Still waiting...

Worldwide (Map) 

May 20, 2021 – 164,620,000 confirmed infections; 3,413,350 deaths
Vaccinations: this week - 1,536,031,895; last week - 1,357,850,000
March 25, 2021 – 124,894,200 confirmed infections; 2,746,000 deaths
January 28, 2021 – 100,920,100 confirmed infections; 2,175,500 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 82,656000 confirmed infections; 1,8040100 deaths

US (Map) 
May 20, 2021 – 33,026,300 confirmed infections; 587,870 deaths
March 25, 2021 – 30,011,600 confirmed infections; 545,300 deaths
January 28, 2021 – 25,600,000 confirmed infections; 429,160 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 19,737,200 confirmed infections; 342,260 deaths

SA (Tracker) 
May 20, 2021 – 1,621,370 confirmed infections; 55,510 deaths
March 25, 2021 – 1,540,010, confirmed infections; 52,372 deaths
January 28, 2021 – 1,430,650 confirmed infections; 42,550 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 1,039,165 confirmed infections; 28,035 deaths

Tracking Covid-19:

• Tracking Covid-19 vaccinations worldwide 



© Nick Andeson, Tribune Content Agency

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New! The Franklin Project  (2:40 mins)
The Lincoln Project: Allegiance (0:25 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

The Plastic Waste Makers index  reveals the companies who produce the polymers that become throwaway plastic items, from face masks to plastic bags and bottles, which at the end of their short life pollute the oceans or are burned or thrown into landfill.
Australia leads a list of countries for generating the most single-use plastic waste on a per capita basis, ahead of the United States, South Korea and Britain.
ExxonMobil is the greatest single-use plastic waste polluter in the world, contributing 5.9m tonnes to the global waste mountain…. The largest chemicals company in the world, Dow, which is based in the US, created 5.5m tonnes of plastic waste, while China’s oil and gas enterprise, Sinopec, created 5.3m tonnes.
Eleven of the companies are based in Asia, four in Europe, three in North America, one in Latin America, and one in the Middle East. Their plastic production is funded by leading banks, chief among which are Barclays, HSBC, Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase.

Read “Twenty firms produce 55% of world’s plastic waste, report reveals. Plastic Waste Makers index identifies those driving climate crisis with virgin polymer production” >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Last minute jitters. This will be the very last time I travel via a third party. Next time I go directly to the airline to reserve a ticket.
This, because the third party agent I’ve used for the last few years – FlyUs – has done a MISERABLE job of responding to my queries. First, they cancelled my flight last year – due to Covid lockdown so understandable. But anytime I’ve tried to contact them since then, there’s been a wall of silence. Cannot phone them – “due to increase in call volume… call back later”. No satisfaction via email – a wall of website “loops”. The message on My Booking states my flights are “not confirmed” yet also, somehow, confirmed. So which is it? Just now, tried to contact the airline directly to get some sort of coherence on the status of my flights.
Moreover, to add to my insecurity, “The biggest mistakes travelers make right now” 
I can’t help feeling the more I look forward to returning to California, the less secure I feel about actually getting there. It is almost exactly a year since my flight was cancelled due to lockdown. A lot has happened in this year. What if it’s not over for me? What if something else delays my flight this time? What if….

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Other than fretting? I’m prepping the garden for winter, raking up leaves and grass clippings and spreading them as mulch over strawberries, iris, succulents, you name it.
And, inevitably, trying to foresee what can/will go off course while I’m away and forestall it. This includes ensuring I engage “someone” to renew vehicle licenses – due August 31. Turns out, an enterprising local woman has made a business of standing in line for people like me. Her motto? I que for you. I’ll fill out the paperwork and leave it with her to “que” for me – and my mother – to ensure our vehicle paperwork is completed on time.

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Getting darker here…
Feb 26: sunrise 5:47am; sunset 6:33pm.
March 2: sunrise 5:50am; sunset 6:29pm.
March 14: sunrise 5:58am; sunset 6:15pm.
March 29: sunrise 6:07am; sunset 5:58pm.
April 1: sunrise 6:09am; sunset 5:54pm.
April 15: sunrise 6:18am; sunset 5:39pm.
April 25: sunrise 6:23am; sunset 5:30pm.
May 1: sunrise 6:27am; sunset 5:24pm.
May 15: sunrise 6:35am; sunset 5:15pm.
May 20: sunrise 6:39am; sunset 5:12pm.