Happy Nowruz and happy 15th birthday to Crazy Eddie's Motie News

Nowruz Mubarak! Happy International Day of Nowruz AKA Persian New Year and happy 15th birthday of this blog! This year's celebration feels different because of the war with Iran. Fox 5 Morning News in San Diego anchor Shally Zomorodi felt it, too, in Happy Nowruz!

Fox 5 Morning News celebrates Nowruz, the Persian New Year.

I'm with you, Shally.

I'm moving on to the blog's 15th birthday, because lingering more on Nowruz would make me even sadder. On that note, I'm sharing a childhood memory in video form, Put Another Candle on My Birthday Cake - Sheriff John Birthday Song sung by Bruce Kaplan (Claudia and Bruce).

Claudia Russell and Bruce Kaplan perform their version of the Sheriff John Birthday Song aka the Birthday Polka. If you're from Los Angeles and grew up in the 1950s and early 60s, you very likely know this song.

Unless you grew up in Los Angeles during the 1950s and 1960s, you probably don't know who Sheriff John is, so I'll let Wikipedia explain.

Sheriff John was an American children's television host who appeared on KTTV in Los Angeles from July 18, 1952, to July 10, 1970, on two separate series, Sheriff John's Lunch Brigade and Sheriff John's Cartoon Time. He was played by John Rovick[1] who served as a radio operator-gunner in the United States Army Air Corps in World War II, surviving 50 combat missions in the European Theater of Operations. After the war he became a radio announcer, moving to television in its early days. He developed the program's concept himself.

As Sheriff John he began each program entering his office, singing "Laugh and be happy, and the world will laugh with you." He then said the Pledge of Allegiance and read a safety bulletin. He showed cartoons including Q.T. Hush, Underdog, Crusader Rabbit, and Porky Pig; he was often visited by farm animals.[2] An artist, Sketchbook Suzie, drew pictures requested by viewers; he would complete squiggles sent by the children and make a squiggle for them to complete. He also gave them lessons on safety and good health habits.

The show's highlight was the birthday celebration. Sheriff John read as many as 100 names, then brought out a cake and sang the Birthday Party Polka ("Put Another Candle on my Birthday Cake").

I used to watch this show every day after school and have fond memories of it, so when I saw YouTube recommend this video, I knew immediately that it would be today's song. I especially couldn't resist because Claudia and I dated in 1987 when we both worked at the Tar Pits.* It's good to see her again.

That's a wrap for today's double (triple if one counts today as Twitter/X's 20th birthday) celebration. Stay tuned for Marche du Nain Rouge as the Sunday entertainment feature.

*Yes, Claudia is an ex-girlfriend, but she's not the ex-girlfriend I usually mention. As I've written many times, the latter lived in Canada while we were dating, while Claudia and I were both living in Los Angeles. Coincidentally, both have since moved to the San Francisco Bay area. I would find it ironically funny if they have encountered each other while not knowing they both know me.

'Last Week Tonight' examines police chases

I haven't featured John Oliver here since 'Last Week Tonight' examines Presidential Libraries and makes an offer, so it's time to share the latest episode, Police Chases: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO).

John Oliver discusses the prevalence of police chases, why the risks involved can massively outweigh the benefits, and why everyone with a broken taillight needs to go get their laundry out of the dryer. Seriously, stop reading this and go get your clothes. They’ve been in there for days. We’re trying to help you.

Police chases were not a staple of local news in Los Angeles when I moved out of California 36 years ago. They are now. I'm not surprised that the screen captures of chase videos were from Los Angeles TV stations and the clip featuring the TMZ bus trying to stop a speeding driver was from L.A. At least I now know to blame O.J. Simpson. I was also relieved that Michigan police were not involved until the story from Warren, where the case against the police was dismissed — Michigan law and qualified immunity at work. Even when police were convicted, Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump pardoned them. The man seems to like police brutality.

I'm looking forward to the planned episode on police surveillance. The village where I live is getting traffic cameras, so I know they'll be watching. In the meantime, stay tuned for a closer look post tomorrow — comedy about the news because it hurts too much to cry.

Stewart, Colbert, Meyers, and Tomlinson take closer looks at the protests in Los Angeles

I closed Federalized National Guard mobilized against protests in Los Angeles by telling my readers “I expect I will examine the situation through comedy tomorrow, as the late-night talk-show hosts will chime in, especially Jimmy Kimmel, who records his show only a few miles away from the protests. Stay tuned.” Kimmel wasn’t on last night, which I found disappointing, but all the rest of my usual sources were, so I begin with Jon Stewart on the L.A. ICE Protests and Trump's Escalating Response | The Daily Show.

Jon Stewart examines chaos in the MAGA-verse, as escalating ICE raids in Los Angeles erupt in protests, Stephen Miller hunts for nonviolent immigrants, Elon plays the Epstein card on Trump, and the Trump-Elon alpha male war reveals itself as a sensitive baby feud.

