Southern Bookman

Saltwater "wedge" threatens New Orleans water

In the latest dystopian news, a saltwater "wedge" creeping up the Mississippi River threatens to contaminate New Orleans' water supply.

The salt intrusion from the Gulf of Mexico is scheduled to arrive in a few weeks, rendering the water unsafe for drinking, showering, and sprinkling on lawns.

After hurricanes, floods, government corruption, crime and extreme heat, New Orleans now must overcome the saltwater invasion, the result of a persistent drought that has lowered Mississippi water levels.

To counter the threat, the U.S. Corps of Engineers plans to send 36 million gallons of freshwater a day to city utilities. The corps will use barges to transport the treated water from the upper Mississippi.

While the corps action sounds effective, it could further deplete the river's water if the drought worsens.

The corps is also finishing a "sill," or underwater levee, that will partially block the salt attack. The sill has an opening for river ships, which will allow some salt to pass through.

Southern Louisiana for years has been losing vast amounts of land to the Gulf of Mexico. Salt heading up the river is something new.

Gumbo cooks might no longer need so much seasoning.

 

Emperor penguins disappearing as Antarctic ice melts

The Antarctic's beloved emperor penguins no longer survive across their ancient home.

No chicks lived last year in four out of five of the noble species' colonies near the Bellingshausen Sea in the western part of the continent, according to a report published Thursday in the journal Nature Communities Earth & Environment.

Thousands of young penguins died in the four colonies, the report said. The Antarctic's 62 penguin colonies have suffered losses of 30 percent since 2018, scientists estimate.

As sea ice disappears, the little birds are thrust in into the sea before they can develop mature, life-sustaining feathers.

Imagine the emptiness of the vast, once frozen landscape. The silence.

As the melting escalates, more than 90 percent of the emperor penguins are threatened with "quasi-extinction" by 2100, scientists say.

Emperor penguins will be gone from the world, along with polar bears, elephants and other species.

Artificial intelligence will likely kill humans off too. The computers will beep along in their lifeless, virtual world.

 

 

Extreme heat threatens human life in southern Louisiana

The late August heat wave will push Atlanta temperatures to the upper 90s this week, with a heat index of 105 or above.

Climate change has permanently come.

The heat is even worse in my native Louisiana, expected to record its highest temperatures ever this week.

My hometown, Baton Rouge, will reach an unbelievable 104 Wednesday, with the heat index 115. When I was growing up, summers were monstrous, but the temperatures rarely rose about 90. The state has never seen such heat, mixed with its oppressive humidity.

It'll be even worse in Lafayette, the Cajun capital, which will hit 106 Wednesday, with the heat index 116. New Orleans and Shreveport will also enter a new reality of extreme heat.

These conditions will grow even worse in coming years, if steps are not taken to reduce carbon emissions.

Southern Louisiana, beset by the loss of land to the Gulf of Mexico and ravaged by killer hurricanes, will no longer support human life in a few years.

A distinctive culture of music, food, language and literature will be gone forever.

 

100 degree days now the norm in Southern Louisiana

Summer days were hot and humid when I was growing up in Baton Rouge.

After a brief rain every afternoon, the hot asphalt smoldered. The thick, moist air was like a steam bath.

Yet the temperature rarely rose above 90 degrees. Humidity was the worst part of summer.

But this year, temperatures in Baton Rouge rise above 100 degrees every day, according to The New York Times' daily list of weather forecasts for American cities. New Orleans and Shreveport also regularly break the century barrier, along with Texas cities Austin, Houston, San Antonio and Dallas.

Readings of nearly 120 degrees are recorded each day in Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tuscon.

I wonder how my family members in Louisiana cope with such high heat. The LSU Tigers' football practices must risk the players' health.

When I was growing up, I played golf and endured two-a-day high school football practices in the summer heat and humidity.

Yet the temperature never broke the 100-degree mark. Now, that's the norm in the old Mississippi River town.

 

East Atlanta neighborhoods fighting police training center

East Atlanta neighborhoods near I-20 along the Moreland Avenue corridor strongly oppose Atlanta's massive police training center.

I was impressed during a weekend visit to the area at the number of yard signs opposing the $90 million training center already under construction at an 85-acre site at the South River environmental area.

During the afternoon in Little Five Points and Ormewood Park, several canvassers passed by asking bystanders to sign copies of a petition seeking a citywide vote on the project, approved by the Atlanta City Council after hours of protest at a recent meeting.

A federal judge this week gave opponents additional time to gather signatures in favor of an election. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and the city council say the petition is invalid, but a Georgia Supreme Court ruling several years ago allowed Camden County voters to decide on a proposed space project.

The training center, already under construction at the wooded area in south DeKalb County where environmental protesters clashed with police for months and a young activist was killed by police, is not receiving much attention in Buckhead, in contrast to the recent campaign to make the affluent Northside community a separate city.

