2 fox channels
1 bad sound, 1 bad pix
not a surprise..
July 2024 - On & Off Earth
Before beginning my column each month I go back and do a re-read on what I wrote in previous years for that chunk of time. Into my fifth year, it’s quite a little stroll through some fairly wild and crazy times on the planet. My overriding theme for July has always been our annual celebration of our coming together as a group of ragtag colonies into a united democracy of ‘states’, free of the rules and capricious demands of a king or queen. This year we celebrate 248 years of that democracy.
After declaring their independence, the forward looking group of adult white males granted themselves the ‘rights’ to speak and worship freely, own a flintlock and vote for local and national representation. They did, however, anticipate change and set up the constitution to be amended. The amendments came slowly with many battles fought and quite a bit of blood spilled. Battles continue to this day for ‘equality’ and ‘rights’ for all within the confines of our United States. Freedom, it seems, turns out to be rather chaotic.
July is happy to remind us that Earth grants no rights. While we discuss our personal and societal issues the planet, our ride, remains unconcerned with our presence, simply reacting and changing to the basic physical laws I mentioned last month. Every life form we ride and share the planet with must, like us, deal with daily changes by adapting, migrating or it will, like us, die. Simple rules, strictly enforced.
By the time you read this, the cool start to July will be long forgotten, replaced by the reality of a hotter world quickly made evident when you venture outside(sunscreen!). The hit and miss showers of late June will be water long gone and our, mostly, statewide drought will be back. We will also know the devastation wrought by Hurricane Beryl’s romp through the Caribbean and a new storm will be the news. Independence Day celebrations (and sales) will be shifted to memory status; vacations will happen(beach goers beware sharks and rip currents). July is full on summer!
Even as our orbit begins to tilt us away from the sun throughout July and we lose about a half hour of daylight that still leaves over 14 hours of sunshine to enjoy. Mix in the twilight pre-dawn and post-sunset and dark sky gazing options remains limited. The Full Buck Moon (this year’s antlers are now in velvet) is on the 21st. The sun slides from the twins, Gemini, into the crab, Cancer, on the 22nd.
The one July sky event worth catching is on the 13th, low in the southwest sky, when the first quarter moon occults the brightest star in Virgo, Spica. Around 11:30pm, the star will disappear behind the moon’s dark edge, reappearing out of the moon’s bright side about an hour later. Binoculars or a small scope will help in spotting the star.
Back 248 years ago, news spread by word of mouth, newspaper or pamphlet; travel was on foot or by horse and they had little idea why people got sick and died; bad air the main culprit. The planet Uranus was yet to be discovered. What you ate was grown, raised or killed locally. There were about 2.5 million people on the eastern seaboard. Times have certainly changed.
There are now over 335 million Americans, over 8 billion humans worldwide. Our species has survived and thrived by working together; communication, compromise and teamwork our hallmarks to success. Earth presents us all with challenges every day, working together to meet those challenges will be the only way we get to a celebration of 250 years of America…and beyond.
Today On Earth
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