Light

Is the night sky getting lighter, getting darker, or staying the same?

"Progress"

Progress may be called correct or useful change, it often refers to movement in a predetermined direction, too often it just refers to newness. Sometimes it proves to be evidence of rot.

Tough Realization

I left the hotel about mid-afternoon. I drove for about 48 non-stop hours, not including the drive from Erendida to Maravatio. I drove all day and all night for two days with diarrhea.

As as hint of what it was like; I scratched a toe on barbed wire climbing through a fence to relieve myself.

I guess that's the 'disaster.' It was unpleasant, but not a disaster. What seemed like a disaster is my realization that I am no longer strong enough nor alert enough to handle this kind of solo driving trip. It is a blessing rather than a disaster. It's a blessing to discover that it is no longer a good idea for me to take these solo driving trips. It is good to be alerted to the facts before a real disaster occurs.

They?

It looks as though some took the money and ran.

Did they look at climate change and our refusal to act and decide that the best they could do was take the money and run?

I can't believe that. Change just is. We can talk about the weather, but we can't do anything about it. What can we do? The few can't take that much from the many.

Signs and portents? Prophets are just crazy old guys. Who can understand or believe the community of scientists. Who has the time to understand our founding fathers?
Who has time or will to cooperate and organize?

Aren't they responsible?

A Canary

Neither seen nor touched. Generally colorless, odorless, and tasteless. Neither solid nor liquid. Difficult to detect. We believe it exists.

It has a very low density and viscosity. As the ratio of its components change we sicken. Most changes in it are detrimental to our health.

It makes our biosphere possible. Its name is a word for breath.

We know that we can do better than to judge it by our sickness and death. We have used the sickening and death of animals to judge it, but know that we can do better.

We know that changes in its temperature causes great changes in its density, diffusion, and distribution, but are often careless of this knowledge.

We know elements of it are very reactive and are constantly interacting with everything in our biosphere.

It carries matter and material, bacteria and virus. It carries vapor, water, and ice. You are putting stuff into it now.

It changes form moment to moment and eon to eon.

Within a narrow range it supports human life and nearly all life here.

We have describe its pure nature and now a bit about its optimum nature.

El Alto

I'm still in Bolivia and am back in La Paz in the Radisson hotel. It's the biggest hotel I've been in on this trip. I should have slept well last night, but drank coca tea yesterday afternoon and it kept me awake.

I may nave mentioned that the president President here, Evo Morales, is the first native American president. The large indiginess population is, of course, proud and have high expectations. Monied intersts here, some associated with U.S., have been adding to his problems by supporting movements toward greater autonomy. Greater autonomy for the verious states is not all bad, but is a very difficult to work out. A significant portion of the Indian population take the movement as an unjust opposistion to self rule by native Americans.

Spellcheck is still in spanish.

El Alto is a large city on the plains just above La Paz. In fact it was once call El Alto de La Paz, but is now an independent 'municipio.' It is also Evo's greatest support center. As a step toward heading home I plan to take a room at hotel Alexander in the center of El Alto today.

Took an interesting and informative guided tour of Tijuanaco yesterday.

It's cold, clear, and beautiful here.

Change Sweet Change

I´m back in La Paz after a very pleasant 3 days in Copacabana. Saw dancing Pacenos there and visited the Island of the Sun. Tomorrow I intend to visit Tijuanaco tomorrow. Tijuanaco is a set of ruins of the seat of important Incan and preIncan civilizations, Aymara and earlier. Pacenos, by the way, are city people from La Paz. They were celebrating a kind of religious ´madi gra.´
The present federal government here is the first to be run by Native Americas since the Conquest. They are experiencing a lot of national and internation resistance. They also have a lot to learn about their new position.