I have an exceptional hairdresser – Tara always makes me look as good as is humanly possible. She cannot work miracles so my hair is the only highlight. Like many service professionals she has polished her interpersonal skills and is always entertaining. As we discussed friends and family and staying in touch she mentioned a voice app that she and her sisters use to leave quick up dates and keep up on the “sitch”. I got permission to write about it because it was new to me. Turns out we can credit Kim Possible for this slang catchphrase, “so like, what’s the sitch” or in boomer terms what is the situation. Kim is the heroine of an early 2000 animated series. She looks like an average high school cheerleader, but in her spare time she saves the world from supervillains.
Following in Kim’s footsteps, and on the heels of women’s protests in streets across the country (and maybe a bit of the #MeToo movement), there are more women running for office than ever before. Frustrated with the state of leadership in their own districts or states, women are sacrificing a lot to run for political office. That’s the “sitch” in our country today. I would be very comfortable with representation that is more gender and age balanced.
Unfortunately, there is lots of depressing news each day to keep us vigilant. Yes, the ice caps are melting for whatever reason you choose to embrace. Fact is we need to cool down the earth a bit or significantly slow the warming. Many coastlines will be dramatically changed if the projected rise in ocean water occurs. I was thinking solar umbrella – turns out that’s not too practical. Scientists looked at the aftermath of a volcanic eruption and the cooling effects of the ash as it reflects heat back into space. A variety of radical ideas fall under the Geoengineering scope. It is far too complex for me to describe so I will quote Frank Keutsch – co author of a new study on the topic who said: “essentially, we ended up with an antacid for the stratosphere.” After much experimentation, Calcite aerosol is injected into the stratosphere and reflects light back into space while actively repairing the ozone by neutralizing the acids caused by pollution. The question for us is do we want another painkiller type solution or should we accelerate our search for ways to inhabit the planet and protect it for the future. Seems like both are in order, regardless of your view on climate change.
In an equally important note, today we turn our attention to Phil as the world looks to a groundhog to predict the short term weather future. I realize meteorology has proven less than dependable so this makes perfect sense. Two thoughts for the day, “we are all broken, that’s how the light gets in” Ernest Hemingway. And to put the “sitch” in perspective, Buddha reminds us,”the trouble is, you think you have time.”