“What the…?!?   Grandpa Tennessen?  It’s great to see you!  What’s it been, almost 50 years?  What’s that…go for a ride?  You bet!

       “Yep, you don’t hear the engine because we’re riding in a hybrid car.  The electric motor is powering the car with batteries charged by the solar panels alongside our house. 

        “You won’t believe the changes in transportation since you’ve been around!  Back then the dream was two cars in the garage with V-8 engines under their hoods.  Today, my three children’s families (your great-grands, all successful and in their 30s) own just 2 cars altogether!  And people in their 20s these days, drive about 20% less than their parents did when they were that age.

        “Part of the reason is that the population is shifting more and more to urban areas.  Now, about 4 of every 5 Americans live in cities.  We rural folks in Iowa County don’t notice some of the many transportation changes taking place in the cities.  But many city folks are tired of fighting traffic, paying for parking and owning an expensive piece of equipment that sits idle perhaps more than 90% of the time.  One estimation predicts that in 10 years U.S. car sales will fall about 12 percent. 

        “For many folks, a new option called ‘ride-sharing’ through companies like Uber and Lyft is easier and less expensive than owning a car.  Worldwide, nearly a billion people are choosing these types of services.  Many car companies are anticipating declining vehicle sales, so they’re investing in ride-share and similar alternative ways of providing transportation.

        “And those of us who still need to own vehicles have cool options like this hybrid car we’re riding in.  Before long fully electric cars will be commonplace.  By 2020 GM plans to produce more than 20 different electric vehicle models; Ford will have 40 by 2022!

       “These are good trends, Grandpa.  You see, we’ve learned that we can’t keep pouring combustion engine fumes into the air we breathe.  It makes us sick and even affects weather patterns.  Using clean energy sources and reducing the number of all types of vehicles will help.  Someday, when I come back to visit my retirement-aged grandchildren like you have, I hope to find them living healthy lives on a vibrant planet.  After all, this is the only home they’ll ever have.  We’re all here forever…Earthbound.”  

          The adoptive parents of Idle Dee and Idle Dum choose to retain their daughter’s and son’s respective Korean names.  Family names in Korea are stated first, before the given name.  In this tale, we’ll discover how Dee and Dum have grown to embrace the English language meaning of their family name.  Read on…
 
        Perched on the bus stop bench, Idle Dee watched the traffic whiz by.  More than a few drivers were glancing at their phones as they drove.  Most passers-by were likewise staring at their screens.  Only one of her seatmates was not doing the same, so Dee struck up a conversation.

        Both young women commented on how “plugged-in” people were these days, constantly rushing and seemingly unable to be alone with their own thoughts.   Dee shared the results of a recent survey of college students.  Fifty-two percent reported feeling hopeless and 39% said they’d had a severe bout of depression the previous year.  They wondered if Americans were short-changing themselves on the “down time” critical to emotional health.

        As they parted, Dee’s new friend joked, “Your family name is spot on!  I’m going to reserve some mental ‘idle time’ each day to refresh my soul.”

        Meanwhile, Idle Dum slammed his car into park, left the engine idling, and ran into the fast food joint.  He was only going in for a couple minutes; with the engine running, the AC would keep the car cool.  Over the year, his car engine idled a lot.  In the winter, he’d warm up his car far in advance of actually driving it and then usually leave it running between short errands.  “Hey, it matches my name,” Dum grinned.  “Nothing wrong with leaving the engine idling!”

        What Dum didn’t realize is that modern car engines don’t need “warming up” in the winter and that it does NOT take more fuel to restart a car as compared to leaving it idle.  It’s the10-second rule.  If you’re going to be out of the car more than 10 seconds, turn off the engine.  You’ll save money and wear and tear on your engine, and prevent unnecessary pollution from escaping the tailpipe.

        We can be smarter than Dum.  Foster a healthy soul by reserving some idle time each day.  And foster a healthy planet by reducing engine idling.  It’s a savvy combo; here, where we’re forever…Earthbound.  

           Rain poured down at my sister-in-law, Patty’s, home just outside of Stitzer.   Before long a cascading torrent filled the little creek just beyond her yard.  Moments later, it breeched the lowest bank, and what had been a confined channel of water suddenly became a rapidly expanding lake whose leading edge was working its way up the driveway.  Suddenly, our ’68 VW Beetle was in jeopardy of being set afloat.  Even more concerning, the new lake would soon be lapping at the patio door. 

          It was an amazing phenomenon that I’ll never forget.  In a few short minutes the topography was transformed. Up-stream, each little brook and gully had contributed its small share of water that, when added together, created that flood.  Unexpectedly, a whole new landscape was unleashed.