If anyone comes out worse than Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump in this sketch, it’s Stephen Miller. He asked why ICE wasn’t raiding Home Depot and where did this all start? At Home Depot. Hoover Cleveland may be exploiting the situation, but Miller is just as responsible for starting it. Too bad Stewart’s joke about what Miller says during sex ignored that Miller’s wife Katie is now working with Elon Musk. She already self-deported.

By the way, protestors summoning Waymo cars just to set them on fire strikes me as a SciFi is Now moment. Didn’t something like that happen in Total Recall?

Next, Stephen Colbert examined the situation in Trump: Insurrectionists Should Be In Jail | Stephen Miller Targets America's Most Vulnerable.

Los Angeles residents pushed back against President Trump's authoritarian immigration raids this past weekend after White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller pushed ICE officials to increase the pace of their deportations.

The tear gas “tasted like Fascism.” Yeah, it’s a line right out of a B movie, but, just like living through the pandemic was like living in a horror movie, the current situation is like living in a bad political thriller. Besides, there is a Smithee Award for that, Best One-Liner. It’s pretty much the only “good” award the Smithees gives out.

It wouldn’t be a closer look post without Seth Meyers, so I’m sharing Trump Sends Troops and Dr. Phil to LA; Kash Patel Squirms on Rogan Over Musk's Claims: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at the Trump administration sending federal troops to Los Angeles in response to protests over immigration raids.

The Trump-Musk feud created another SciFi is Now moment when Hoover Cleveland threatened to cancel Musk’s contracts and Musk threatened to decomission SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, stranding astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS). Yikes! Seth is right; billionaires should not be in charge of government and critical space missions should not be privatized.

Moving on to the ICE raids and protests they provoked, Dr. Phil embedding himself with ICE reminds me of what I first wrote on this blog in 2019: "Trump isn't staffing an administration; he's casting a reality show." Too bad all the rest of us are in The Trump Show AKA The Worst Wing, too.

In Kimmel’s place, I’m featuring Taylor Tomlinson Talks Protests in Los Angeles.

Taylor Tomlinson talks about this weekend’s protests in Los Angeles.

This is the first I’ve embedded Taylor Tomlinson and After Midnight and it probably will be the last. Tomlinson is leaving the show and CBS canceled it. Sigh.

That’s too much of a bummer even for doomer me, so I’m closing this post with Donald Trump's Chief Enemy: Stairs, last night’s cold open for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

For President Trump, the enemy is everywhere.

HAHAHAHA!

Federalized National Guard mobilized against protests in Los Angeles

When I told my readers to “stay tuned” because “I plan on writing something more topical and less involved” today, I didn’t think it would be about Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump federalizing and mobilizing the California National Guard to quell protests against immigration enforcement, but here I am. Watch MSNBC report Trump wants 'these images, but it's for all the wrong reasons': analyst yesterday.

Members of the California National Guard arrived in Los Angeles Sunday morning in response to Friday and Saturday's protest against federal immigration raids. President Donald Trump moved to deploy the 2,000 members over the opposition of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, who called the move inflammatory and unnecessary. Julian Castro, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and now an MSNBC political analyst, along with Don Calloway, host of The Caucus Room Podcast and CEO of Pine Street Strategies, and republican strategist and MSNBC political analyst Susan Del Percio discuss these latest developments, and more.

Hoover Cleveland has not invoked the Insurrection Act, but I’ve been worried it about since last June, when I wrote: “I think the parts of Comstock Act that are currently unconstitutional need to be repealed, restricting the ability of anti-choice advocates to reanimate them. I have the same opinion of the Insurrection Act, which is also being touted as a way for the more extreme right-wing activists, including Hoover Cleveland, to suppress dissent.” I quoted that in MSNBC examines Project 2025, part 1, where I added “The Heritage Foundation and other conservative groups have decided to revive zombie laws to consolidate their power given the opportunity.” It’s not as if I and others didn’t warn people!

Hoover Cleveland mentioned the Insurrection Act in the opening to 500 Marines on standby to deploy to Los Angeles amid protests.

Roughly 500 Marines are prepared to deploy if needed to help authorities in Los Angeles amid protests. NBC News' Courtney Kube discusses.

Deploying the Marines would be a major escalation. That fits the theme of the next segment from MSNBC, Trump wants a fight, not trying to calm tensions: Senator slams president's handling of protests.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., joins Morning Joe to discuss the president's handling of Los Angeles protests and why he says Trump is trying to distract the public from the impact of his big bill.

I’m with Mika; “many things can be true at the same time.” Hoover Cleveland is exploiting the situation in my old hometown, but it isn’t just a distraction from the budget bill that Elon Musk called “a disgusting abomination” or the Trump-Musk feud. My wife thinks the latter is a distraction, albeit a very entertaining one. That’s what I was thinking of blogging about today, but I decided that Hoover Cleveland escalating domestic tensions was more important.

I expect I will examine the situation through comedy tomorrow, as the late-night talk-show hosts will chime in, especially Jimmy Kimmel, who records his show only a few miles away from the protests. Stay tuned.

