Clattering dishes and lively conversations filled Uncle’s Diner.  Pete Roleum and Cole Phurnaces huddled in their usual booth.  Lunch debris littered their tabletop. “Hey Sam! Bring us another platter of subs,” Pete called out. “I just love the subs here,” he mumbled wolfing down another mouthful.  (According to Oil Change International, Uncle Sam dishes up direct subsidies of around $20.5 billion to fossil fuel companies every year.)

        Meanwhile, at the back of the diner Ray Newables waited patiently to be served.  Sam eventually made his way to Ray’s table and plopped down some meager, but nutritious tidbits. “Here you go Bub; it’s all I’ve got for you today.  But ya better eat up.  I’m thinking about shutting down this section.” (Fossil fuel industries get 7 times more permanent tax expenditures than renewables receive.  E.g. In 2016, permanent tax spending for renewables totaled only around $1.1 billion.)

        Lemmy Pitchinn sat kitty-corner to Ray and couldn’t help but notice the meager serving he’d been given.  He caught Pete’s eye and slide over to his booth.  “Here, try some,” Lemmy said offering a plateful of goodies. “My friends and I have lots of these.  Join us for lunch sometime,” he grinned.  (According to Carbon Brief, in 2024 banks and private finance were supplying about 2/3s of all climate financing, compared to 1/3 from nation states.)

        Just then, the welcome bell above the door jingled.  Ian Vestors walked in, and all conversation paused for a moment.  Pete and Cole scrambled to their feet and waved him over.  Ian nodded their way but then turned and strode to the back. “You’re the guy I came to see,” Ian said to Ray as he introduced himself and settled in.  Pete and Cole were miffed!  (No wonder!  About twice as much of today’s global energy investment is going to renewables, nuclear, grids, storage, low-emissions fuels, efficiency, and electrification than is going to oil, natural gas, and coal. - International Energy Agency)

        Uncle Sam was dying to hear what Ian and Ray were talking about.  He pretended to be wiping down tables in their section and caught the gist of their conversation.  “Wow!” Uncle Sam thought.  “Guess I should give Ray a seat up front from now on.” As should we all  because this is the only home we’ll ever know; it’s where we’re all forever… Earthbound. 

       Dateline: April 5, Dundee, KY - “One more layer ought to do the trick,” Mark puffed.  Len nodded as they hoisted another sand bag onto the makeshift dam. “I don’t know how I can ever thank you,” Anita Boost replied, tears of gratitude clouding her eyes. “The news guy said this is the worst flooding Kentucky’s ever seen.  And this little house is all I’ve got; without help…”Anita shook her head and wiped away a tear.

        Dirty, wet and exhausted, Mark and Len made their way to the Red Cross food tent. “It’s really great seeing these volunteers pour in from all over the country,” Len DaHand smiled while scanning the motley cross-section of characters. “You got that right,” Mark Et’Place agreed.  “And thank goodness our president has released federal disaster funding to help these folks get back on their feet.”

        “No kidding,” Len said. “With the climate warming, these severe weather events just keep piling up and getting more severe.  Besides all the human suffering, it’s costing us a fortune - $182 billion in the U.S. last year alone, over $1.4 trillion over the last 10 years! 

        “This administration is trying so hard to reduce costs; you’d think they’d support policies that both save taxpayers money and reduce unhealthy, climate-warming emissions, stuff like the Inflation Reduction Act provisions.  Take Elective Pay for example; it cuts 30% from the cost of energy efficiency upgrades and adding solar for nonprofits.  Hundreds of schools in Wisconsin have done just that and are saving their local taxpayer’s tens of thousands of dollars every year.  Some schools
are counting on that 30% to make improvements that are already in the works.”
 
        “Hmm…,” Mark began, “I’ve always been a ‘let the marketplace determine costs’ kind-a-guy, especially concerning energy issues.  But shoot; when we’re really in a pinch, like with this flood, we pretty much all agree that federal help is a godsend.  It’s a bit like that last layer of sandbags, a reliable backstop preventing a whole lot of misery.  Seems like a similar ‘stitch-in-time’ from the feds would help stem these rising disaster costs.  Yeah…ya know what?  I’m gonna drop a note to our senators asking them to not cut off those ‘stitches.’ You should too.  Because, by golly, this is the only home we’ll ever know.  It’s where we’re all forever… Earthbound.” 

Wis. senators: https://www.ronjohnson.senate.gov/email-the-senator
https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/contact/contact-tammy