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Audre Lorde Knows What I Mean – 2021 in review - 6. Part Six: Fait Accompli
.
Audre Lorde Knows What I Mean –
2021 in review
by AC Benus
“It is not always
‘the other person’
who pollutes our streams,
or litters our highways,
or throws away a match in a forest –
– or wipes out game –
– or wipes out our fishing reserves.”
—John F. Kennedy, [i]
September 24th, 1963
Part Six:
Environmental Collapse II
XXXIII.
Again, a look outside
Produces the sight of
A strange miasma
In the air.
Wood ash, diesel pollution,
Fog from the sea
All mix sadness and despair
In the air.
Morning’s First Glimpse,
Spet. 6th, 2021 [ii]
XXXIV.
The kitchen table is clean,
Its wood shining as pat as human will –
But in a mere day or two
A layer looking like the worst
Neglect of a year of no dusting
Collects and dulls its brightness,
Almost as if before my watching eyes –
My only too human eyes.
Only
– It’s not dust at all.
It’s forest fire ash. It’s the
Climate collapse
Collecting before
My only too human eyes. [iii]
XXXV.
How out of touch are we –
Surprised by every drought
Surprised by every flooding.
Meanwhile, people drown in
Subway cars in China
And nearly in New York too.
Meanwhile, reservoirs in the West
So low, hydroelectric generators
Are silent for the first time in 100 years.
How out of touch are we –
Surprised by the reality of 2021
Surprised at how bad we’ll let things become. [iv]
XXXVI.
Glasgow 2021 – Climate Summit –
Gimme a break – what a farce
What a display of hypocrisy.
Hypocrisy of the Queen addressing the conference
When She’s opted out her vast “Royal” lands
In Scotland from any – tepid – environmental regulation.
The crownèd grouse who’s asserted her “right”
To be self-governing, which makes her 100%
The same as tyrants in Russia, China, Brazil.
The Opt-Out Option has already killed the world.
So what’s the purpose of Glasgow 2021 –
Climate Summit – when it’s a farce
And a strutting display of hypocrisy. [v]
XXXVII.
It was nearly 20 years ago now
Lil Bushy Junior stood before Congress
And slurred: “’Merica’s addicted to
Furran oyle!” And what’s happened?
The real problem is, America’s addicted
To “Good News,” no matter what dire
Truths may lurk in the blight light
Of reality-based reality.
Our dependency on
“Success Stories” – is to blame.
– Like ozone control, when
There are two holes, not just
The one of 1980s concern, for now
Both North and South points have rotted away.
– Like the whales are saved, when here
Japan and the Norway hunt and slaughter
More than ever, Japan with impunity
In Australian-declared “Protected” waters.
– Like the rainforests are safe, when now
It doesn’t matter. In Brazil, in the
Last 15 years, they’ve all been slashed and burned
While we watched; right before our eyes.
Such “Success Stories” may ease
Stupid consciences in fat countries
But will be the death of the world
Through “Feel Good” Addictions
And “XYZ are Saved!” dependencies. [vi]
XXXVIII.
For the ecological year
That was 2021 – a headline
Somehow can make it clear:
“Blizzard warnings issued for
Hawaii with a least 12 inches of
Snow forecast.”
Perhaps future eyes reading this
Won’t make such a fuss – after all
They may see it and think nothing’s amiss. [vii]
XXXIX.
Insect collapse, it’s a fait accompli,
And if you don’t believe me, look and see –
Birds around the world, dying in their droves.
And up next for the great cull that will be,
A third of fresh-water fish, fancy free,
Will starve as we sit and watch them decompose.
Not a third en masse, but a panoply
Of every species has a guarantee
To go the way of the extinct dodos.