Voter apathy in neighborhoods outside of east Atlanta increases the anti-training center groups' chances of winning an election, if the petition drive is successful.

Dickens and the city council will likely file a suit to stop an election on the training center, even if enough signatures are gained.

With work on the training center already under way, the project might already be near completion before legal issues are resolved.

Wildflowers give gift of summer beauty

The wildflowers have grown tall in our front yard.

They sway in the wind, their blossoms affirming Christ's tribute to the lilies of the field.

Last year, purple and orange flowers appeared after a first planting. This summer, delicate yellow petals have arrived, contrasting with the pine straw that covers the sloping land. 

We live surrounded by nature in the midst of a big city. Deer run through our back yard, bounded by patches of forest. Owls cry their love songs, and bluebirds and cardinals bring flashes of color. Yesterday, a hawk flew overhead. Rodents and poisonous snakes are also present.

The wildflowers like art invite contemplation. Nature's beauty tells us that life is precious.

 

A power outage on a hot afternoon

I had just entered the checkout line when the supermarket plunged into darkness.

Near-100 degree heat had knocked out power across North Buckhead. The cash registers not working, the manager asked everyone to exit the store, leaving their groceries behind.

Some customers stood outside on the sidewalk, hoping normal operations would return soon and they could complete their dinner purchases. But the darkness lingered.

Driving home, I wondered if the outage was a forewarning of super-hot summers to come. Perhaps the blackout would last for hours.

The power was out at my house as well. Without air conditioning, the living room already felt stuffy. Trying to make the best of the situation, I started to read by the natural light coming through the windows.

But this was not a real emergency. After about an hour, all of our beloved appliances were back. Georgia Power's rates keep rising to alarming heights, but the company does respond quickly to outages.

We're not Texas, by god. The air conditioning worked at full capacity, and a night of television awaited.

 

 

 

"Oppenheimer" shows need for urgent global action against climate change

The world's relentless heat adds urgency to the apocalyptic message of Christopher Nolan's film "Oppenheimer."

Atlanta's heat was relatively mild Sunday afternoon when we saw the three-hour film at the reopened Tara Theater.  The temperature will rise this week to the mid-90s, with the heat index above 100.

In Nolan's film about the conflicted physicist who led America's development of the atomic bomb in World War II, much is made of the scientists believing that the test firing of the weapon in the Nevada desert could ignite the world's atmosphere.

The movie ends with Oppenheimer, hauntingly portrayed by Cillian Murphy, telling Albert Einstein that the advent of nuclear weapons did imperil the world.

With Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the threat of nuclear warfare rises even higher. As the United States and NATO escalate military support for Ukraine and Russian troops suffer continued losses, fears increase that Russian leader Vladimir Putin will use atomic weapons. Ukrainian nuclear power plants have been damaged, raising concerns about a nuclear disaster.

The soaring temperatures, flooding and wildfires make clear that climate change is advancing beyond human control.

A massive global campaign like Oppenheimer's Manhattan project is needed to save humanity from the worst ravages of climate change. The world must act now to cut emissions and end the reliance on fossil fuels.

Like the Los Alamos clock ticking down to the first nuclear explosion, the world is running out of time. The atmosphere is igniting, as Oppenheimer's scienctists/warriors feared.

 

Hot enough for you?

Tuesday was the hottest day in world history.

The average global temperature of 62.92 degrees Fahrenheit broke Monday's previous record of 62.62 degrees.

Scientists blamed climate change, summer and our old friend, El Nino.

The heat index in Texas and Louisiana has reached up to 125 degrees. Southern summers have always been hot, but not like this.

Africa, Europe and the Mideast burned, as did China and even the the Arctic.

Temperatures are expected to keep rising. Phoenix, Las Vegas, Mexico City and other cities will soon be uninhabitable. They are also running out of water. Miami and New Orleans will boil while sinking into the ocean. Thunderstorms and wildfires will worsen.

The world's running a dangerous fever.

 

 

 

A baby deer, not yet afraid

I had a close encounter with a baby deer the other day.

When I walked down to our swimming pool to remove the hose after raising the pool's water level, I saw a frightened deer dash into the woods by our back yard.

That must have been the baby's mother, frightened by my approach. In a moment, I saw the baby deer walking toward me, all alone.

When the little Bambi came within a couple of feet from me, I tried to shoo it away.

But the fawn was totally unafraid, showing no reaction. At last, the small deer walked past me and headed up the hill. I supposed that it had not yet learned fear.

The small deer's innocence contrasted with the skittishness that older deer exhibit when they wander into our back yard. A shout sends the adult animals running. 

I hope the baby deer reunited with its mother and remains fearless for a while longer. All too soon it will become aware of a dangerous world.