Hi.
It’s been a while. 1693 days since my last log in with this account. I have been reading DK more and more since September 2016, and relied heavily on the election meter on the night of the last presidential election. I also heaved, and barfed, and hyperventilated at 6a.m. my time on 9 November, while reading Kos’ diary on the outcome of the election.
Now, I am back. I want to contribute my voice. I will protest on 22 April for the Science March. I am making a sign that will say, “Science trumps ideology”. Where I live, a lot of folks have English as a second language so not sure how this will go over. I will take photos to share here in a diary after the protest.
I have also decided since the election to not give in. To refine my career focus a bit. I am going back to school in September to obtain an MSc in Marine Environmental Protection. My work contract ended 31 March, and I am planning to move for school. I want to be part of the “pro-science, pro-knowledge, pro-climate change adaptation and mitigation, pro-environment, pro-human-and-environmental-rights, pro-oceans, pro-advocacy, pro-science communications” side of things. I also don’t want to spend the next 25 years of my career feeling stifled and unable to advocate. (How to Win the War on Science: www.marchforscience.com/...)
The above image is one that I took on the day I decided to make these big changes. I was visiting Favignana, a small island off of Sicily (my grandfather’s home until he was 16 when he left for America with his brothers). On this island I collected in 15 minutes a pound of beach glass, and tried to pick up a lot of plastic trash to take to a bin near the beach. It was futile. Not until tourist season does this beach get cleaned up and even then, there is still a lot of trash, plastic etc that goes into the water, into the food chain, into the ecosystem. Trash collection (let alone recycling) in and around Sicily is… interesting. Like a lot of places in the world, the infrastructure, governance, consumerism/poverty, and practical aspects don’t line up well, and are less-than-ideally managed.
So many of the world’s beaches are polluted. The beaches, the rivers, the oceans, the glaciers. This is why I want to study Marine Environmental Protection. (see this article today on glacier pollution, running into rivers: www.cipra.org/...)
So….with this short diary, I want to say a huge thank you to the DK community of all you amazing people, (yes, you!)...so many of whom I have been reading recently and feeling the pull to come back to contribute my viewpoint. I was outraged during the Bush Jr years. I am beyond outrage overload now, I am ready to fight the war on science, the war on the environment, the war on human rights...now, more than ever. I’ve added a poll on hope below, to ask you guys what you are hopeful for in the current US and global situations...
Future diaries will wrap up my last few months in Geneva and will then focus on life in Wales. After that, who knows? I have a lot to share and hope to be able to support this community well. Thanks!