February 12, 2026

by Dr. Plastic Picker

I’m up finally blogging and working on my own brain health. I have to write an important letter of recommendation this morning for one of my most favorite people in the world. She needs a real job that pays real money and she’s going to do real work. It’s important to understand money and finances, and the reality of life. Mr. Plastic Picker and I have been together almost 30 years now, and having the same familial values and also financial values is very important. We are a good team.

But as I wrote a draft of a letter for her last night, I realized it was complete gibberish and I stopped. Writing late at night doesn’t really work for me. My thoughts are garbled and my thinking is not clear. So I finally took care of myself and turned off my netflix (I’m been binge watching C-dramas these days) and went to sleep at a semi-normal time. And now my mind is clear, and I’m going to write that letter that needs to be submitted today.

But something I realized after thinking of the recent meetings I’ve been at. I attended my first SD Shade Cool Council meeting which was super cool. I was invited as one of 20 regional leaders as part of the H3Sd organizing committee. I realized that we are truly at the climate mitigation and climate adaptation stage. This is very scary and horrifying.

They shared with me the up to date power point which I’ve shared with climate and health friends, and will continue to share. We are happily starting to organize for H3SD 2026 now, and that is hopeful and happening. I have to set up the San Diego Foundation meeting to ensure funding for the summit, as they give us a grant for food. I’ve been invited to be a co-author for the San Diego State University Healthy Air Healthy Water research paper, and I’m so honored. But all of this is because, at this moment in time – the world needs all of us. Every tenth of a degree counts. There are massive climate migrations and shifting ecosystems. It’s completely horrifying that we’ve gotten here, and fossil fuel companies and AI aficianados are still trying to pump more carbon into the atmosphere and drain more of our water resources.

I’m going to write that letter now. But I wanted to let you know. We are at climate adaptation and climate mitigation, and the presentation from the UCSD Scripps So Cal Heat Hub made this starkly obvious.

Come to our summit and help out! We are still trying to save the world, but it just got scarier and more real.