Long Walks On Leafy Streets

11/07/2013 Tuckerman St NE, Washington, DC
On Sunday evening I was returning home from Virginia. As I looked up North Capitol Street just before reaching Tuckerman Street where we live I saw this gorgeous splash of colors on both sides as if the trees were all dressed up and ready to go for a last dance before winter sets in. The palette of various shades of yellow, orange and red was simply breathtaking. I rushed home, got my camera and walked around the neighborhood shooting pictures. You can see the results on my flickr page. Just click on the little photo on the top left of this page and then click on Pictures. The big photo on this page was taken on our street just a couple of blocks from our house.
The weather has been mostly on the warmer side during the past week. I have been continuing my practice of walking home the three and a half miles from my office on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Only on monday night was it noticeably cold, down in the forties.
Yet after walking at a brisk pace for about half a mile the body warmed up and I felt no discomfort, even though I was not dressed very warmly. The past several days the trees have been changing color much more rapidly and in larger numbers. Walking home I felt like I was in an artist’s studio, with every tree a painting in itself.
I also noticed that the squirrels have been extraordinarily active of late. Perhaps they were lulled by the warm weather and the sudden change in temperature during the start of the week was like a warning signal. I guess they are now busy trying to get enough acorns and other food items to store for the winter. I saw some of them even rummaging through garbage bins. You see rats do that all the time but rarely do you see squirrels do it.
All of this brings me back to the topic of climate change. The changes happening to this planet are ominous. We cannot afford to ignore them. In fact we need to take urgent action in whatever way we can. Starting from the loss of sea ice in the arctic to the increase in temperatures and greenhouse gas emissions with every passing year nature is telling us in every way possible to wake up and do something.
This was the reason I was out in Virginia on Sunday. Although I would have rather stayed at home working on my research or any number of other things I felt it was important that I volunteered on behalf of the Democratic Party, going door to door asking people to vote. I wanted to make sure I did my part in defeating the candidacy of Ken Cuccinelli. He has taken extreme positions when it came to the environment, among other things. He went so far as to sue the University of Virginia to release research documents of climate scientists, basically harassing and intimidating them. Already Virginia is lagging behind when it comes to adopting environmentally friendly policies and fighting climate change. If Mr. Cuccinelli came to power it would only make things much worse. Politics is stressful, messy and unpleasant. Yet we cannot afford to ignore it because it affects all of our lives.
At the same time I am thinking about other ways in which I can help to heal this beautiful planet of ours. By nature I am an optimist both in human nature and in our collective future, believing that everything happens for a purpose and for the good. I believe that we will succeed in this endeavor as long as we all work together and work hard.

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