So this lai, I sing for you must agree
The death sentence Man issues by decree
Is on Himself, while stupid people doze. [viii]
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[i] Note for the Part Six Epigraph:
“It is not always the other person who pollutes” John F. Kennedy remarks delivered to the Institute for Conservation, reprinted in Pegs to Hang Ideas on; a Book of Quotations [Marjorie Weiser, Editor] (New York 1973), p. 247
https://archive.org/details/pegstohangideaso0000weis/page/246/mode/2up
[ii] Notes for Verse No. 33 (XXXIII):
“Morning’s First Glimpse, Sept. 6th, 2021”
Crazy, record-wrecking weather. See Jacob Feuerstein’s December 27th, 2021, article Historic U.S. Weather Events in 2021, by the Numbers posted on washingtonpost.com
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/12/27/2021-weather-records/
[iii] Notes for Verse No. 34 (XXXIV):
“The kitchen table is clean”
Relentless forest- and wild fires. See Gabrielle Canon’s December 25th, 2021, article What the Numbers Tells [sic] Us About a Catastrophic Year of Wildfires posted on theguardian.com
[iv] Notes for Verse No. 35 (XXXV):
“How out of touch are we”
Subway car drownings. See Sinéad Baker’s July 22nd, 2021, article Desperate Texts Show People Pleading for Help Inside Flooded Subway Trains in China, Where 12 People Drowned posted on insider.com
https://www.insider.com/desperate-texts-stuck-china-zhengzhou-flooded-subway-12-died-2021-7
Drownings in New York. See Christopher Maag’s September 2nd, 2021, article Ida: New York City Reels from Surprise Flooding and Drowning Deaths posted on northjersey.com
[v] Notes for Verse No. 36 (XXXVI):
“Glasgow 2021 – Climate Summit”
Summit overview. See Dan Charles’ November 1st, 2021, article The COP26 Summit to Fight Climate Change Has Started: Here’s What to Expect posted on npr.org
https://www.npr.org/2021/10/25/1047617334/cop26-summit-climate-change-un-glasgow
Queenly opt-out. See Rob Evans / David Pegg’s July 28th, 2021, article Queen Secretly Lobbied Scottish Ministers for Climate Law Exemption: Monarch Used Secretive Procedure to be Only Person in Country Not Bound by a Green Energy Rule posted on theguardian.com
– Makes her a ‘comrade’ with KGB Putin and his opt-out power as well. See Jennifer Peltz’s December 13th, 2021, article Russia Vetoes UN Resolution Linking Climate Change, Security re-posted on abcnews.go.com
[vi] Notes for Verse No. 37 (XXXVII):
“It was nearly 20 years ago now”
Lil Bushy Jr.’s oyle slur. See David Sandalow’s February 3rd, 2006, article President Bush and Oil Addiction posted on brookings.edu
https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/president-bush-and-oil-addiction/
Now there are TWO holes in the ozone. See Jeremy Deaton’s October 9th, 2021, article Research Sheds Light on How Unusual North Pole Ozone Hole Formed Last Year posted on washingtonpost.com
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/10/09/north-pole-ozone-hole-studies/
Japan’s current whale slaughter. See a number of articles on the Whale and Dolphin Conservation USA’s webpage Whaling in Japan – where that nation's 2021 killing season is quoted as 171 minke whales, 187 Bryde whales, and 25 sei whales, a majority of whom were pregnant females – posted on whales.org
https://us.whales.org/our-4-goals/stop-whaling/whaling-in-japan/
Norway’s 2021 whale cull. See The Animal Welfare Institute’s February 23rd, 2021, press release Norway Continues Whale Slaughter with 2021 Hunting Quota – which is quoted as 1,278 minke whales – posted on awionline.org
https://awionline.org/press-releases/norway-continues-whale-slaughter-2021-hunting-quota
– Please see [14] Note for Verse No. 17 (XVII):
“Why should I be shocked?—” for the Amazon forest devastation, which now past the point of recovery
[vii] Notes for Verse No. 38 (XXXVIII):
“For the ecological year”
More than a foot of snow for Hawaii. See Meredith Deliso’s December 3rd, 2021, article Blizzard Warnings Issued for Hawaii with at Least 12 Inches of Snow Forecast: Wind Gusts Over 100 mph Are Also Anticipated on the Big Island posted abcnews.go.com
https://abcnews.go.com/US/blizzard-warning-issued-hawaii-12-inches-snow-forecast/story?id=81542659
[viii] Notes for Verse No. 39 (XXXIX): Lai
“Insect collapse, it’s a fait accompli”
Insect collapse. See Dave Goulson’s July 25th, 2021, article The Insect Apocalypse, ‘Our World Will Grind to a Halt Without Them’: Insects Have Declined by 75% in the Past 50 Years posted on theguardian.com
The great fish kill-off. See Craig Raleigh’s March 3rd, 2021, article A Third of All Freshwater Fish Face Extinction, According to New Research posted on wideopenspaces.com
https://www.wideopenspaces.com/third-of-all-freshwater-fish-face-extinction/
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