October 12, 2026

by Dr. Plastic Picker

I’m not sure if it was the weather? There is El Nino and a tropical storm that is coming through our area. The outsized amount of precipitation means that there are in other parts of the world, epic droughts. It’s forecast that upwards of over 400,000 people will die in this next climate fueled weather change.

This makes sense. Our daughter said she felt anxious. We also at home, her father and I, felt anxious. She’s away from us, the youngest, and we are used to being there more for her than our oldest. But the weather is changing, the climate is changing, and she’s at the same time off to college and was sick with her first prolonged illness.

She’s better now. She’s learning how to adapt. We are learning how to live with our anxiety. The world is learning how to adapt to this changing climate.

I reminded her to meditate. I reminded her to re-center and to ground herself. She is worried about existential things, but I told her fundamentally that she is surrounded by so much love and community. All those webs of connections have transplanted to Cambridge. But when she left for college, she did not go alone. We all went with her. All of us.

Mommy loves you very much. You exist. You exist in a cocoon of love. There is nothing to fear because my love for my daughter is infinite, and that gives me strength to plug along and try to make the world safer for all of us, all of our children. Because it makes me understand more how powerful everyone’s love for that child/daugther/son/child/nephew/niece can be.

Lots of climate projects this week! Lots of climate projects last week that were major! I hope everyone voted. I VOTED! I reminded our son to take his ballot up to Berkeley to vote, and we are brining her ballot to her in Cambridge shortly so she can vote as well. Please vote! It’s one of the most impactful things you can do for the world an the climate!