garth hallberg.com & weird-weather.com

Although it may not always seem that way to cable new viewers, Stormy Daniels isn’t the only meteorological phenomenon that the media is covering. There’s been a noticeable uptick in stories about climate change, thanks to the thirty-year anniversary of then-NASA scientist James Hansen’s testimony before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. It was that hearing that first brought the concepts of greenhouse gases and global warming to the public’s attention.

Thirty years after Hansen’s seminal testimony, our president has declared climate change fake news, Congress is still dithering, and the news media are doing their best to confuse the issue. Read More 

This is a guest post from Joe Di Fabbio, songwriter and rock bandleader since the days of Woodstock. Joe wrote this terrific, uplifting song, "We've Got the Power," to help galvanize action to fight climate change. You can read the lyrics below and click on the title to hear Joe's arrangement.

Artist's Statement: I have been shocked and disappointed by the widespread denial of the human contribution to climate change, even after numerous reports of thousands of scientists around the world. The way we spill oil into our oceans and pollute the air we breathe point to an immediate need to develop and use cleaner fuels.

This song is a wake-up call to change and correct the damage that we are doing to our environment. We possess the technology, we just need to spread awareness and overcome the disinformation being promulgated by the oil cartels. I feel very strongly that we have the power to turn things around if we have the will! — Joe Di Fabbio

"We've Got the Power"

What goes around, yeah,
surely comes around,
and it ain't no different
with our pollution.

Instead of dumpin'
in the air, and sea and ground,
we need to find
a clear solution.

And we'd better start using clean fuel, yeah,
ones that don't spew gas all around.
And let those fossils stay with the dinosaur,
We've got the power, to turn things around.

Seems we've been thinking
"out of sight, out of mind",
but that's really not too wise.
The oil we've burned now
for a long, long time,
has made a greenhouse of our skies!

Why don't we see what
Mother Earth's saying,
Winds are blowing her rage all around,
And our environment
we're surely swaying,
but we've got the power, to turn things around

So mister lazy,
now that you've heard the plan,
ya 'spose we can fix,
what we've ben bungling?
well we'd better start changin',
and work to clean the land,
so we don't stumblin', and rumblin' down.

We've got the power to turn things around!

I'm off to Washington this weekend to see if I can galvanize the lit biz agents to fight climate change with powerful fiction! Wish me luck!

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