11/17/2024

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            How is the trip to the Southern Hemisphere going? I have not been on the other side of the equator. Can you tell that you are upside down?

            I’m glad you are getting the chance to visit the Amazon. I wonder if it will be evident to you that, as noted in the SF Chronicle, “the forest has been suffering two years of historic drought that have dried up waterways, isolated thousands of riverine communities & hindered riverine dwellers’ ability to fish.” Sounds bad!

            Thanks for investing in reforestation projects. Please use this opportunity to bring to light Jeff Bezos’ efforts to make his own rules regarding carbon offsets. According to Reuters, he’s “sidestepping” global standards. Folks are worried his efforts will “lead to market confusion & a compromise in the standards of carbon offsets.”

            I am growing weary of billionaires run amok. I wonder when this gilded age will end. I hope we don’t have something like the panic of 1893.

            I am also weary of the conflict in Burma. Clearly things have run amok there. The latest news from the Irrawaddy is that, “despite citizens grappling with widespread power outages & soaring electricity bills, even in Yangon, junta energy minister Ko Ko Lwin has declared the country will share liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its new terminal with China.”

            I’m afraid I have to get going. We spend our Sunday mornings in Davis & it’s time to head in that direction.

            BYBS,