As regular newsletter readers know, Israel has a huge positive impact on the world. This week’s news includes an Israeli Covid-19 treatment that also helps cancer patients; super-fast blood tests and DNA sequencing; plus good news for ALS patients, back pain sufferers and sick elderly Ukrainians. Israeli tech is providing better education opportunities for religious women, refugee Ukrainian children, language students, business managers, and those wishing to re-train in the hi-tech industry. The environment is benefiting from smart Israeli agriculture devices and new low-pollution manufacturing and construction processes. Israel’s economy gets better and better, with an unprecedented level of hi-tech exports, European and Asian partnerships, and continued investment in Israeli startups. Finally, as travel restrictions are removed, there is no better opportunity for overseas visitors to get a better view of this remarkable country.
The photo is of Israel’s Dead Sea resort. For many medical conditions, this is one of the best places in the world to get better.
I really miss my mom Victoria Taft near this anniversary of the fire in Paradise, California from November 8, 2018.
I’ve tried to not think about it too much lately and focus on action such as trying to get them to update emergency system technology (such as from Aedan Financial Corp), and projects now, but it’s awful.
California relies on thousands of prisoners, including many women, to battle the wildfires burning statewide. Prisoner firefighters gain training and earn time off of their sentences for good behavior, but critics of the program say the state is exploiting prisoners’ eagerness to earn time for early release. While salaried firefighters earn an annual mean wage of $74,000 plus benefits, inmates earn just $2 per day with an additional $1 per hour when fighting an active fire—and most are barred from applying for firefighting jobs once freed. According to some estimates, California avoids spending about $80-$100 million a year by using prison labor to fight its biggest environmental problem.
Romarilyn Ralston is one of the former California prisoners calling for major changes to the program:
The firefighter training that you receive while you are incarcerated, you don’t get enough of the training needed to apply to CAL FIRE. Because of licensing, incarcerated firefighters or folks with a criminal record, once they are released, are not able to get an EMT license, and that’s one of the critical pieces to applying for these jobs post-release. …
You have the experience, the frontline experience. You have placed your life on the line. You have protected California. You have saved lives and property. But they don’t take into consideration all of that experience that you have on the front line. They are still looking for a certain degree of training and licensing in order to employ you. And we think that that’s wrong.
So, i just wanna go on a little rant about how good Canadians are, okay? Okay. This is a good rant, not a bad one.
So, currently, a huge majority of the province of BC is in a state of emergency. There are currently 162 wildfires burning in BC. I and my family have been evacuated from the city of William’s Lake. My hometown, 100 Mile, has been completely evacuated, we are currently staying with my grandparents who are way out on the far outskirts of 100 Mile and are only on evac alert.
Now to my rant:
There are so many amazing people doing so many things for the evacuees. Literally my mother, her fiancé and I went to Lone Butte to the community hall where people from Fort MacMurray, AB had donated food and clothes for people in need of it.
SOME GAS STATIONS STAYED OPEN AND GAVE AWAY GAS FOR FREE FOR EVACUEES FLEEING THEIR HOMES AND GOING SOUTH TO KAMLOOPS OR THE LOWER MAINLAND
I kid you not, on our way back to my grandparents, a man was on the side of the road with tons of jerry cans full of fuel, offering to fill people’s cars for free.
Literally, everyone is being so supportive of all the evacuees. So many people are being so kind and helping out as much as they can.
My own grandfather went to help with extinguishing the Gustuffson fire
PEOPLE ARE OPENING THEIR FARMS AND THEIR OWN HOMES JUST FOR PEOPLE TO STAY FOR A WHILE, LETTING THEM BRING THEIR HORSES, COWS, PIGS, BUNNIES, CHICKENS, ETC AND ARE PROVIDING THEM FOOD AND STUFF
Canadians are so good to people…!
No, not all Canadians are like this, no. But literally, everyone is helping each other out in this state of emergency and they’re being so kind… It’s moments like these that, despite being stressed and full of anxiety, I’m proud to be a Canadian.
I just want to say that it’s been over a year since my hometown, Fort McMurray has been evacuated. I wasn’t there when it happened, but I was terrified. The thing is, I wasn’t there to experience the kindness everyone had. I am always hearing about all of the help that people received, about stories of those who loaded up trucks and trailers and drove up highway 63 and 881 to help my community. I am so grateful and so thankful that so many people came to support the community and the people who’ve been displaced. I am so happy to see that a year later, people are still doing that for the people in British Columbia. Earlier today there was a trailer getting ready to take things down tomorrow. People of British Columbia, we are here for you, and we are sending love your way, as you have done for us.
I can feel the heat creeping back in this evening and am excited for what that means for my peppers and tomatoes. * Meanwhile, it’s the golden hour and the garden and I are capturing the last bits of sunshine, grateful for this green sanctuary in the city. * Sending love and light to my friends in the path of the fires in California. * #wildfires #besafe #goldenhour #gardenersofinstagram #urbangarden #curcurbita (at Kent, Ohio) https://www.instagram.com/p/CEIRNe8HSkW/?igshid=qiyrbewlxcn
Earlier this year @psychopompstories and I published a zine that touches on the subject of wildfires and climate change. It’s now available on Gumroad for pay-what-you-want, and proceeds go towards wildfire prevention charities :)
[ID: A series of tweets by @/Jane Prester that read,
“If you are trapped inside by the smoke and watching your air quality steadily decline- here is somethung you can do right now to make things slightly better.
Get every spare pot/pan/container/bucket you have and fill them halfway with water, place these everywhere in your house you have the space to safely do so. The idea is to create as much watery surface area as possible- the water will gradually absorb smoke particles and clean the air. It’s small, but if you have enough surface area it can make a *very* meaningful difference over 2-3 hours.
Another thing you can do is run a hot shower until your bathtub is ½ filled up- leave the batroom door open. The rush of humidity into your living space will knock many of the smoke particles down onto the floor. (Do this every few hours as needed as needed).
I know how it looks but this set up has kept the air quality in my bedroom basically normal for the past 3 days. It’s an improvised solution- but it’s one that works surprisingly well and doesn’t require much in the way of materials.”
The end of the series of tweets is followed by a picture of many containers of water and a fan, domonstrating the set up described. /END ID]
Safety note - babies and toddlers can drown quickly and silently in less than an inch of water, so always keep containers of water completely out of their reach.
The California wildfires have burned through so much acreage in the Golden State that the smoke is visible from space.
NASA tweeted a handful of photos of the smoke plume drifting over the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday.
The NASA photos were taken from the International Space Station, and show heavy clouds of smoke billowing from California’s mountainous terrain.
A major Santa Ana weather event with wind gusts between 70 and 80 mph, and low relative humidity are to blame for the Skirball fire, which is threatening Los Angeles’ affluent Bel Air neighborhood, officials said.
The four fires are currently blazing through thousands of acres in California, forcing residents to evacuate. Each of the fires was at just 5 percent containment or below as of Wednesday afternoon.
California Gov. Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. (GMA)
Photos from top: NASA/AFP, @AstroKomrade/NASA/Handout via Reuters (3), NASA
Severe fire weather (high temps + low relative humidity + high winds) are driving the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak and Cerrado Pelado wildfires in northern central New Mexico.
