Climate Change Poem 5

Droplet on pine needle, July 2009

Two global events are occurring on September 24, 2011:

1. Moving Planet, a worldwide rally to demand solutions to the climate crisis.


2. 100 Thousand Poets for Change, a demonstration/celebration of poetry to promote serious social, environmental, and political change.


I thought: Why not do both?

Barring an emergency, I am posting from midnight to midnight, one poem per hour (at any time during that hour). That's starting from 00:00-01:00 and ending at 23:00-24:00 Eastern Time today.

All the poems are sonnets. Each takes its cue from an article dealing with climate change. The articles had been posted beginning on September 15 -- the date of the 24-hour Climate Reality Project that inspired me to do this -- to September 19, the day I drafted the twenty-fourth poem.


The poem for Hour 5 takes its cue from "More Americans believe world is warming" (Timothy Gardner, Reuters, Sept. 15, 2011).

Heating the Issue

Despite our legislative deep divide
And arguments as candidates debate,
Most U.S. citizens, on either side
Say climate change is where they can relate.

From wildfires to Hurricane Irene,
From record warmth to clean-up dollars spent,
More thoughts toward global warming tend to lean.
Belief is up to eighty-three percent,

Up eight percent from just a year ago.
Some politicians claim it's all a hoax,
But Democrats, Republicans both show
This issue now unites us common folks.

The skeptics dig their heels, now deeper still,
But they go counter to the public will.

Audio (1:17):

Part of the Solution website (chosen at random)
EcoGeek -- exploring the symbiosis between nature and technology.
Elissa Malcohn's Deviations and Other JourneysPromote Your Page Too Vol. 1, Deviations: Covenant (2nd Ed.), Vol. 2, Deviations: Appetite, Vol. 3, Deviations: Destiny, Vol. 4, Deviations: Bloodlines, Vol. 5, Deviations: TelZodo, Vol. 6 and conclusion: Deviations: Second Covenant.Free downloads at the Deviations website (click here for alternate link), Smashwords, and Manybooks.

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