PBS Terra tells 'The REAL Story of the LA Fires | Full Documentary' for Flashback Friday

Happy Flashback Friday! For today's retrospective, I'm continuing the environmental theme from PBS Terra asks 'Save the Planet? In THIS Economy? Pffft' for an Earth Month Throwback Thursday by revisiting the top entries examining risks from climate change during the 2024-2025 blogging year. I begin with PBS Terra telling The REAL Story of the LA Fires | Full Documentary.

It is WILD how often cities used to burn down. So when fires ripped through LA at the beginning of 2025, we wondered: are urban firestorms BACK?

In 1871, nearly a third of Chicago burned down. In 1889, 25 blocks of Seattle went up in flames. Modern buildings and firefighting solved the problem. So, how is this happening again? And why is it getting worse? To find out, we went to LA while the fires were still burning. Our crew was on the ground from day one. We interviewed top fire officials and leading scientists. And, we learned exactly what went wrong in LA - and the ONE THING that could stop these UNSTOPPABLE fires.

Wow! That's the most in-depth I've seen Maiya May and Weathered get on a topic! Of course, it's also the longest. Here's to hoping my readers watch the whole thing.

I have a personal connection to these fires, which I'm recycling from PBS Terra asks 'When Will We Stop Moving to the Riskiest Regions?'

The disaster in my former home state connects back to two more entries, PBS Terra asks 'Is This Type of Fire IMPOSSIBLE to Stop?' and PBS Terra asks 'Will Climate Change Pop the Housing Bubble?' I'm recycling what I wrote about fire in the first entry.

Fires with high winds were always the most dangerous. They've become even more so since I moved to Michigan 35 years ago, as I wrote in California's Camp and Woolsey fires air pollution seen from space and felt on ground.

I found out last week that the home where I grew up was in a mandatory evacuation zone. In the 25 years I lived there, that never happened. In addition, I don't recall my family ever telling me that had happened during the three decades I've lived in Michigan until this past week.*
...
*I[n] case anyone is wondering, the house is O.K. It was more than a mile from the edge of the fire at its greatest extent.

My old house was under mandatory evacuation orders during these fires as well, but survived again. Whew!

PBS Terra retitled the video in the second post "The Insurance Industry Can't Weather Another Wildfire Season Like This UNLESS..." which I think is more accurate. As the second video points out, the fires have caused between $135 billion and $150 billion in damages so far. Yikes!

Those are just the monetary losses. May and the Weathered crew also showed the human costs. Those can be seen and felt, but are harder to measure.

Follow over the jump for the top posts featuring videos from Weathered, whether on PBS Terra or the main PBS channel, between March 21, 2024 and March 20, 2025. The most read of them was PBS examines 'THE RISKIEST Places to Live in the US as Our Climate Changes', which listed Los Angeles County, California, among the riskiest places in the U.S. because of climate change. That turned out to be true sooner than I expected!

PBS Terra asks 'Save the Planet? In THIS Economy? Pffft' for an Earth Month Throwback Thursday

Happy Throwback Thursday! For today's retrospective, I'm finishing the series of Earth Month videos from PBS Terra I featured in For Earth Day, PBS Terra asks 'Stop Saving the Planet?' Change the world instead and today's featured post, PBS Terra explains 'How Big Business Broke Recycling (And Blamed You)' by sharing Save the Planet? In THIS Economy? Pffft.

We often hear industry and political leaders talk about how we need to balance the economy with the environment. The thinking goes something like this: environmental destruction is necessary to earn a living and make the things we need. But is this really true? Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant explores how we can approach the economy and the environment differently.

I begin my reaction by recycling two passages from the first post in the series.

This video reinforces a point I've been making since the first year of the blog and even before that in my environmental science classes: "economy is dependent on society, which is in turn dependent on the environment. Without an environment, there is no society. Without a society, there is no economy."
...
I think the system needs to be reformed; the status quo is unsustainable, while scrapping our food, energy, and economic systems and starting over would be too disruptive.

This video provides an idea of how those reforms could work. It's also one I could show my students. Welcome to blogging as professional development.

Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant also pointed out the inequitable distribution of both harms and benefits from economic activity using the example of the port district of Wilmington in Los Angeles, which I can add as an example of environmental racism. What struck me as hard as the life expectancy of residents of the port neighborhoods of San Pedro, Wilmington, and West Long Beach being eight years lower than Los Angeles County as a whole is that more people died from air pollution in L.A. County than from traffic accidents and crime combined. Yikes! Am I glad I moved out of there!

Follow over the jump for how today's top post earned its page views.

Nowruz Pirooz and Happy 14th Birthday to this blog!

Nowruz Mubarak! Happy International Day of Nowruz AKA Persian New Year and happy 14th birthday of this blog! After emphasizing the blog's birthday last year, I'm giving Nowruz pride of place today, beginning with FOX 5 San Diego's Celebrating the Persian New Year at Balboa Park.



FOX 5's Heather Lake reports.
This video earned the featured position because it had the best combination of preview image, location reporting, and studio shenanigans. The next video, CBS 8 San Diego reporting Millions around the world prepare to celebrate Persian New Year as spring begins had an even clearer explanation with less silly studio interactions.

