With so many people suffering from catastrophic climate change throughout the world, it probably sounds petty of me to complain that environmental conditions in my own neck of the woods have had an adverse affect on this little blogging enterprise.
Two episodes of toxic smoke from Canadian wildfires worsened my asthma. And in between the smoke events, there was that "thousand-year" rainstorm here in the Hudson Valley. To cap it all off, my apartment's 15-year-old rooftop HVAC system failed last week, sending indoor temps soaring into the 80s at times. The corporate landlord's response was abysmal, to say the least. The property management's business model is that as long as they are "seen trying" to address an emergency caused by their own lack of maintenance, they were in the clear. They kindly advised me to simply open a window, as they lackadaisically dispatched one unqualified handyman after another, only to to give up in defeat. At the end of Day Four, a certified HVAC specialist finally discovered that the problem was caused by a corroded switch within the rooftop unit.
This episode is, of course, just one microcosm of the class war of predatory capitalists against the have-nots. An article (paywalled) in The Washington Post blithely recommended sufferers to exhibit some good old American can-doism by.... you guessed it.... opening a window. And how about those allegedly ubiquitous cooling centers that people lacking transportation are supposed to so easily and magically access?
Rather than declare a climate emergency, Joe Biden also went the neoliberal "resilience" route, promising the sweltering folks better weather forecasting and maybe even some free government water - once dire need is proven.
So anyway, my apologies for the lack of posts this month. But now that I am starting to get my physical and mental strength back, I think (hope) that August will be better.
Thanks, everybody, for continuing to visit the site. It will always be free, for as long as it exists.