       Forty some years later, sitting high and dry on Capitol Hill, current members of the House are poised to introduce the first Republican sponsored carbon pricing bill.  The concept of placing a fee on greenhouse gas producing carbon-based fuels has been kicking around for a few years.  The general concept is that, like a fee paid to dump garbage in the landfill, a fee would be charged for dumping pollution into our shared atmosphere.  One popular version of the bill actually provides an economic stimulus while it cleans our air.

        An objection sometimes voiced is that any such fee would have such a miniscule effect on the amount of greenhouse gasses emitted as to be virtually worthless.  A recent analysis asserts a carbon fee in the U.S. would prevent only a 0.07 degrees Celsius average rise in temperatures by 2100 – a trifle.  But I wonder if the researchers considered the potential cascading effect a carbon fee might unleash that would bring about a much greater difference.

        The rains subsided, and Patty’s property suffered only minor damage.  Karen and I drove off the next day in a dry and fully-functional Bug. 

        A price on carbon in the U.S. today could act a bit like one of those small rivulets upstream in Patty’s creek.  By joining other carbon reduction actions world-wide, it could become part of a cascade that frees us from our fossil fuel dependency.  That additional nudge might foster an unforeseen flood of new, cleaner energy options.  It’s a plan to consider because this is the only home we’ll ever know.  It’s where we’re forever…Earthbound.

      
            We don’t have air conditioning in our house.  So on sweltering summer days we close the windows, draw the shades to block the sun, and crank up the dehumidifier.  Once the evening air temperature drops below the house temperature, windows are opened wide and the coolness flows in.
            One recent evening Karen asked if it was time to open the windows.  After glancing at the weather station temp display, something inspired this odd reply, “Go ahead, we’ve crossed the equator.”  I meant that we had crossed that point where we could look forward to a cooler time ahead.
            Later, I pondered that odd response.  Maybe reaching that temperature “tipping point” in our house made me think about crossing into a new hemisphere where many things “flip” in interesting ways.  Storms circulate clockwise instead of counterclockwise.  Colder weather is in the south instead of the north.  Summer is winter, and winter is summer.  Penguins reign where no polar bears roam.
            “Crossing the equator” - it’s what our ship of humanity is doing in the energy sector.  The inevitable flip to clean energy is already well under way.  The evidence is over-whelming.  Take a look!

• Cheaper Energy Sources – In the last dozen years, utility scale solar power costs have dropped close to 90%!  In Wisconsin and elsewhere, it’s now the LEAST expensive source for electrical generation.
• Bi-Partisan Involvement – A recent Wisconsin State Journal editorial applauded Wis. Congressmen Ron Kind (D) and Mike Gallagher (R) for joining the 86-member Climate Solutions Caucus.  By design, this caucus is composed equally of Dems and Repubs.  Together, they are researching cost-effective ways to increase renewables and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• Bottom-Up Leadership - States, counties, and municipalities in the U.S. are sometimes known as the “Non-Federal Actors.”  If you add together the GDPs of those that are committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, it represents the THIRD LARGEST economy in the world.  With or without federal leadership we’re sailing toward a new energy reality.
  
• Ahead of Schedule – California recently announced it has met its emission reduction goals 4 years early!

 
       Iowa County may soon be helping accelerate our journey “across the equator” with the installation of the largest solar farm east of the Mississippi.  That cleaner, cooler future is a destination we must reach because where else would we live?  This is our only home.  It’s where we’re forever…Earthbound.

       …And now it’s time for “Philmz on Films” our weekly movie review by Iowa County’s very own Seymore Philmz!
“It’s summer blockbuster time, and a thriller is coming your way soon!  Many of you will remember the 1978 sci-fi classic movie ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers.’  This latest spin-off takes our heroine, Wanda Koollov, on a globe-trotting adventure that’s sure to send chills up your spine!

       “The opening scene finds Wanda mopping perspiration from her brow in … Fairbanks, Alaska of all places!  Staring longingly at distant frozen mountain peaks, Wanda wonders how she’s ended up overheated in this northern clime.  She flashes back to her teenage self – Christmas 1984.  While snow gently falls outside, teenaged Wanda practices Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ dance moves in her bedroom.  As she ‘moonwalks’ down the hallway, the insidious chill snatching invasion’s tentacles are already grasping at all of Earth’s inhabitants!

       “Hopping back to 2018…Wanda leaps from adventure to adventure; each scene closes with Wanda haunted by the sensation that temperatures are slowly rising.  Little does she know that the ‘chill’ of the Earth is being methodically snatched from the atmosphere in a tenacious torrid trend.  The audience soon learns (Spoiler Alert!) that ever since that happy Christmas of her youth – exactly 400 months ago – across the globe, EVERY month’s temperatures have been above average!  And no wonder.  For hundreds of thousands of years carbon dioxide has acted like earth’s atmospheric blanket.  As such, it has averaged 275 parts per million(ppm).  Today, it’s much denser - a whooping 410 ppm!
 