Families celebrate Nowruz by gathering around a Haftseen table to mark the start of Spring and the Persian New Year.

The presenter should look familiar; she's Neda Iranpour, who I featured in 2022 and 2023. Welcome back to the blog!

At the risk of being redundant, I'm sharing the most viewed of the videos about the holiday today, KCAL's Celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year.

Bita Milanian, Iranian American community organizer, joins KCAL News anchors to share some ways to celebrate Nowruz, which is the Persian New Year. Milanian explains how the new year is a symbol of rebirth and new beginnings.

That was worth sharing just for the closing comment about the Women of Iran, Time's Heroes of the Year for 2022.

I conclude by wishing Happy Birthday from the Swedish Chef to this blog.

To help celebrate your birthday, the Swedish Chef is here to whip up some party snacks!

HAHAHAHA!

Stay tuned for World Water Day.

PBS Terra asks 'When Will We Stop Moving to the Riskiest Regions?'

The Cascadia Megaquake and Tsunami isn't the only topic PBS Terra likes to re-examine periodically. Another is THE RISKIEST Places to Live in the US as Our Climate Changes'. Watch as PBS Terra asks When Will We Stop Moving to the Riskiest Regions?

For the last 50 years, Americans have flocked to the warm, sunny South. But, as climate change makes extreme heat, hurricanes, wildfire and flooding worse, will that trend ever STOP? Well, some regions might just be showing signs of a reversal, and they hold lessons for what other areas might expect as the world continues to warm.

I wrote "I just wish that the economics were such that people would move here instead of into harm's way. That would make a great subject for another post" two years ago in PBS Terra asks 'What is the RISKIEST Region in the US as the Climate Changes?' In the case of Louisiana, which 'Weathered: Earth's Extremes' asks 'What Happens When the Land Runs Out?' covered, the answer is a combination of low income and high cost. As long as people are making money, they will continue moving into and living in high-risk states like Florida and Texas, although Miami-Dade County is starting to lose population. That looks like a good story for another day. Instead, I'm shifting to the other coast for Maiya May explaining The Real Reason California Is Burning.

The Palisades, Eaton, Hurst, and Kenneth fires in the greater Los Angeles area have already caused catastrophic damage and loss of life. They also figure to be the most expensive in terms of property damage in California, and even US history.

What caused these fires? Why are they happening during what's typically the wettest time of year in Southern California? Is climate change to blame? And how will this affect the insurance industry moving forward? Weathered's Maiya May explains.

The disaster in my former home state connects back to two more entries, PBS Terra asks 'Is This Type of Fire IMPOSSIBLE to Stop?' and PBS Terra asks 'Will Climate Change Pop the Housing Bubble?' I'm recycling what I wrote about fire in the first entry.

Fires with high winds were always the most dangerous. They've become even more so since I moved to Michigan 35 years ago, as I wrote in California's Camp and Woolsey fires air pollution seen from space and felt on ground.

I found out last week that the home where I grew up was in a mandatory evacuation zone. In the 25 years I lived there, that never happened. In addition, I don't recall my family ever telling me that had happened during the three decades I've lived in Michigan until this past week.*
...
*I[n] case anyone is wondering, the house is O.K. It was more than a mile from the edge of the fire at its greatest extent.

My old house was under mandatory evacuation orders during these fires as well, but survived again. Whew!

PBS Terra retitled the video in the second post "The Insurance Industry Can't Weather Another Wildfire Season Like This UNLESS..." which I think is more accurate. As the second video points out, the fires have caused between $135 billion and $150 billion in damages so far. Yikes!

That's about as topical as I care to get today. Stay tuned for more evergreen and holiday entries until the end of the month.

PBS examines 'THE RISKIEST Places to Live in the US as Our Climate Changes'

PBS is revisiting PBS Terra asks 'What is the RISKIEST Region in the US as the Climate Changes?' Watch THE RISKIEST Places to Live in the US as Our Climate Changes | Weathered: Earth's Extremes.

In this story from Weathered: Earth’s Extremes, Maiya May pours over giant risk maps with NASA scientist Marshall Shephard to learn the most significant impacts of our changing climate on each region of the US. Using some of the most powerful computers in the world, scientists can project how a warmer world will change our weather. She finds an answer to the question: where is the riskiest place to live as the climate warms, and how can we prepare?

The answer is Miami/Dade County/Broward County in Florida, the parishes just east of New Orleans in Louisiana, and Los Angeles County in California. Meanwhile, Oakland County is slightly more vulnerable than I had thought, but much better than Los Angeles. That makes me extra glad I moved from Southern California to Michigan 35 years ago!

Stay tuned as "Wednesday is both National Fossil Day and World Food Day. PBS Eons videos about the prehistory of food, anyone?"

