "permission" to be the awful people they really are. I'm not talking about all Trump voters, of course. Just the snarly ones you always see at his interminable rallies.

The situation we're in now is way different than other instances when a presidential candidate whom I didn't favor won. In those cases, I didn't like their policies, but could easily agree to disagree with them and their supporters.  I still respected these presidents and like-minded politicians. I knew they would (mostly) uphold the law, adhere to the Constitution and were serving their country. 

Here, despite his fans' beliefs, we'll have a president who is only serving himself and perhaps some of his minions. Some of his more thuggish supporters will continue to menace their enemies, especially the more vulnerable. Just because they can. You can't respect anything like that. 

One of my regrets in life is I haven't adequately stood up to bullies, whether their aim was against me or someone else. No more. I'm now ready to be as nasty as the rest of them. 

Of course, I will continue to show kindness and warmth to everybody who deserves it.   But if I encounter the lying liars who lie who created this whole moment in history, then I'm coming out with guns blazing.

Not literally, obviously. I'm never been a violent person and I'm not going to start now.  Any "cruelty" I show toward those who deserve it will be with words and non-violent deeds. I'm not Crazy Harry, the mad bomber from The Muppet Show, after all. 

The lying liars who lie I refer to are mostly the mendacious operatives who spread disinformation regarding just about everything. With the aim to get richer and richer by gaslighting their fans into submission. A lot of 'em fell for it hook, line and sinker in this election.

Brace yourself for a ton more fabrications during the Trump administration. 

This is of course a weather and climate blog, so that's what I'll continue to focus on here.    I'm sure there will be a lot of denying of climate change, or anything to do with basic science during the next four years at least.  Might we see another Sharpie that will "alter" the path of a  hurricane?

You know I haven't been shy at criticizing those who spread all these lies, like the weather conspiracy theories, the supposed nonexistent federal response to recent hurricanes, you name it. 

I've determined I need to step up my efforts to name and shame even more. 

That's not to say this blog will just be a grim vendetta against the people I don't like. I'll happily celebrate the people and organizations who are making a positive difference. There will be plenty of regular news, forecasts, even fun. In fact, the fun element might be me bullying the bullies every once in awhile. 

I know my efforts won't change the world, and it might have me end up in the gulags or something, but like I said, I'm done with the bullies.

To quote the classic movie "Network," I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore. I'll just need to work on the right way to not take it anymore. Suggestions are welcome.

I also won't become a bitter old man in this process. I don't have the stomach for that, either. 

Through the Trump administration, I'll continue to see beauty and feel the joy in my flower gardens glittering in the sunshine after a spring shower. I'll embrace the kindness in my husband's eyes and the sound of his goofy laugh when he watches some slapstick comedy. 

I'll experience the awe of watching those summertime storm clouds erupt into displays of strength and majesty. And I'll savor the companionship as me and Jackson the Weather Dog, his tail wagging, when we go out first thing on a winter morning to measure how much snow fell the night before. 

There's still a lot of good in the world, and good people in the world, despite the fact the bad seems to  have taken the lead in the game of life right now.  .

This whole screed I've just written could well lose me some regular readers. It's the price I have to pay, I guess.  

When I woke up Wednesday morning, the future looked a lot more uncertain than it ever did. I guess I don't get to coast quietly into older age as I'd planned and hoped. I'll probably lose a lot, but I'm going to cling to my self-respect. 

Much more importantly, I'm going to respect and love the people that really matter, from climate scientists and meteorologists to innocent Trump victims to my own family and friends. 

And to the bullies that are on top of the world right now, I have one not so friendly message: Sooner or later, reality comes around to bite you in the ass. 

Northeast Ida Death Toll Now 46; Billions In Damage, Hurricane Season Not Over

Satellite view of many of the hundreds of houses flooded
in Manville, New Jersey Thursday.

OK, the headline on this post is quite the opposite of cheery, but what can you do? 

The incredible rainfall and flooding associated with former Hurricane Ida in the Northeast is as grim as it gets. 

Deaths in disasters are always tragic to say the least and the 46 reported so far is no exception.  It's an overwhelming disaster, so all I can do is give just some of the many thoughts I've had about this horrible storm.

BY THE NUMBERS

9.64.  Inches of rain in from the storm in Staten Island

10.  Number of tornadoes confirmed in the Northeast so far in this storm

150 mph: Strength of wind in strongest of the tornadoes, an EF-3 in New Jersey, likely the strongest in state history

113 Number of people confirmed rescued by FDNY.  The actual number is likely much greater than that. 

500 Minimum number of cars and trucks towed from the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx after water receded and revealed the destroyed vehicles.

27.66 feet: Record high crest on the Raritan River in Manville, New Jersey.

