Aug. 21, 2026
Editor: H.R. Moody
“I can understand pessimism, but I don’t believe in it. It’s not simply a matter of faith, but of historical evidence. Not overwhelming evidence, just enough to give hope, because for hope we don’t need certainty, only possibility.”
-Howard Zinn
In This Issue:
To Remain Human (poem by Brian Lewis)
Maybe We Need Human Intelligence?
Trump Talk
Weather or Climate?
Good News about Climate
Recommended Reading
Items of Interest
A Little Laughter: “Vote Him Away”
Coming Events
The nervous system
was never designed
to carry the grief
of an entire planet
Yet here we are
A child starving
crosses our screen
between weather reports
and advertisements
Forests burn beside stock prices
Wars arrive
in the same hand
that holds photographs
of our grandchildren
And somewhere inside us
something ancient
keeps trying
to respond
This is the exhaustion
few know how to name
Not simply stress
Not simply fear
But the unbearable collision
between the human heart
and the scale
of modern awareness
We were meant
to know the sorrow
of the village
Now we are asked
to metabolize
the suffering
of civilizations
And many are drowning
Some in rage
Some in distraction
Some in endless performance
Some in irony so thick
it becomes a shield
against feeling anything real
Others quietly disappear
inside themselves
their spirits dimming
beneath the constant demand
to remain informed
productive
available
certain…
More about Brian Lewis at: https://www.thesunlightpress.com/author/brian-lewis/
E.C. Escher
Artificial Intelligence: Can it help the climate crisis or will it make it worse?
“AI’s climate problem is worse than we thought” It’s not just data centers:
See also: “Will AI derail global climate goals?” MIT has answers they don’t want to hear:
“Stop AI Before it’s Too Late” Its costs and risks are gigantic. Its benefits, unproven.
(Cartoon from Robert Reich)
Data Centers. “AI Data Centers Are Causing Unfathomable Amounts of Air Pollution, and It Gets Worse With Each New One They Build”
“Planned Amazon data center could become the biggest climate polluter in the U.S.”
Big Tech. Meanwhile, others are working against Big Tech’s takeover.
When I was growing up (1950s) I would have said a world where glaciers and the polar ice cap cold help and raise the sea was simply a nightmare. I could never have imgined that it is the world in which I would grow old and my grandchildren would face in their future. Here’s a nightmare that conveys what we are afraid of:
“I dreamt that the clouds were very dark, stretching out over my town, and the rain and wind were so bad we had to stay in the house. I looked outside at the clouds, and saw some big billowing clouds below us. I realized they were rolling down the street, and were not clouds at all, but a torrent of floodwater. I knew the water could come in through our front door, and I woke up from the dream in a panic of thinking about how to get onto our roof to be rescued.”
From “Climate Dreams” (March, 2019) at:
https://climatedreams.com
My book on climate aging analyzes the current Climate Apocalypse:
Floods, Wildfires, Drought, and Heat Waves. For details see Amazon.
Dreams show us what we already know but do not yet set. The last chapter of my book, Climate Change in an Aging Society (Routledge, 2025) is narrated through dreams. But claimte nightmares should not make us hopeless or paralyzed. As the cartoon says:The poet W.B.Yeats put the matter this way: “In dreams begin responsibilities.”
Trump Against Wind Power. “Trump Keeps Spending US Tax Dollars to Kill Offshore Wind and Boost Oil and Gas”
Trump Against Trees. Trees are essential to absorb carbon dioxide. “Trump administration moves ahead to end roadless rule on national forests”
See also: “Trump Administration Moves to Open Nearly One-Fourth of National Forests to Logging and Road Building”
What Is Truth? That was the question of Pontius Pilate. What question do we ask of the Trump Admnistration? “The Trump administration claims oil is flowing normally again. There’s just one problem
Autocracy. “The Trump Administration Is Interfering in the 2026 Midterm Elections To Entrench the Imperial Presidency”
The Courts Are Protecting Us. “US judge orders Pentagon to lift wind project freeze”
See also: “$20B in federal climate grants unblocked by appeals court”
Trump Is in Free Fall. “Trump is ‘Teflon Don’ no more”
The Money. Remember: For Trump, it’s all about money.
From “Republicans Rigged America’s Debt: Now We’re Paying the Billionaires Forever” The Hartmann Report.
Weather Is Bad: Not Just Your Imagination. “From flash flooding to wildfire danger, extreme weather targets US”
Europe’s Heat Wave and More. See the “Climate Desk from Mother Jones”
The Future Is Here. “It’s Getting So Hot That Nuclear Plants Are Being Forced to Power Down”
The question. “Is there any good news about the climate?” The answer: Yes.
The Daily Climate. Good News that we need to ponder.
Solar Power Success. “In 2012 California generated about one percent of its electricity from solar power. Last week we learned from the think tank Ember that in May it became the first large economy to generate more than half its power directly from the sun for an entire mont” (from Bill McKibben interview)
Good News about Climate. Read about it on “Vital Signs.”
