Before we congratulate ourselves for being an intelligent, wonderful species, we need to get our act together and stop ruining the entire planet for ourselves and all other species. (I, like my mother, was very good at having very accurate premonitions. I am currently 71; when i was a child, i had a premonition that human beings would ruin the planet by causing too much pollution.) Currently, the pollution and smoke in the Midwest are so bad that i have to wear a mask when outdoors. And temperatures are soaring. Unfortunately — and tragically — the poor birds, insects, and other creatures of nature do not have masks to wear. They must remain outdoors and they are truly suffering. (I have been in tears about it.) And i do not care to write this but it’s true… lately, scientists are saying that the Doomsday Glacier (i.e., the Thwaites Glacier) is melting much faster than previous predictions have suggested. They say that it’s hanging on by its fingernails. Its melting, in turn, will disrupt the oceanic currents that have been necessary for regulating and balancing Earth’s global climate. And, there are plenty of people — like my next-door neighbors — who think that manmade climate change is a myth. We all need to curtail global environmental mindlessness and do much better for the sake of the earth and its creatures.
Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog 
With you all the way… the earth is rebelling against man’s treatment of her. I don’t know what will happen. Thanks for posting.
Yes indeed, Ellen, the Earth is rebelling!
At least the ants will remain and continue to prosper and evolve.
Yes, after Chernobyl was evacuated, the animals and plants came back. After we destroy one another, the wildlife will get on very well without us, in fact they will flourish.
Yes, nature finds a way. 😊
Please can you help me
Beautiful photo and poignant words.
Thank you, Wish4water! I wish i had more positive news.
You know Tom, my husband and I were discussing this very same thing this morning at the breakfast table. People who think man’s involvement in climate change is a myth are lost. We have destroyed natural habitats where trees (our natural air filters) for example, are becoming ongoing victims of deforestation, all for the sake of our so-called progress. With all of the drilling into the earth’s surface, poor air quality coming from poisonous smokestacks and tailpipes, and even the implosion of buildings that is creating hairline fractures in the foundations of neighboring buildings, I am just amazed how so many people are in denial of the obvious, right before their eyes. Yep, that’s progress alright! SMH 🤬
Great that you two were discussing it! It’s because you care and are compassionate and intelligent. Like the poet E.E. Cummings wrote: “progress is a comfortable disease” and
“a world of made is not a world of born.”
We sure need to wake up! 🤔
WOW! Powerful Tom. Thank you for your heightened sense of awareness, empathy and compassion my friend. Indeed, we have a LOT of waking up to do. SMH 😥 How soon? Well, that is another long conversation. Too many moving parts to wake up! UGH! 😝
How can anybody deny the obvious? Yet they do and they get away with it.
It’s lucrative for certain political parties to side with, for instance, the fossil fuel industry. They get plenty of money thrown their way for doing so. Morals and integrity, these days, mean little. 🙁
Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that global warming is a “myth”. What harm could come from changing our ways? What are the downsides of moving to a greener world? People who deny climate change really need to take a long look at what they’re arguing against.
Yes, Benjamin, there are no real downsides to going green. But people have been brainwashed and they will not wake up until it is too late, (and it may already be too late). 😣
Sorry the wildfire smoke and higher than normal temperatures are affecting your everyday life, Tom. Yes, some don’t believe the changes are real, even when they are happening right before their eyes.
Yes, Siobhan, many are denying the obvious that is right before their eyes. Nature has its intrinsic payback, however, and such people are only digging their children’s graves.
I’ve been thinking of you because we had the smoke too and we are ALL in such a mess – HUMAN INDUCED – I am so sorry that the smoke is that bad – and damn things are going to get worse even as we continue to murder non human species as I write – I too am deeply worried about the 4 percent of mammals left on earth that are forced to breathe poison because of us…. and then there are the frogs… and people are so blind it is making me crazy… Like you I too have premonitions … and knew… but if anything this makes it worse. In Maine we have had deluges that have been severe enough to wash out roads etc and everyone complains about the rain because they can’t garden – NOTHING ABOUT WHAT’S HAPPENING TO OUR PLANET…. I THINK OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES SAYING: OUR PAST WILL BE YOUR FUTURE – THEY KNOW TOO….
I know that you are very sensitive to what happens to nature, Sara. More people need to be more connected to nature. People were miseducated and there is such a big disconnect between them and nature. The reality, however, is that nature is what one is a part of… not what one is apart from.
Exactly!!! Have you read “ The Nutmeg’s Curse” – brilliant and it helped me to see the big picture with respect to how all these horrors came into being – sounds dismal but i was actually relieved to read someone who really gets it –
No, i’ve never read it, Sara.
Yes, it’s heartbreaking…
Thank you for spreading awareness. We are a by-product of nature’s own design. Every living being’s main goal is survival. It was necessary to survive time and we won’t be here if we didn’t care about survival. But what makes human beings different from other species is the ability to care about other species i.e, to think beyond survival with qualities like compassion and gratitude. We need to teach and develop such godly qualities among everyone. Nature will automatically heal once these qualities are brought out in every humans heart.
Well, Kavi, many human beings are not different from animals just by compassion. Bonobo chimps, for instance, show remarkable compassion toward other species. And elephants, parrots, and other animals also display remarkable compassion towards other species.
I do agree that better education is sorely needed. 😉
Beautiful post with great photo yes we need to be aware of the environment so all can live happily.👍
Yes, Priti, we must all do better (environmentally). 😉
With wildfires becoming more frequent and higher in number and “natural” disasters such as flooding, earthquakes, etc. increasing you’d think the naysayers would finally concede this is a man made problem. I am with you, Tom. It has become a dire situation.
Yes, Carol, it’s hard to believe that the naysayers are so blind. 😉
Unfortunately agree. My housemate doesn’t really believe in climate change. We’re heading for human disaster but I’ve decided not to think about it. It’s virtually inevitable now
Sorry that your housemate is so blind. 🤨
I agree with you Tom – you and I have discussed what mankind is doing to our environment many times in the past. We cannot undo what we have done – I wish it had not happened in our lifetime as we watch and document the eventual outcome with our eyes and ears daily. The poor birds will suffer, especially our beloved songbirds who give us joy, unknowingly gulping those particulates with every breath they sing. Your dragonfly/damselfly is blissfully unaware of it all – beautiful shot Tom.
Thanks, Linda. Yes, you and i have discussed it many times. Enjoy the birds while you can. If this continues, they won’t be around for very long, unfortunately. 🤨
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I believe dear Tom that we need by first to sake ourselves. Gaia don’t need us…we need her…
we need inner balance…we need a compassionate Heart…we need Empathy…these are not abstract concepts…it’s a state of Being…is a Way of Life.
Much LOVE to you. 🙂