4 Number of tropical systems that have already affected the Northeast this year. We're only half way through the hurricane season. 

DEATHS AND WARNINGS

Most victims were in cars that were swept away. I wonder about the messaging pre-flood that might have saved lives. I know this is Monday-morning quarterbacking.

People were warned days in advance that this flooding could be particularly severe. The National Weather Service offices in Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York areas did an excellent job and issued flash flood emergencies.  Calling it an emergency is supposed to be a kick in the pants.  You're never supposed to be out driving in a flash flood anyway, but broadcasting an emergency is a hair on fire moment - this is really serious.

I think the problem is in an urban environment, people think they are safer.  Sure, the car might stall in sudden high water, but you can get out. People picture truly dangerous flash floods as those walls of water, rock and mud that pour out mountains and into canyons out west, or rage through creek beds in the Appalachians.  

They don't think the Garden State Expressway or the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx  can become a death trap. 

I also think people understood a lot of rain was coming, but didn't realize it would be in such a short period of time. After all, eight inches of rain over the course of a day is bad, but not as bad as eight inches of rain in six hours. 

I read an article in Vice this morning that disturbed me.  A lot of those gig outfits, think Uber, Door Dash, etc. offer bonuses to these gig workers if they work in very bad weather.  So, looking to make extra money, a lot of these gig workers were out in the flash flood emergency working, and putting themselves in danger .

While these gig employers say they evaluate whether to continue to deliver in dangerous weather, I'm not buying that they do enough.  And please, if you are under any kind of weather emergency or warning, please don't contact those food delivery outfits.

You are hunkering down to avoid going out in a flash flood, blizzard, tornado, whatever. Please don''t make delivery people go out in hazardous weather. Just stay in your house and cook your own goddamn dinner.

NYC/NEW JERSEY TRAGEDIES

In New York City itself, most of the deaths were people in basement apartments. The water burst through doors and walls, and people couldn't fight the extreme torrents to get out.  

I really feel for the rescuers in New York who, as always in an extreme emergency, saved who knows how many lives.  Think about how overwhelmed they must have been.  FDNY wrote on Instagram:

"We were operating and getting numerous calls nonstop all night. We had everything from people trapped on their roofs, people trapped in completely submerged cars, trapped in basements with the doors stuck and water rapidly rising and with heavy currents of water everywhere."

Response times were slowed not only by the widespread flooding, but because the FDNY encountered lots of unreported emergencies on their way to the calls they received.

The news was horrifying to say the least, and you know there's going to be tens of billions of dollars in damage.  Aerial shots of Somerset, New Jersey showed hundreds of flooded homes in just one neighborhood.

In other areas the flash flooding came and went, with water marks left behind reaching the first floor ceilings in some buildings.

CLIMATE CHANGE

One after another, elected officials and emergency officials in the affected Northeastern states went on camera Thursday and brought up climate change.

As always, that immediately turned into a political football. Against the backdrop of this disaster, Congress is struggling with a $3.2 billion infrastructure bill that would include a lot of funding to help mitigate climate change.

Republicans and conservatives panicked. Fox News desperately worked to downplay the issue, saying Democrats are "grifting" on the issue of climate change. Another Fox pundit went so far and ridiculous to say that data proving climate change is "never there."

Um, try a simple Google search, Fox bros!

LOUISIANA

Meanwhile, we can't forget Louisiana.  The death toll there has risen to 11 and 900,000 people still don't have electricity.

More deaths are inevitable down there as stifling heat and humidity and the long-lasting lack of electricity are combining to make things deadly.  The heat can kill people, generators can create deadly carbon monoxide and people can get hurt and killed trying to clean up with chain saws and whatever tools they're using. 

Once again, as in Katrina, and in so many disasters in the United States, the poor, vulnerable and elderly seem targeted for abuse by profiteers or crooks just trying to save a buck.

In one incredibly infuriating case, more than 800 residents of seven  evacuated nursing homes in Louisiana were literally warehoused.  They were brought to a decrepit warehouse where they were put on mattresses on the floor, not fed and not socially distanced to protect against Covid. So far four of those elderly people died.

According to NBC: "The (Louisiana) Health Department...alleged that when health inspectors visited the center two days after Ida hit, they were 'expelled' and prevented from assessing conditions."

A lot of facts still need to come out, but why did the operator of the nursing homes put these people in the warehouse, try to cover it up, and not reach out for help to move the people in their care to safer places? To not lose money, probably. Hell, who cares of some old people die, as long as I keep my cash, right?

That seems to be the prevailing attitude in some circles today.  The 843 people who were brought to that awful warehouse have since been moved to safer locations.  

I worry more said crimes against disaster victims will surface. The vast majority of Americans are super generous toward people hit by these weather extremes. Too bad a few cheats want to dismantle that aid.