The problem with going on a sailing trip, even if only in your memory, is that when you come back to land the same problems remain.
A few scientists starting expressing their concern about planetary climate issues many decades ago and over the subsequent decades a firm consensus has emerged that human activity is the cause, but we seem no closer to solutions than we were back in 1974 when the "hole in the ozone" first emerged.
So that isn't completely true -- we *are* marginally closer to a solution because we are inching toward a transition to sustainable energy and transportation systems in place of the destructive extraction of fossil fuels. But the progress is agonizingly slow.
It says something that the Queen of England, her son and grandson, the future King, all are speaking out in frustration about this issue. That seems like a pretty good use of their time if you ask me, though I wonder how sustainable their royal lifestyles would be if they dramatically restricted their collective carbon footprint.
Studies indicate that an increasing portion of the world's population is already suffering the effects of warming temperatures, rising sea levels, melting glaciers and permafrost, dying coral reefs, drought, fire and extreme weather events.
It all makes a personal memory of surviving an extreme weather event in a sailboat at sea seem prosaic, but of course that is the point. Our little lives with their dramas and near escapes from disaster may amuse us in the telling, but it appears that the biggest story of all time will have no happy ending.
Because that is one story we cannot write our way out of.
***
THE HEADLINES:
* ‘Lurching Between Crisis and Complacency’: Was This Our Last Covid Surge? -- Rising immunity and modest changes in behavior may explain why cases are declining, but much remains unknown, scientists say. (NYT)
* VIDEO: Biden Announces Vaccine Donation to the African Union (AP)
* F.D.A. Panel Recommends Booster for Many Moderna Vaccine Recipients -- Those eligible for the extra shot would include adults over 65 and others at high risk — the same groups now eligible for a Pfizer-BioNTech boost. (NYT)
* U.S. to lift curbs from Nov. 8 for vaccinated foreign travelers - White House (Reuters)
* College students struggle with mental health as pandemic drags on (WP)
* If you’re heading to a gym or office in San Francisco or Marin, you no longer need to wear a face covering as long as you’re vaccinated. (SFC)
* A large explosion tore through a Shi'ite mosque in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar during Friday prayers, killing at least seven people and wounding 13, officials and provincial leaders said. (Reuters)
* An orphanage providing food, shelter and education in Afghanistan, which was recently taken over by the Taliban, is running out of funding and its director is desperately trying to regain donations. (Reuters)
* FIFA says it helped evacuate 100 players, family members from Afghanistan (Reuters)
* Biden to Press Climate Agenda on Wall Street (WSJ)
* California highway reopens but fire still a threat to homes (AP)
* A lack of precipitation combined with high temperatures this summer made for the worst drought conditions in California’s history. (CNN)
* The long-term forecast for mid-October shows several days of moderate to heavy rain, which could help to quell existing wildfires and improve drought conditions. (SF Gate)
* The race is on to save California’s rarest butterflies. (BBC)
* A normally quiet street in San Francisco is now plagued with confused self-driving cars. (CBS)
* Bitcoin hit a six-month high, approaching the record hit in April, as traders became increasingly confident that U.S. regulators would approve the launch of an exchange-traded fund based on its futures contracts. (Reuters)
* Texas abortion ban remains in effect after appeals court rules against Justice Dept. -- In a brief 2-1 order, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit refused the Justice Department’s request to reinstate an earlier court ruling that had blocked enforcement of the Texas law. (WP)
* The House select committee investigating the Capitol riot will vote next week to recommend a criminal contempt of Congress charge against Stephen K. Bannon after he defied a subpoena. (NYT)
* Former President Bill Clinton has been hospitalized in California for several days with a non-COVID-related infection. “He is on the mend, in good spirits," spokesperson Angel Ureña said. CNN reported that the former president had a blood infection and could be released as early as today. [HuffPost]
* F.B.I. Official Fired Under Trump Wins Back His Pension -- Andrew G. McCabe, the former F.B.I. deputy director, will receive his pension and other benefits after settling his lawsuit with the Justice Department. (NYT)
* A group of anti-Trump Republicans will endorse a slate of Democratic lawmakers facing tough races in next year's midterm elections, in a bid to stop the Republican Party from retaking control of Congress. (Reuters)
* A New York judge has ordered Trump to give a videotaped deposition next week in a lawsuit by a group of protesters who allege that Trump and his security team assaulted them during a 2015 rally against his hateful rhetoric about Mexican immigrants. The former president is expected to record the deposition on Monday in New York’s Trump Tower. [HuffPost]
* Student loan debt can be paid back in a lump sum, or over the course of several lifetimes (The Onion)
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