PBS Eons explains 'How Plate Tectonics Transformed Los Angeles'

This has been Rancho La Brea week on Twitch, where I have been hanging out lately. First, Joschua Knüppe, who streams on Twitch as Paleostream, digitally painted a recreation of my old stomping grounds during the late Pleistocene, which I watched part of, three days ago. Then RockItSage hosted a Rancho La Brea stream last night. I shared three videos as resources for Sage. She ended up using How Plate Tectonics Transformed Los Angeles.

Despite the profound changes we’ve made here in recent history, the epic saga of Los Angeles' natural history is still visible - and even striking - if you know where and how to look for it.

This video has even more geology than paleontology, which is probably why Sage shared it and reacted to it for her audience. I'm glad I passed this on to her. It also gave me an opportunity to revisit Rancho La Brea, which I haven't done in detail here since Kunstler, K-Dog, and I discuss prehistoric mammals for Darwin Day... That post featured the second video I shared. Watch it there. As for the third, stay tuned. I'm being a good environmentalist and conserving my resources for a future entry.

CityNerd declares 'Music is urbanist' and lists the top ten music cities

I asked my readers for advice yesterday.

I'm taking a break from Project 2025 to post the Sunday entertainment feature. My choice right now is between Tiana's Bayou Adventure or the BET Awards. Decisions, decisions. Any preference from my readers?

Since no one chimed in, both projects would take more time than I want to spend, and neither ended up appealing to me when I woke up, I changed my mind, so I'm embedding CityNerd's Music Is Urbanist & These Are the Top 10 Cities instead, an entertainment topic that intersects with sustainability.

Whatever kind of music you listen to, it's almost certain it was developed and produced in a city. The way cities nurture and develop artists is vastly under-discussed, so today we're discussing it! In the guise of a top ten list, of course.

When Ray "CityNerd" Delahanty asked "If the question is who's your favorite band or artist, there's really no wrong answer, is there?" and then showed Insane Clown Posse, I smirked. Detroit represent! Speaking of which, Motown is number six on CityNerd's list. I'm not going to complain about its placement, given what cities are ahead and behind of it.

Here's the top ten along with the artists Delahanty gave the most credit for each city's position.

10. Atlanta, Ray Charles
9. Houston, Beyoncé, who just won the Viewer’s Choice Award for “Texas Hold ‘Em” at the BET Awards — see, I actually followed through on one of my ideas!
8. Minneapolis/St. Paul, Prince
7. Seattle, Nirvana and Jimi Hendrix
6. Detroit, Stevie Wonder and other Motown artists
5. Liverpool, The Beatles (plus a Rickroll)
4. Chicago, multiple acts, including Michael Jackson
3. Los Angeles (my original home town), multiple acts, also including Michael Jackson
2. London, multiple acts, including The Who and The Rolling Stones
1. New York, too many acts to pick out.

Honorable Mentions include New Orleans, Memphis, San Francisco and the rest of the Bay Area, Philadelphia, Toronto, Manchester, Oxford, Reykjavik, Jacksonville, Nashville, and Austin.

Did your city make the list?

MSNBC covers record heat and climate change for World Emoji Day

When I looked at Google News' U.S. page, I saw result after result of extreme weather and climate change news. I'm taking that as a signal from the universe, or at least Google's algorithm, to write about them. I begin by quoting my responses to Infidel753's link and comment on Three hottest days on record this week and it's only Thursday.

I reported that the world has now had its *four* hottest days ever this week in PBS NewsHour reports 'Record-breaking global temperature, raging wildfires highlight effects of climate change' plus Thursday broke another record.
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It's so bad that I checked to see if the average global temperature records were broken on Friday and Saturday for a fifth or even sixth time. The closest I could find was Mother Jones asking Did Planet Earth Just Have its Hottest-Ever Week? The answer seems to be yes: "Until last week, no single day over the Climate Reanalyzer’s 44 years of records has had an average temperature higher than 62.6 degrees Fahrenheit. But the the seven-day stretch ending Thursday averaged that much."

The record-breaking heat and other effects of climate change have continued, catching MSNBC's attention this weekend; it's not just me. Watch Jeff Berardelli explain the connection between extreme weather and climate change in Extreme weather and climate change seen from a meteorologist’s eyes.

Extreme weather is expected to intensify across the world over the coming months. Not only is climate change to blame, but there’s also the fact that we are entering an El Niño year, which means more heat, more moisture, more energy in the entire system. But as our climate and weather patterns change, so does the role of meteorologists and the facts they report. WFLA meteorologist Jeff Berardelli discusses his experience with American Voices host Alicia Menendez.

I'm one of Berardelli's fans, so I'm always happy to see him interviewed, even if the news he delivers is scary.

MSNBC had several stories about the threat that heat poses to human health. Since I'm originally from Los Angeles, I'm featuring Los Angeles' first 'Heat Officer' works to combat effects of record-breaking heat.

Marta Segura is the first-ever Heat Officer of Los Angeles, as southern California faces record-breaking, deadly temperatures and increased wildfires. "It's not your grandmother's summer," Segura told Yasmin Vossoughian. She also hopes the position, which also exists in Miami and Phoenix, will be considered in other states.

