“I’m so tired of this pandemic,”  Betty sighed.  “It seems like it’s been going on for years.  And we’ve lost so many community members.  When are we ever going to get back to normal?” she wondered aloud.

         “It’s been a tough time for all of us,” Barney consoled her.  “And no wonder you’re sick of it,” he added.  “We’ve been fighting this pandemic in Wisconsin for at least 10 years now!” Barney Brownbat reminded her as he darted after another plump mosquito.
 
        The disease known as white-nose syndrome (WNS) gets its name from the white fungus that grows on a bat’s nose disrupting its hibernation.  This weakens and often kills the creature.  WNS has affected at least 13 bat species in North America killing up to 6.7 million bats and decimating our once-common friend, the little brown bat.
 
        Annoyed by that mosquito buzzing in your ear?  Bats are here to help.  They feast on insects each night to the tune of $4 billon of free pest removal services in the U.S.  One bat can eat between 600 to 1,000 mosquitoes and other flying pests in just one hour!  As a result, farmers need to use fewer pesticides saving them money and reducing the amount of poisons released into our environment.  In tropical areas fruit eating bats pollinate flowers and help disperse seeds.

        We need bats not only for their productivity but also because they occupy their own special niche in a balanced ecological web of life.  So ten years ago the Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey Wildlife Health Center and University of Wisconsin wildlife experts to find ways to prevent bats from getting infected or to treat those who do. 

        This daunting task has included surveying bat populations and their roosting and hibernation haunts, working to develop vaccines, and monitoring bat movements with tiny bat-toted transponders.  The persistent work is paying off as this year scientists are finding some evidence that the disease may have bottomed out, and we may be entering a WNS stabilization period. 

        Later…Betty and Barney were trapped, vaccinated and recently spotted flying high over Old Man Tennessen’s place – the first bats seen there in years.  They’re a welcome sign of hope, scientific know-how and Mother Nature’s resiliency unfolding here on the only home we’ll ever know.  It’s where we’re all forever… Earthbound.  

        “And I’m not sleeping very well either,”  Bea Draggled added.  Bea was over-wrought and pouring her heart out.  It’s this Covid thing, and her daughter’s unemployment insurance running out,  and concerns about school and daycare in September, and always looming in the background is the climate crisis.  “It’s almost more than I can take!” Bea sniffled.

        May U. Beewell held her friend’s hand and listened quietly. “Of course you’re sad.  Of course you’re worried about your kids and family.  Of course you’re angry and not sure why.  Of course you’re frustrated by conflicting messages from our leaders.  Of course you’re grieving for losses that will continue on indefinitely.  Of course you’re energized to show up and do what you can.  Of course you care*,”  May comforted Bea.

        That evening, Bea remembered the old adage, “Action is the antidote to hopelessness and despair.”  She also remembered that the Wisconsin Climate Task Force has been holding public listening sessions seeking comments about creating a comprehensive plan to address climate disruption.  Wisconsin had once been a Midwest leader in clean energy generation - a key component in any plan.  But sadly we’ve fallen woefully behind our neighboring states. 
So with the July 31comment deadline fast approaching, Bea got right to work.

            As she wrote down her thoughts, Bea felt her neck muscles relax and her headache subside.  A sense of calm and purpose enveloped her as she envisioned a cleaner, more prosperous energy future for Wisconsin that includes:

• Policies that provided financial incentives for land management practices that pull climate-disrupting CO2 from the air and incorporate it into the soil where it will enhance fertility.
• Greater investment in energy efficiencies like those in the remarkably effective Focus on Energy programs.
• An expanded transportation electrification system including an efficient Electric Vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure.
• Third Party financing policies for distributed energy resources.  This would allow more Wisconsin residences and organizations to install renewable energy technologies without incurring debt or contending with significant up-front financial costs.

 
        After doing her one small part, of course Bea slept more soundly that night.  Of course none of us can bear these burdens alone.  But of course, together we CAN build a better world here on the only home we’ll ever know.  It’s where we’re all forever… Earthbound.    
 
        *”Of Courses” courtesy of Dr. Renee Lertzman