One multigenerational family takes on Climate Change and celebrates each other

My email inbox is full of newsletters, many of which I never get to until time to sweep the entire batch into the tiny little trash can.  Today I was doing the clean up and I saw an interesting article about happiness in Science News.  It basically outlines a model for considering what it takes to lead a good life.  Apparently psychologists looked at this historically as a dichotomy- people who lived a good life took one of two paths that sometimes overlapped; the first path being one of happiness (joy, comfort and security) and the second being one of meaning (significance, purpose and order).  The article reports the work of a psychologist proposing a third path taken by a substantial minority of us which embraces curiosity, variety and creativity that they term the psychologically rich path to a good life.  It is an interesting look at the choices we make.  Here is the link if you want to explore it:   Perspective-changing experiences, good or ...

Interesting article with some good info and ideas ( https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_61268ecde4b0f562f3d9f07b ). Here are some highlights: If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the constant, dire news of record-breaking heat, fires and floods, here’s what you can do, according to climate scientists.   “We are now in an all-hands-on-deck moment,” said Anthony Leiserowitz, director of Yale University’s program on climate change communication . “We need everybody doing everything they can, at the individual level, community level, national government and business level. This is all of society.” Climate experts shared some ideas for simple steps you can take now to get more engaged: Join a group.  Conservation psychologist Susan Clayton suggested finding a group to join — or creating one of your own — whether its purpose is discussion, activism or community. “Everyone thinks, what can an individual do? But think of a vote. Does a single vote make a difference in an election? Almost n...

 I read the New York Times on Sundays.  A low calorie treat.  This week there was an editorial that I wanted to share about climate: Opinion | After Greta Thunberg’s Strike, Adults Are Still Failing Children on Climate Change - The New York Times (nytimes.com) Some quotes of interest:   "For children and young people, climate change is the single greatest threat to our futures." "The Children's Climate Risk Index provides the first comprehensive view of where and how this crisis effect children. It finds that virtually every child on the planet is exposed to at least one climate or environmental hazard right now.  A staggering 850 million, about a third of the world's children are exposed to four or more climate or environmental hazards, including heat waves, cyclones, air pollution, flooding or water scarcity." "We are in a crisis of crises.  A pollution crisis.  A climate crisis.  A children's rights crisis.  We will not allow the worl...

It was great to see everyone that could make it to last night's call.  Jonny and his ever-lengthening beard provided lots of entertainment.  As Caitie said, it was great to be able to laugh with each other.  We had technical difficulties getting Grandma on and I will work with her this week to make that smoother.  My bad for not thinking of it sooner.  Athena's move was delayed so we were able to see Megan.  Now that the participants know what the call is about we will see next week whether they show up again, and bring other family members.  Our Changing Coastlines I thought I would share NASA's tool for evaluating the changes caused by rising water levels as our glaciers and polar caps continue to melt.  Then, once I got started I found other tools.  You may want to take a look at what happens to various coastal locations near and dear to your life, such as Ocean Park, Bellingham, Half Moon Bay, New York. Surging Seas: Sea level rise analys...

 Today's News One of the features of our blog will be a piece of daily news involving the climate.  Here we go: US declares first water shortage on Colorado River amid historic drought; cuts expected for Arizona farmers (msn.com) The federal government on Monday  declared the first water shortage  on the Colorado River, announcing mandatory cutbacks next year that will bring major challenges for Arizona farmers and reduce the water allotments of Nevada and Mexico. Love, Deanne

Thoughts on our Purpose In some respects we are an ordinary family starting with our 87 year old matriarch and a large batch of her (mostly retired) daughters and daughter-in-laws, some of whom are mothers to the working millennial generation and grandmothers to the youngest of our family who range from babies to college students.  The senior men in our family, grandfathers, fathers and uncles have passed on, so the remaining elders are all women supported and loved by the men they gave birth to, those that joined us through marriage and the next generations of women leaders.  In other respects we are extraordinary; we have a cultural psychologist, an entrepreneur, management consultants, a nonprofit leader, superb teachers, a security expert, a few musicians and sales, HR, accounting, marketing and customer service executives.  Although a modest bunch, we have wide ranging skills and talents in such things as analysis, project management, public speaking, finance and acc...