Guy Fawkes

News blues…

In Britain and out there in the former British colonies, We the People celebrate Guy Fawkes, aka Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night, and Fireworks Night on 5 November. This celebration derives from 5 November 1605 when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding explosives the Catholica plotters had placed beneath the House of Lords to assassinate Protestant King James I and his parliament. Celebrating that the king had survived, people lit bonfires around London; and months later, the introduction of the Observance of 5th November Act enforced an annual public day of thanksgiving for the plot's failure. More on this history >> 
The day also marks the day during South Africa’s Second Boer War when an effigy of Paul Kruger, then President of the South African Republic, was burned in public for the first time.

Healthy planet, anyone?

“It’s our lives on the line” Thousands of young protesters marched through the streets of Glasgow to demand urgent action from world leaders at the U.N. climate conference and stave off catastrophic climate change.

…campaigners and pressure groups have been underwhelmed by the commitments made so far, many of which are voluntary, exclude the biggest polluters, or set deadlines decades away.
"We are in a disaster that is happening every day," activist Vanessa Nakate said of life in her home country Uganda, which has one of the fastest changing climates in the world. "We cannot keep quiet about climate injustice."
Read more >> 

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Something to plan for: Half world’s fossil fuel assets could become worthless by 2036 in net zero transition >> 

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Not a conspiracy theory: the energy charter treaty (ECT) allows energy corporations to sue governments for billions over policies that could hurt their profits.

… New data … shows a surge in cases under the energy charter treaty (ECT), an obscure international agreement that allows energy corporations to sue governments over policies that could hurt their profits.
Coal and oil investors are already suing governments for several billions in compensation for lost profits over energy policy changes. For example, the German energy company RWE is suing the Netherlands for €1.4bn (£1.2bn) over its plans to phase out coal, while Rockhopper Exploration, based in the UK, is suing the Italian government after it banned new drilling near the coast.
“It’s a real threat [to the Paris agreement]. It’s the biggest threat I am aware of,” said Yamina Saheb, a former employee of the ECT secretariat who quit in 2018 to raise the alarm.
Read  more >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

With Covid, climate change, lack of effective action on any front that matters in the grand scheme of things… these days, life is a challenge.
But look around you. Notice the moment-by-moment gifts presented to humans as we go about our day. Here’s my “back yard” – a public park and marine preserve – that is particularly gorgeous this time of year. 

Take the time to notice your surroundings … and give thanks by, maybe, picking up and disposing of a plastic bag or discarded plastic bottle….

Coots, aka mud hens, love the marina this time of year.

In California, the sun rose at 7:40 am and set at 6:05am.
In South Africa, the sun rose at 5:01am and will set at 6:23am.