But remember that the climate crisis also means energy transmission. “A sweltering summer is straining power grids as millions of Americans blast their air conditioners. Big batteries can help store power when it’s cool and release it when it’s hot, except utilities can’t plug them in fast enough.” (From Bloomberg, Green Daily)
Climate Hope: Bill McKibben. “A Conversation with Bill McKibben”
More Good News. In October, 2025, renewable power generation surpased coal globally for the first time, led amazingly by China and India.
In January, 2026, wind and solar combined (30%), to overtake fossil fuel (29%) in the European Union power supply for the first time.
In March 2026, deforestation in Brazil hit a 40 year low, with a 40% drop in the last year alone!
In April, wind and solar combined for 22% of global electricity versus gas 20%, for the first time.
In June, 2026, solar became the EU’s biggest power source hitting a record 25% for the first time ever.
Thanks to Bill DeVincenzi, of Elders Action Network, and a subscriber to this newsletter, for sharing these elements of good news.
What If We Get It Right: Visions of Climate Futures, by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson (One World, 2026).
I Eat the Stars: How to Live Fully and Beautifully in a Collapsing World
by Sarah Wilson (Penguin, 2026).
Hospitable Planet: Faith, Action, and Climate Change, by Stephen Jurovics (Morehouse Publishing, 2016).
Climate Chaos: Lessons on Survival from Our Ancestors, by Brian Fagan and Nadia Durrani (Public Affairs, 2021).
Don’t Despair. “Don’t despair about what’s happening to our planet. That’s
Health and Aging. Did you know that climate change is one of the biggest causes of the spread of Lyme Disease? I didn’t know that. I lived in New York, then Washington, DC, where people, including me, were fearful about walking in the woods. When I moved to California, I thought I left Lyme Disease behind. I was wrong. It’s here, too.what they want you to feel”
Europe’s Heat Wave and More. See the “Climate Desk from Mother Jones”Grandchildren. “Climate Change and Grand Kids” (H.R. Moody interview)
Preparing Grandchildren for a Changing World: Why Adaptation Is the New Legacy.
You Are What You Eat. “How Our Food System Affects Climate Change”
Starwashing. You know about greenwashing and its deceptions. Welcome to the Space Age. Remember what Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are doing on earth.
Look at “ ‘Starwashing’: How space companies use the greenwashing playbook while engaging in environmentally damaging practices”
AI: Good or Bad for Climate? “AI’s Impact on the Environment Is Absolutely Horrifying, New Paper Finds”
See also; “AI-driven productivity gains enable more CO₂ emissions than they avoid in a global energy–economy model”
“Vote Him Away” (The Liar Tweets Tonight) A parody of the classic song
“The Lion Sleeps Tonight” For a great musical send-up of Trump, watch it!
COASTAL PROTECTION. Trump is trying to hand California’s public lands and coastline over to oil and gas companies. You can do something to stop it and you don’t have to live in California. Deadline for comments is Aug. 22, 2026.
CLIMATE AND DEMOCRACY: August Gathering: Third Act Bay Area General Meeting (Aug. 24, 2026, 4:30 pm, PT).
DATA CENTERS & THE ELECTIONS. (Aug. 26, 2026, 6 pm ET). How data centers are transforming the midterm elections. Sponsored by Third Act.
DATA CENTERS. “What Is Actually Wrong With the American Grid?” (Sept. 1, 2026, 11:15 am to 12:45 pm, PT) From the Security and Sustainability Forum.
VOTING. “Hands Off Our Vote!” (Sept. 2, 2026, 6 pm ET) Initiative by Third Act. Climate action and saving democracy go together.
DEFEND DEMOCRACY: Campaign Meeting (Sept. 7, 2026, 5 pm, PT) Sponsored by Third Act. See details and registration.
DEMOCRACY. “Elders for Sound Democracy Forum” (Aug. 19, 202, 10:00 am to 11:30 m Pacific Time). Sponsored by Elders Action Network.
TRENDS IN AGING AND ENVIRONMENT. “A Changing Landscape: Trends in Aging, Environment, and Community Well-Being” (Sept. 23, 2026, 12 noon to 1 pm, ET). For six Wednesdays at 12 noon, ET. You need only register once to receive announcements of the event each month. After registration people will receive Zoom links for individual sessions.
AGE-FRIENDLY ECOSYSTEM. The “2026 Age-Friendly Ecosystem Summit” will be held (in Zoom) (Oct. 8, 15, 22, and 29, in 2026).
Fielding Graduate University
Program on Creative Longevity and Wisdom
Gray Is Green, the National Senior Conservation Corp
Thanks for reading. If you found some of this helpful, please leave a comment below.
From Harry (Rick) Moody
For more about this book or other newsletters, contact H.R. Moody at hrmoody@yahoo.com
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