Hey, Must Be the Money!

 

Check, check, yo, I know something you don't know
And I've got something to tell ya
You won't believe how many people straight doubted the flow.
            *          *          *

Oh why must I feel this way, (Hey, must be the money) . . ..*

 

Global warming is real. Climate change is real. Read the signs. Feel the heat. Or as the good book says, “Whoever has ears, let them hear.” A major American political party doesn’t want or care to listen. Oh, why do they feel that way? Hey, must be the money!

In his 2015 Encyclical Letter, “Laudato Si,” Pope Francis noted that, “Climate change is a global problem with grave implications,” and that:

[A] number of scientific studies indicate that most global warming in recent decades is due to the great concentration of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxides and others) released mainly as a result of human activity.

Eight years later, in October 2023 Pope Francis issued another environmentally focused Letter, titled, “Laudate Deum.” In that letter, Francis states:

Despite all attempts to deny, conceal, gloss over or relativize the issue, the signs of climate change are here and increasingly evident.

Furthermore, he concludes, “It is no longer possible to doubt the human – ‘anthropic’ – origin of climate change.” While he has hope that climate change can be addressed by international dialogue, Francis notes that “Despite the many negotiations and agreements, global emissions continue to increase.” He worries that, “the necessary transition towards clean energy sources such as wind and solar energy, and the abandonment of fossil fuels, is not progressing at the necessary speed.”

COP28 took place shortly after the release of Laudate Deum. Despite the Pope’s concern that the conference was being hosted by the United Arab Emirates, “a great exporter of fossil fuels,” he hoped it could “represent a change in direction.” Otherwise, Francis feared, “it will be a great disappointment and jeopardize whatever good has been achieved thus far.”

COP28 was a disappointment to those who want countries to take immediate steps to prevent the continued buildup of greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere. Language proposing a full phase-out of fossil fuels by participating nations was rejected in favor of a non-binding commitment to transition away from fossil fuels. But at least for the first time, there was agreement that the burning of fossil fuels is the primary contributor to climate change. However, the deaf ears of Republican Party leaders in the United States failed to hear this conclusion.

At his campaign rallies Donald Trump, the likely Republican nominee for President, trots out the 2008 campaign slogan, “Drill, baby, drill.” If Trump is elected, he will likely follow the strategic plan concocted by Conservative think tanks titled, “Project 2025.” According to Lisa Friedman’s August 2023 article for the New York Times:

The plan calls for shredding regulations to curb greenhouse gas pollution from cars, oil and gas wells and power plants, dismantling almost every clean energy program in the federal government and boosting the production of fossil fuels — the burning of which is the chief cause of planetary warming.

One may wonder why Republican leaders fight so hard against efforts to address climate change. The Open Secrets website lists top recipients of campaign contributions from the fossil fuels industry. Not surprisingly, the top ten recipients are Republican politicians and include Donald Trump and Nikki Haley.

So, why do Republican leaders deny what nearly all scientists say about climate change? Why do they ignore what Pope Francis has said, not once, but twice?

Hey, must be the money!

 

* “Ride Wit Me,” 2001, Cornell Haynes (Nelly), Jason Epperson, William DeBarge, Eldra DeBarge, Lavell Webb (City Spud), Etterlene Jordan

We Can Work it Out

Life is very short and there’s no time

For fussing and fighting, my friend . . ..* 

I have a Medicare Advantage Plan that offers a free gym membership. My wife and I picked one of the area gyms, or “fitness centers.” We have been going sporadically for the past year or so.

For most of my life, I have diligently tried to avoid such places. As a schoolboy, I was typically one of the last chosen when the gym teacher had the best athletes pick boys to form teams. In high school, I was happy to find any excuse to cut my phys ed class. As a freshman in college, I chose ROTC over a physical education/swimming class though I had no intention of joining the army while the fighting continued in Viet Nam.

I began my professional career in the early 1980s – a few years after people began jogging, and fitness became a thing. Around that time, fitness centers or “health spas” began to spring up around the country. Some of the fellows I worked with persuaded me to join the YMCA which offered exercise classes and a few stationary bicycles. After a few months, I decided I’d rather spend my lunch hour taking a walk in the fresh air rather than sweating indoors with a bunch of smelly men.

I continued my lunchtime strolls for the rest of my career as many of my colleagues joined fitness clubs to exercise and network with other like-minded professionals. When asked if I exercise, I would jokingly respond, “Yes, I exercise. I exercise my right to not work out.” I just didn’t get the exercise thing. Certainly, I never saw my parents jog or work out. Yes, I remember those ads featuring Charles Atlas, but I had no desire to work myself into a muscle-bound freak.

I did enjoy taking walks, and after I retired, lunchtime rambles helped to clear my mind and inspire me to write. Often, I would take a book with me and sit in the sun to read for a half hour before hiking back home. As I approached Medicare eligibility, the small town where I lived provided plenty of quiet streets to traipse about.

Age began to take its toll. I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and pre-diabetes, and taking long walks became more of a requirement than a simple pleasure. Then came the COVID pandemic during which I packed on fifteen extra pounds.

So, when the opportunity to join a fitness club for free presented itself, I decided to take it. I even signed up for weekly sessions with a personal trainer and joined a yoga class. Why? While I’d like to lose some of that pandemic weight gain, I’m more concerned about strengthening deteriorating muscles, increasing flexibility, maintaining mobility and lowering my cholesterol, blood pressure, and risk of diabetes.

 It’s true that my father didn’t work out, but he died of a heart attack at 78. I recently turned 70. As the song goes, life is very short and there’s no time, for fussing and fighting. Just go to that gym!

* “We Can Work it Out,” John Lennon & Paul McCartney, ©1965