• Recent political history in one sentence: the Democratic Party gave up the working class for the woking class.
• Update on the Dutch election that John and I noted over the weekend: when all the votes were counted, the farmers protest party captured 17 seats in the 75-seat Senate, up from 15 as originally results suggested. The previous four-party ruling coalition can’t survive, and it would seem to be difficult to assemble a new government that doesn’t include the BBB, though parliamentary systems are peculiar in this regard, and including the BBB in the government would likely require large concessions to their demands (which I hope they are able to extract). Belgium was unable to form a government for nearly a year after an election a few years back, so this could be a mess for a while.
In any case, the result has this hoogleraar celebrating:
• Oh goody—Marx is trending again on Twitter:
I much prefer Twitter when Thomas Aquinas is trending:
It’s a great day when Thomas Aquinas trends on Twitter.
• Politico doesn’t want to be left out of the climate carnival, but they are several days late to the party:
What Silicon bank collapse could mean for climate
The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank could have major implications for startups working to reduce planet-warming emissions, potentially undercutting President Joe Biden’s climate agenda. . .
Yadda yadda yadda. How soon until Politico lays off its reporting staff and just gets ChatGPT to write stories like this?
• Speaking of KlimatAngst, the University of Colorado is on it!
Eco-anxiety workshops offer opportunity for community and expression
The University Libraries will host two workshops on eco-anxiety: “Climate Wisdom Lab: Tools for Coping with the Climate” on Tuesday, March 7 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. via Zoom and “Eco-Anxiety Drop-in Zine Workshop” on Wednesday, March 8 from 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. in the Children’s & Young Adult area of Norlin Library.
‘Eco-anxiety’ is a term which describes distress related to climate and ecological crises. A 2020 poll by the American Psychiatric Association found that 67% of Americans have experienced some form of eco-anxiety.
The workshops are a part of the Buffs One Read program and a broader effort by the Libraries to address issues of climate change, highlight underrepresented and student voices and build community through engagement with shared themes.
“We feel that providing an avenue for students to express their anxieties about the environment is important to our mission of supporting the whole student,” said Sarah Hagerman, engagement programming specialist. “Both workshops will give space to students to express their hopes, fears and stories about climate change and ecological disaster.”
The first workshop, “Climate Wisdom Lab” is designed to provide participants with the tools to respond to experiences such as climate-trauma, eco-anxiety, global dread and ontological insecurity, among others. The workshop is virtual and participants must register to attend.
The zine workshop will provide supplies—from magazines to glue sticks—for participants to creatively express their feelings on climate change. Participants are welcome to bring their own materials to include and drop-in anytime to make a zine.
Can we sniff the glue sticks? It’s the best thing on offer here for my “ontological insecurity.”
• Gee, I wonder why no one wants to ride the subway in LA any more:
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