When I blog about Woodland Hills, the part of Los Angeles where I grew up, it's always about how much hotter it is now than it was 50 years ago. As I wrote five years ago, "I don't remember heat waves this bad or this frequent growing up, so things have definitely changed." That Los Angeles has created a Heat Officer position reflects this.

Ali Velshi stressed the importance of trying to do something about the climate instead of moving from denial to despair in Climate Crisis: The impact of the record breaking marine heatwave.

As we enter an El Nino weather pattern - a system of unusually high ocean surface temperatures - the impacts on our heating oceans are severe. The global average ocean temperature hit an all time high in April, and continues to break records almost daily. One of the impacts of warming oceans is the harm caused to marine ecosystems.
We're seeing coral reefs bleach and die, and mass fish die-offs. Warmer oceans contribute to stronger storms, hurricanes, and cyclones, and facilitate more evaporation. And these extreme storms dump more rain - just look at the flooding that has occurred around the world in the last few days.

Velshi's message is one I tell my students. While I'm not afraid to scare them or gross them out, I also want to give them hope. It's the same approach I take here with my readers.

Speaking of lightening the mood, today is World Emoji Day, so I'm sharing some appropriate emojis.


Try to stay safe and cool out there.

Tides are changing for World Oceans Day 2023

Happy World Oceans Day! I've been celebrating this environmental holiday on this blog for ten years, so today marks one full decade of my observing it.

I begin today's tenth anniversary celebration with France 24 English's Climate change: World Oceans Day to mark the significance of the oceans in our daily lives.*

On 8 June World Oceans Day will be celebrated worldwide, serving as a poignant reminder of the immense significance of the ocean in our daily lives. The importance of a healthy ocean cannot be overstated. They are home to 80 percent of the animal biomass, serving as a vital source of sustenance, nutrition and livelihoods for millions of people worldwide.

I was right when I wrote "I might have more on the Global Plastic Pollution Treaty as soon as Thursday," as France 24 English covered it right after talking about climate change and biodiversity. There should be a draft treaty when the delegates meet again in Nairobi later this year.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres mentioned the Global Plastic Pollution Treaty in World Oceans Day 2023 (8 June) - United Nations Secretary-General along with other international agreements.

Video Message by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, on World Oceans Day 2023.

Here are the initiatives Secretary-General Guterres listed after declaring that "the tides are changing."

Last year, we adopted an ambitious global target to conserve and manage 30 per cent of land and marine and coastal areas by 2030, as well as a landmark agreement on fisheries subsidies.

At the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, the world agreed to push for more positive ocean action.

A global, legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution is under negotiation.

And in March, countries agreed to the historic High Seas Treaty on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

Realizing the great promise of these initiatives requires collective commitment.

Sustainable Development Goal 14 — to conserve and sustainably use the ocean’s resources — hangs in the balance.

This World Oceans Day, let’s keep pushing for action.

Today and every day, let’s put the ocean first.

As a Crazy Eddie, I approve.

Follow over the jump for two videos I missed from last year's celebration that I found worth watching.

An update on the WGA strike after one month plus news about SAG-AFTRA and DGA

The writers strike has been going on for a full month, so it's the subject of today's Sunday entertainment feature. I begin with the Los Angeles Times reporting Hollywood's writers are on strike. Here are five things you need to know on June 1, 2023.

Hollywood's writers have gone on strike for the first time in 15 years amid a sea change in the way content is being distributed and creators are being compensated.

PBS NewsHour covered much the same territory two weeks ago, when it uploaded Hollywood faces larger work stoppage as actors threaten to strike alongside writers.

The actors union SAG-AFTRA has called for a strike authorization vote. If the strike is approved, actors could join the more than 11,000 Writers Guild members already on the picket line putting more pressure on studios and networks. The writers' strike halted production of movies, scripted series and late-night shows. Geoff Bennett discussed what's at stake with Sal Gentile and Jeane Phan Wong.

The SAG-AFTRA leadership is recommending that the rank-and-file vote yes. Based on that and the solidarity among all the unions supporting the WGA, I think the vote will be yes. That puts added pressure on the TV and movie producers before the SAG-AFTRA contract expires on June 30.

One Hollywood union will almost certainly not be striking, as ABC 7 in Los Angeles reported Directors guild and Hollywood studios reach tentative agreement on new 3-year contract today.

The deal includes wage increases totaling 12% throughout the three years of the contract and provides a 76% increase in streaming residuals.

This reminds me of what I wrote last month.

[Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw] observed that the studios appear to be waiting to finalize the contracts with the DGA and SAG-AFTRA before settling with the WGA, which is what happened 15 years ago. History doesn't repeat, but it sure does rhyme.

Sure enough, current events are rhyming with history. CBS News quoted the WGA's response in the description to WGA says potential DGA deal wouldn't end writers strike.*

In a memo Thursday, the Writers Guild of America told members that the Directors Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild negotiations will not affect their fight. The memo said the "era of divide and conquer is over." Anousha Sakoui, a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, joined CBS News to talk about the situation, a month into the writers strike.

Let's see if the WGA is right, or if current events continue to rhyme with history. Stay tuned.