       “This film is being released in Blu-ray format and includes the popular feature to ‘choose your own ending’ from three available screenplays. 

       “Ending ‘A’ – Earth’s inhabitants never really grapple with the reality that the ‘chill snatchers’ are not some alien invaders but humans themselves, releasing excessive greenhouse gasses by burning fossil fuels.  Temperatures continue to climb, forest fires and extreme weather events increase, the oceans rise, coral reefs bleach, and Wanda Koollov never does get to cool off.

       “Ending ‘B’ – Aliens extract Earth’s excess warmth to create energy for their spacecraft.  Temperatures return to normal.  Wanda becomes a dance instructor and marries her high school sweetheart.

       “Ending ‘C’ – Earth’s inhabitants responsibly take on the challenge of addressing the rising temperatures. Earth’s greenhouse gasses slowly revert to ‘humanity-friendly’ levels on this, our only home, where we're forever…Earthbound.”

         Alan Underdog dragged his protest sign across the barroom floor and settled on to the first open stool.  After a couple long pulls on his brew, Al glanced over and noticed that one of the two women he was seated next to was just leaving.  That left Lucy Likely nursing her drink next to him.

        Soon Al was pouring out his sorrows to Lucy.  “I try so hard to help build a healthy environment!  For example, I’ve been protesting across the street for a week now.  But it seems like no matter how compelling our message is, the politicians just won’t listen,” Al lamented.

        “Poor boy,” Lucy patted his hand.  “You know, I’m an activist too, and maybe I’ve just been lucky, but my friends and I have actually had some success with our issues.  And you know what?  I think it’s because we have…”  She looked over both shoulders and then lowered her voice. “We have a secret power.” Lucy winked and then whispered, “We vote.”

       Well, as you can imagine, Alan burst into a tirade about how just one vote is practically meaningless and blah, blah, blah.  Once his rant subsided, Lucy calmly set her smart phone on the bar and said, “Okay Mr. Underdog. Let’s look at your issue.”  It only took a brief on-line search to find a promising website.  “Let’s see what the Environmental Voter Project* has to say.”

       What they found was startling!  First, they learned that many environmentalists work diligently on issues but never bother to actually vote.  Almost 16 million of them didn’t cast a ballot in the 2014 election!  Most amazing of all was why, as a voter, Lucy has “secret sway.”  When Lucy votes, it becomes public record that she’s done so.  If she votes again, she becomes a “likely voter.”  Consider this - if politicians want to get re-elected, the ONLY citizens they care about are “likely voters.”  In 2016 polling, “likely voters” ranked climate change / environmentalism only 15th out of 19 issues.  But if those other 16 million folks became “Likelies” that ranking would climb dramatically and politicians would take notice.

       Lucy Likely’s secret sway over politicians is no secret at all; it’s simply THE basic tenet of a democracy.  So, VOTE like our lives depend on it because they do, here on our only home where we’re forever…Earthbound.
*www.environmentalvoter.org

           “…and that’s how this straw got wedged up my nose,” complained Celia Sea Turtle.  Dr. Bea Wiser was exasperated with the increasing number of plastics-related maladies afflicting her ocean-dwelling patients.  Lately, she’d been treating a rash of plastic straw injuries.  So she listened intently as Celia went on to tell the bizarre tale of how Frankenstraw came to life.

            “It all began in 1888 when Marvin C. Stone created the first model of a modern drinking straw,” related Celia.  “Then when Joseph Friedman invented the ‘bendy’ straw in 1937 things really began to take off.  But it wasn’t until the 1960s with the development of cheap plastic drinking straws that Frankenstraw drew his first breath.

            “Before that time people didn’t think twice about drinking any beverage the same way humankind has done since the dawn of civilization, by putting one’s lips to the cup.  But single-use plastic straws were a novel and convenient way to cheaply enhance a drink.  Soon straw dispensers were popping up at every drink service area.  Beverage servers routinely dropped a straw into almost any type of drink and Frankenstraw’s influence spread across the globe.

            “No one seemed to question the wisdom of using this insignificant item just one time and then tossing it into the trash.  But now in the U.S., Frankenstraw has swelled to about 500 million straws (1.6 straws per person) each day!  Iowa Co. alone throws away about 38,000 on a daily basis.  Now Frankenstraw’s influence is EVERYWHERE, even in my poor little nose,” lamented Celia.

            Bea Wiser carefully extracted the painful intruder* from Celia’s suffering nostril.  “What can be done?” she asked Ms. Turtle.

