A BRIGHT NEW DAY FOR AMERICA

  From Worldometer (new deaths yesterday):

        DAY  USA  WORLD   Brazil    India    South Africa

June     9     1093     4732        1185        246        82

July    22     1205     7128         1293      1120       572

Aug    12     1504      6556        1242       835       130

Sept     9      1208      6222       1136      1168        82

Oct      21     1225       6849         571       703       85

Nov    25      2304    12025         620       518      118

Dec     30      3880    14748      1224       299      465

Jan        7       4207     14812      1455       234      441

            14       4142    15512       1151          189      712

            19       2804    14760      1183         161      839 

Summary:  Clearly, the holiday penalty for getting together is over, so the first bit of good news today is that new COVID-19 cases and deaths will decline into the future, especially as vaccinations overwhelm this pandemic.

The second is the inauguration of Joe Biden.  (Click on that and watch the whole thing.) This scene two weeks ago was where the rioters scaled the wall.   I woke up just after 4AM Hawaii time, which was already 9AM in DC.  The ceremonies were just about to start.  I watched in supreme relief, re-imagining myself at Ronald Reagan's inauguration in 1981, exactly 40 years ago.  It, too, was a cold morning.  Me in an overcoat, shawl and hat to keep my head warm.  

• I had arrived on the Metro Orange line and walked pass the Library of Congress and Supreme Court to my office across the street from the Hart Senate Building. 
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• Sometimes I caught the Red Line, letting me off at Union Station, where I observed tulips, cherry blossoms and fall colors, depending on the season.  
• So, anyway, I  had no seat and stood for a couple of hours amidst a huge crowd on the Mall. 

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  In fact I was just about where I sat with Pearl on a blanket watching the very first Concert on the Mall, featuring the Beach Boys.  

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  I was in a House Gallery reserved seat when President Reagan gave his 1982 State of the Union Address. If you look closely, you just might see me.

But enough reminiscing:

• Jill and Joe in St. Matthews Church, with Kamala Harris, Chuck Schumer, Mitch McConnell and their spouses.  Note the beginning bipartisanship.
• There was a minor snow flurry.

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  All living presidents were there, except for Jimmy Carter, who is 96-years old and can't travel, and citizen Donald Trump, snubbing the event.
• Almost like the Academy Award Ceremony, with celebrity politicians arriving.

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  They had to walk down all those steps.  I have a mild case of bathmophobia, a fear of going down stairs.  Comes to some in old age.  There were a couple slips, but no one fell.
• Mike Pence was presidential enough, and Republicans seated in the staging area all wore masks.

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  There were tears in my eyes when Lady Gaga sang The Star Bangled Banner.  Then again, I was sleepy.
• Joe and Kamala were made official.
• Joe gave a good speech.
• Nothing went wrong.  No protests. Nothing.
• For two hours until the end, no commercials.

What you can still watch:

8:48 PM (3:48 PM Hawaii) THE PRESIDENT, THE FIRST LADY, THE VICE PRESIDENT, and THE SECOND GENTLEMAN attend the "Celebrating America" inaugural program; THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT deliver remarks.

Just turn on your TV.  Virtually every channel will cover the program, hosted by Tom Hanks:

Composer, lyricist, and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda of Broadway’s Hamilton will recite a classic work during the program. The artist joins Jon Bon Jovi, Ant Clemons, Foo Fighters, John Legend, Demi Lovato, Bruce Springsteen, and Justin Timberlake in the line up, performing from iconic locations across the country. 

Joining Kerry Washington and Eva Longoria, who will introduce segments throughout the program, is Skyhook Foundation Chairman and the NBA’s all-time leading scorer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Founder of World Central Kitchen Chef José Andrés, labor leader Dolores Huerta, and the first woman MLB general manager Kim Ng. 

Additionally, the PIC announced it will celebrate a number of the everyday Americans who have stepped up in their communities.

The third plus is that Donald Trump is on his way to Florida.  Clearly, the Constitution writers were prescient, for they knew they merely created a document to help forge A MORE PERFECT UNION.  We are certainly not there yet.  Trump's coup attempt is a sign that we have a ways to go.  While his effort was no doubt of the greatest concern, Trump's view on global warming could well have been #2.  Whether he was just being his usual ornery self, actually did believe this danger to Planet Earth was a hoax or whatever, he was a danger to the future of Humanity.  Today, President Joe Biden will re-join the Paris Agreement.

2020 tied 2016 as the warmest year on record, 1.84 F warmer that the 1951-1980 baseline.  The last seven years have been the warmest seven years on record.  The average temperature of Planet Earth is today 2 F higher than the late 19th century.

Result of warming:

• Australian bush fires during the first half of 2020 burned 46 million acres, and actually served to cool the atmosphere by releasing particles more than 18 miles high.
•  California wildfires burned 10.3 million acres in 2020 and 4.7 million acres in 2019.  
• Interestingly enough, even though as many as many as 4800 lightning strikes can hit California daily, only 10% of these fires are blamed to natural causes.  90% of wildland fires in the U.S. are caused by people.
• 2020  57000 wildfires
• 2019  50,477 wildfires
• 2018  58,083 wildfires and 8.8 million acres destroyed
• 2017  71,499 wildfires, burning 8.8 million acres

• The loss of Arctic sea ice, which declined by about 13%/decade, makes this region less reflective, meaning that more sunlight is absorbed.

What measurements does NASA use to come up with their summary?  More than 26,000 weather stations and ship-buoy-based observations.

At 3:41 PM on Sunday, August 16, Death Valley hit 129.9 F (54.4 C), breaking the previous high of 129.2 F taken here in 2013 and repeated in Kuwait in 2016.  However, that Furnace Creek Visitors' Center does not break the 134 F taken on 10 July 1913 at Greenland Ranch in Death Valley.  The unofficial record is the 136.4 F reading from Al Azizia, Libya in 1923.

So what is the OFFICIAL HIGH?  The general conclusion is that both the 1913 and 1923 measurements are bogus.  Thus, these recent global high temperatures hold validity for a dangerously increasing trend.

A fourth bit of good news is the stock market.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average broke its all-time high, reaching 31,188, and so did the S&P and Nasdaq.

So while it, indeed, is a bright new day for America, Planet Earth is being challenged and Humanity is hurting from the pandemic, with now signs of decline (otherwise known as improvement).  Two out of three ain't bad, especially when we are returning to take care of #3.

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