*The various CBS News YouTube accounts have a line about video licensing. I'm not sure that applies to embedding their videos, which CBS News hasn't blocked, but I'm not taking any chances by embedding any of their videos from the past year since they added that line.

TEDx talks presents 'Trees: The superheroes we’ve been waiting for' on Arbor Day, Superhero Day, and Flashback Friday

Happy Arbor Day and National Superhero Day on Flashback Friday! For today's observance of two holidays that celebrate some of my favorite topics, I'm sharing Trees: The superheroes we’ve been waiting for | Andy Lipkis | TEDxUCLA from July 7, 2015.

When is the last time you stopped and really looked at a tree? Sometimes the things we see everyday lose their profound importance as they seem so commonplace, ordinary, already understood. Andy Lipkis has dedicated his life to trees, and talks about the extraordinary, and untapped power of the tree.

Andy Lipkis if the Founder and President of TreePeople, a nonprofit organization that is growing a green and climate-resilient Los Angeles.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.

This is at least the second time Andy Lipkis has appeared on this blog. The first time was Rocking the boat down the Los Angeles River, which included a brief interview of him. I didn't even mention him or his charity, TreePeople, then, but he made important points about water in "Rock the Boat" that he repeats in this video. I'm glad a gave him a chance to repeat them a decade later. It beats Captain Planet!


Follow over the jump for a retrospective about last year's holiday posts that became popular on Pinterest and Twitter.

CNBC explains 'Why Traffic Is So Bad In Los Angeles,' a driving update

Pearl passed another milestone yesterday, so it's time for a post about driving in general followed by a driving update. I begin with CNBC explaining Why Traffic Is So Bad In Los Angeles. Consider it a sequel to CNBC explains 'Why U.S. Speed Limits Are Wrong,' a driving update for a Flashback Friday.

Los Angeles consistently ranks among the most traffic-clogged cities in America. The county has been trying to reduce its traffic for decades and nothing has worked. Many researchers and economists suggest charging people for using the road in a system called congestion pricing.

I grew up in Los Angeles and worked on the construction of its subway. I know first hand how bad its traffic was and still is and at least did something to relieve it. I'm not surprised that it wasn't enough, but I wonder how Angelenos, who weren't even used to paying tolls on expressways — they took the "free" in freeway quite seriously when I lived there, but some of the express/high-occupancy-vehicle lanes now charge tolls — would accept congestion pricing. I suppose they will tolerate it if it means they can get somewhere faster. As the saying goes, time is money and people have shown they are willing to spend money to save time.

Follow over the jump for my personal driving update.

UCLA study shows high-risk fire days in southern California could double by 2100

Another climate study came out last week in addition to the determination that the American West is in the worst drought during past 1,200 years. CBS Los Angeles reported UCLA Study Shows Southern California Wildfire Risk Will Continue To Increase.

It seems like there are major wildfires in Southern California every year and a new report from UCLA predicts things will only get worse. The study shows the number of days with a high risk of fires could double by the end of the century.

It's Glen MacDonald, not Park Williams, explaining the findings, but he's also a professor in the UCLA Geography Department. On the one hand, go Bruins! On the other hand, yikes! I thought California's year-round fire season was bad enough already, but it's going to get worse.

CBS Sacramento also reported New UCLA Study Predicts More Fires In CA.

A new study out of UCLA predicts more disastrous fires throughout California.

I found this clip worth including just for the spectacular fire footage.

KTLA included a relevant location, a fire station, in High-risk fire days could double by 2100 due to climate change, study finds.


I hope Californians respond by making their developed environment more able to survive the increased fire risk and by joining the rest of the world in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. I'm doing my part by reducing my driving because of the pandemic. I don't expect that will last past May, when I will probably return to in-person teaching and commuting, but we'll see.

That should conclude my climate change blogging for the month unless another study comes out that makes the news. Stay tuned.

American West in worst drought during past 1,200 years

Western drought likely worst in a millennium and may be the beginning of 'aridification' that I originally promised at the end of One foot sea level rise by 2050 according to U.S. government study. I begin with PBS NewsHour reporting Western states face a bleak future amid the worst drought in more than 1,000 years.

The so-called megadrought that is afflicting the American West is the worst in 1,200 years, according to a study published this week. It has dried up water supplies, threatened ranchers and fueled wildfires. Park Williams, the lead author of the study just published in the journal Nature Climate Change, joins William Brangham with more.

About the only good news is that PBS NewsHour interviewed the lead author of the study, who is an Associate Professor at UCLA, my undergraduate alma mater. They went to the source and got a brief yet clear explanation of the science. Yay, PBS journalism standards and go Bruins! Other than that, this is bad news.

NBC News opted for more video clips to illustrate Western States Face Worst Megadrought In More Than 1,000 Years.

A megadrought in the western U.S. has become the worst in more than 1,000 years and is being driven by humans, according to a new study. NBC News meteorologist Bill Karins breaks down whether the drought is showing any signs of letting up and how California officials are hoping to combat the unprecedented drought.

