“Year 2020 was better than you think,” says Facebook. “Kinda late,” I think.
Let’s do a reality check, and in the meantime see how 2021 compared, and what we can look forward to in 2022. Yes, Happy New Year!
First, the Facebook post says, in 2020, “the ozone hole over Antarctica closed.”
Why does ozone matter? From down under, the government of Australia (awe.gov.au) explains the ozone in the stratosphere about 15 to 30 kilometres above the Earth “covers the entire planet and protects life on earth by absorbing harmful ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation from the sun.” Chemically active forms of chlorine and bromine produced by humans causes its thinning.
Reality check: Every year since the 1970s, this hole been opening in early fall and closing again by year-end. The Earthobservatory.nasa.gov/ reports the 2021 hole is similar to the one in 2020, larger than average. It grew to roughly the size of North America before starting to shrink in mid-October. Why so big? Because of unusually cold temperatures and strong winds in the stratosphere above Antartica.
The good news: Thanks to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the ozone hole over the South Pole is now substantially smaller than in the early 2000s. The Protocol is an environmental agreement banning the release of harmful ozone-depleting chemicals, called CFCs, or chlorofluorocarbons. To this day, this is the only UN treaty ever ratified by every country on Earth.
Sigh. The simplistic list of 15 ways 2020 was “better than you think” would take too many words to factcheck. The list was an attempt, I think, to help us feel better about the pandemic.
Two years wiser, we are absorbing the lightening strike of the omicron variant of the novel coronavirus. By now we’ve been through several variants, several waves of infections. The worldometers.info says the world has seen more than 272 million cases of Covid-19, resulting in more than 5 million deaths.
The past century has been characterized as the “pandemic era.” Can we admit the truth of this era, “an elaborate dance” between the virus descendants of the 1918 influenza and the human immune responses? These two partners, “remain linked and in step, even as each strives to take the lead.” Those are the words of Anthony Fauci and two other researchers in a 2009 article in the New England Journal of Medicine. Covid-19 was foreseeable, and foreseen.
Remember the early days of 2020 when we all said “Ça va bien aller”? We thought the pandemic would be over in a matter of weeks. Truth is, it was magical thinking. It would have been more truthful to say “cela va passer” but we do not really know when, how, or what will come next.
An old Sufi fable says a king asked his advisor for something that, when he was sad, would make him happy, and when he was happy, would make him sad.
The next day, his advisor presented him with a beautiful ring. The king had been depressed for days, but now, when he looked at the inscription on the ring, he began to laugh out loud. He read, “This too shall pass.”
In later years, it happened that his kingdom was under fierce attack. Alone on his horse, he fled for his life, but was cornered. Looking down at his ring, he read “This too shall pass,” and so died in peace.
The world is complicated. All will pass, but the hard truth is that endings are not always happy. We can only do what is possible, on a daily basis, without predicting the results. So much is within our control, collectively, if we can only work together to save our world.
But it is complicated. There’s the environment, there are so many species hurtling toward extinction, there are wars, starvation, illness, and ignorance. There are desperate refugees, and more of them are climate refugees than any other kind. There is global warming. Persons of good will who care about those around us are in high demand these days! Without even mentioning the baby steps of washing hands, masking, distancing, and vaccinating.
I remind myself: Together we are mending the ozone hole! But it is complicated. A fun allegory of this is on YouTube: Just search for “this too shall pass Ok Go,” and watch the music video showing the Rube Goldberg Machine. Enjoy, and Happy New Year!
JOURNALING AND WELLNESS
How can journaling benefit your mental well-being? Townshippers’ Association invites you to a Zoom workshop in English about the benefits and barriers of writing. Claire Suisman of Vent Over Tea will introduce writing techniques and exercises that incorporate basic wellness practices in an interactive and hands-on workshop of writing and sharing. The workshop is aimed at beginners, but is open to all. Just bring a pen and paper to your computer screen on Thursday, January 20, from noon to 1 p.m. To register, contact Cisco at ca@townshippers.org.
CHURCHES
Baptist. In-person Sunday services are with Covid-19 protocols in place (distancing; masks can be removed when sitting down; wear masks when singing, etc.). Persons with flu symptoms are asked not to attend services. Services are in Sawyerville, in French at 9 a.m. and in English at 11 a.m. The pastor’s message is also available on YouTube: For the link, contact Pastor Michel Houle at 819-239-8818.
Anglican. Bishop Bruce Myers continues to offer Home Prayers at 4 p.m., Sundays, on Facebook, and at quebec.anglican.ca (Worship Videos). Info: 819-887-6802, or consult quebec.anglican.ca.
United. In-person Sunday services are bi-weekly (with vaccine passport, masks), beginning January 16 at 9:30 a.m. in the basement of Victoria Hall, 125 Principale W., Cookshire, and Sawyerville United, 11 a.m. Info: 819-452-3685 (leave message); spiresta@hotmail.com; or United Eaton Valley Pastoral Charge (Facebook).
Do you have news to share? Call 819-640-1340 or email rawrites@gmail.com by January 10 for publication January 19, and by January 24 for February 2.