            “A lot actually,” Celia instructed.  “First of all, humans need to simply ask for no straw when ordering a drink.  Businesses need to add "Straws served upon request" notices in their menus.  Some companies are already starting to develop eco-friendly drinking straws.  When humans become aware of how wasteful and damaging these plastic projectiles are, Frankenstraw’s days will be numbered.  Soon some clever manufacturing firm is going to make a bundle marketing the ‘latest thing’… biodegradable straws.

            “Do you think the humans will actually change their ways?” Celia wondered.

            “I hope so.  They’re smart, and they really have to,” Bea Wiser (sighed).  “Because this is the only home we’ll ever share with them.  We’re here with them forever…Earthbound.”

*Actual footage - www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MPHbpmP6_I  

             Know any 5th graders?  Hard to believe but they’ll celebrate high school graduation in 2025!  Now, imagine Prof. Tony Seba* world-renowned author, educator and Stanford University instructor giving the commencement address.  It might go something like this.

            “Graduates – congratulations for having been born into a singularly unique 18-year period in the history of humankind.  What’s so unusual about these 18 years?  When you were born, a widely-viewed climate change documentary film had just been released.  Suddenly, the potentially devastating climatic effects of burning fossil fuels become a reality to millions of Earth’s inhabitants.  It was a concept so overwhelming that addressing it seemed nearly impossible.  Fossil fuels powered practically everything.  How would we possibly prosper without them?

             But as you know, we’re well on our way to doing so.  And you’ve had a front row seat as the solution unfolded.  Just as you developed from early childhood through your pre-teens and now into early adulthood, so too, a new clean energy system matured.

            Your parents experienced a similar bold transformation. Theirs was in communication and information.  Imagine, when they were children they were taught “computer skills” with humongous “desktop” computers that required manual input on a keyboard.  When they were about your age the smart phone era began permitting instant communication and information anytime anywhere.  Landline phones and printed encyclopedia sets became obsolete.  And now, how primitive they seem compared to the technology we’re blessed with in 2025. 

            The same type of “market disruption” happened with clean energy during your lifetime.  As a young child, you may remember the novelty of seeing a neighbor install solar panels or of riding in a hybrid car that was partially battery powered.  But like the computer, solar energy generation and battery storage technology grew exponentially.  As you began high school in 2021 we reached an energy “tipping point.”  That’s when local solar-plus-battery-storage energy systems world-wide became less expensive than ANY centrally generated and transmitted energy source.  Industrial scale energy generation and transmission became obsolete.  Like smart phones, this clean energy paradigm is sweeping the globe powering homes and vehicles.   As you celebrate your graduation, the last internal combustion engine factory is shuttering its doors.

            Over the course of your lifetime a frightening, seemingly insurmountable energy challenge is being met with clean energy right here, on the only home you’ll ever know where you’re forever…Earthbound.”

   *Learn more -  www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kxryv2XrnqM

            Dewey Droppe was having the time of his life as stormy winds hurled him across the Midwest.  With trillions of his buddies Dewey wreaked havoc on Louisville in a deluge that caused extensive flooding during the wettest February ever recorded. Then it was down the storm drain and out into the raging Ohio River.  Dewey washed down the Mississippi and spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. What a ride! 
 
            Lounging there for a few days, Dewey waited to get picked up by the Gulf Stream when the excitement would begin again.  Sure enough, a few days later he felt that tentative tug and was drawn toward the current.  “Oh boy! Now for a speedy ride around Florida, up the Eastern Seaboard, and into the icy climes of the Arctic Ocean,” he mused.
 
            But after a day or so, Dewey knew something was wrong; he was barely moving at all.  The anticipated rush of droplets all jostling ahead of one another was more like a molasses slick languidly lolling toward the Florida coast.  
 
            “What’s going on?” Dewey wondered when suddenly… SWOOSH!  Without warning, Dewey was scooped aboard a passing ship, ogled under a microscope, and shelved inside a beaker.  Even more strange, as chance would have it, the crew members were asking themselves that very same question – why was this normally swift current moving so slowly?
 
           The oceanographers aboard this research vessel were investigating the mysteriously slowing North Atlantic Current and wondering if it had anything to do with extreme weather events like the recent Louisville storms.  Dewey learned that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is the “conveyor belt” of the ocean that exchanges warm equatorial water with cold water from the Arctic.  But today this temperature exchange is happening at a lower rate than any time in the past few thousand years most likely because of the torrent of fresh water melting off the Greenland ice sheet.  If the slowing continues and reaches a tipping point, the AMOC could simply shut down with potentially dramatic and unwelcome changes in the climate.
 
           “So this lazy current and the increase of extreme weather events ARE connected!  A warming atmosphere accelerates both of them,” Dewey realized. “Seems like these humans could save themselves a lot of grief by taking action to slow that warming.  After all, this is their only home where they’re forever…Earthbound.”