At least NBC News focused on solutions.

To see how the local media where I grew up covered this story, watch CBS Los Angeles The West Enters Worst Drought In 1,200 Years.

Experts believe 42% the so called "Megadrought" can be attributed to human-caused climate change.

CBS LA went for a combination of expert interview, location footage, and a search for solution with a local emphasis, which I thought was a good combination for them. Still, they didn't avoid this being bad news.

For my conclusion, I'm going to be a good environmentalist by recycling what I wrote last June for my reaction to the PBS Terra video I embedded.

Calling this "the worst drought in 1200 years" and the process "aridification" instead of a mere drought reminds me of something I said in the interview I linked to in On BlogTalkRadio for Earth Day today.* I told host John Henry that I thought that the drought was comparable to the once-in-a-lifetime one that caused the Dust Bowl but it could be worse. The current drought could rival the ones that occurred in the U.S. Southwest during the mid 1100s and late 1200s, during which time the Anasazi, the ancestors of today's Hopi, who were featured in the PBS Terra video, abandoned many of their previous settlements and started building their current pueblos. I'd listen to the descendants of the survivors of that drought about how to cope with it.

I still would, even though these videos didn't feature indigenous voices. That's an additional perspective that might have been valuable.

Drought, fire, and mudslides in California, a story I tell my students

Now that July 4th is over, even though today is the official observance, I'm returning to the topic of Western drought likely worst in a millennium and may be the beginning of 'aridification', the most read entry both last month and so far this blogging year with more than 2,000 raw page views and counting. That video concentrated on the arid Southwest, particularly Arizona and Nevada. Today's video from PBS NOVA Official examines the situation in my former home state, explaining How California's Droughts Lead to Other Disasters.

Each year, California and the Southwest break new records for droughts and high temperatures, leading to heat waves, wildfires, and even flooding. Learn how these catastrophes operate together—and how engineers are working on new technologies to help us survive.

This video describes a cycle I grew up with and explain to my geology students nearly every semester. Dry years lead to fires, which remove the ground cover that holds hillsides in place. Eventually, a wet year will follow the fires, which trigger mudslides (technically debris flows) causing even more death and destruction. Climate change is making the situation worse, as PBS Terra described when the channel asked Catastrophic Landslide in California: Can We Stop the Unstoppable?

Landslides occur in mountainous areas all over the world. One of the most devastating in US history struck on January 9, 2018, when 1,000,000 cubic tons of mud, boulders, and uprooted trees barreled into the sleeping town of Montecito, CA, claiming 23 lives and causing around $1 billion in damage. But as shocking as this event was, it was not an anomaly. They occur in every US state, killing dozens and costing around $4 billion each year. And the hazard is growing as we increasingly build in risky areas and climate change makes triggering events, like fire and heavy rain, more common.

For this episode of Weathered, we traveled to Montecito to speak with experts and survivors about what they’ve learned following the tragedy as well as the lessons we can all apply to be more prepared for these common hazards.

I just added this video to my online classes, so I haven't heard or read my students' reactions to it. That written, nearly every time I lectured about this cycle during in person classes, at least one student asked how Californians live under such conditions.* I tell them that for 364 days a year, the weather is beautiful and the people are, too, so everyone ignores the day every year when things go to Hell. My punchline is that there is a reason the region's nickname is La La Land and it isn't just because Los Angeles's initials are L.A. For a fantasy depiction of that attitude and accompanying coping mechanism, I present Another Day of Sun - La La Land Opening Scene.


I couldn't resist an entertainment angle to this post, especially after skipping it yesterday. Now, back to reality.

*All that is before I lecture about earthquakes, which really freak my students out. I have a video to share from PBS NOVA about that risk, too. Stay tuned.

'For entertainment purposes only' — The Archdruid and his readers discuss laws regulating fortune telling

I managed to post the first comment on The Legacy of Luxor at The Archdruid's current blog Ecosophia.net.

"In 1932...Los Angeles passed an ordinance banning the teaching and practice of astrology" — How long did that last? Not past the 1970s, when the Los Angeles newspapers had astrology columns, which they labeled "for entertainment only." I even wrote a parody of one for the November 1980 UCLA Band newsletter in which I jokingly forecast that people born under my sun sign would find romantic companionship, writing "If you're a saxophone or clarinet player, you will find someone to wet your reed. If you're a trombone player, you'll find someone to grease your slide." That night, I went out with a trombonist, a date I did not have before I wrote the parody. Coincidence or wishful thinking come true? It certainly wasn't astrology, as I didn't cast a chart.

My comment started off a discussion about that law in particular and laws regulating divination in general beginning with John Michael Greer's response.

I suspect it was overturned fairly quickly. Astrology and other forms of divination faced quite a bit of this kind of harassment in the early 20th century, but none of it seems to have stuck.

That turned out not to be true, although it may as well have been. Follow over the jump, where the conversation continued between Greer the Archdruid and the rest of his readers about laws governing practices with the disclaimer "for entertainment purposes only," which is why I am posting it as a silly and serious Sunday entertainment feature.