Monday, Jun 8

Dear Reader,

Just yesterday, a tornado touched down in Dot’s city, uprooting trees and sending debris airborne, including a trampoline that twisted around a power line. This morning, on my daily trek through the woods with a friend, we had to navigate around felled tree trunks and scattered branches, wondering aloud where the birds go when extreme weather hits. (We learned that most of them take some precautions but pretty much hope for the best.) Storms, my friend said to me, “are starting to feel a bit apocalyptic.” I know what she means. The sirens. The phone alerts. Our nervous systems are already in the orange zone. It doesn’t take much to move us into red. 

So please take today’s newsletter as being in support of that old boy scout motto: Be prepared. Or perhaps as encouragement to go a step beyond the birds, with their take some precautions but hope for the best philosophy.

Because experts are telling us that we are probably heading into an El Niño-exacerbated hurricane and wildfire season. If the predictions hold true, many of us might find ourselves responding to extreme weather. Anticipating this is smart, so here are some resources:

The Climate Mental Health Center has great resources (in both Spanish and English) on how to prepare, especially for those with young children. 

NOAA has a toolkit for building community resilience in response to climate events. And the American Red Cross has practical tips, depending on the disaster. 

We’re in this warming world together, Readers. Let’s do our best to keep ourselves and others safe. 

Preparedly,

Dot