In New Zealand, it is already past 09:00 on 1 January 2024. For me, it’s 2023 for another 9 hours. My wish for you is either late or early. It may be a small world, but it’s not that small.
Signs of caution in Germany, mainly in Berlin, as extra police are getting ready. Their new year is less than 3 hours away.
The Israel-Gaza war has been causing unrest far and wide. Of the war in Ukraine, the world sees and hears but no longer cares.
I’m sorry for this; I could not be sadder about the waste, the dishonorable killing of civilians, and the horror of PTSD every survivor will have to live with every day.
In 6 countries, with Brazil being the most adversely affected, the crisis of the Amazonian drought has reached an explosive state.
The trees are dying, of course, and when they go, sometimes in a very short time (days instead of months), they can’t be replaced. Thick primary growth is vanishing. The upper river can’t be navigated. The bed lay dry, grounded fish dead within. And that is an extreme danger.
Dry riverbed status on the Amazon means that huge amounts of CO² can be released into the atmosphere; the water is what keeps it contained in the top layers of mud and rock. Also, a threat for CO² release is the trees. It’s not a matter of the dead trees no longer producing O². It’s that trees take in CO² and will release their supply when they die. It’s global warming, but this year with a twist.
And it’s all down to a strong El Niño year, which this year is being called “unprecedented.”
That’s because weak trade winds have allowed high temperature water in the Pacific to drift east and hold station. At the same time, equally disruptive warm water in the Atlantic moved further north, allowing colder water below the equatorial region. That colder water doesn’t help produce rainfall. It can cause air humidity to be too dry over the rainforest and river. So, of course, wildfires have burned and will again. It is a catastrophe for the entire world.
My heart is with you all, whether you’re at war, in famine, drought, and wherever accute suffering is ongoing. I pray that the New Year will be better, that recovery, to every degree possible will happen. And that you survive 2024 to meet me here again on New Year’s Eve 2024.
Possible New Year’s Resolutions for the People of the United States
1. For pity’s sake, please stop using the word “literally” in every sentence. You’re being ridiculous.
2. If you don’t want to be called “Karen,” don’t give anyone a reason to. Let’s make this expression go away.
3. Respect LEOs. Mouthing off to police is going to get you into trouble. Don’t get physical and don’t drive under the influence. All drunks are dicks.
4. Please don’t drive under the influence! People ruin or end lives that way. If you’re arrested after taking field sobriety exercises, comply with a breathalyzer test and take your medicine like an adult when your case comes to the court.
5. Don’t carry firearms. Don’t leave firearms outside of a locked gun cabinet with a trigger lock set.
6. Be more careful. Be mindful of others, give them space, and be courteous. The best way there is to avoid trouble is not to take risks with people and animals you are not familiar with.
7. Remember that it’s okay to be an asshole at times, but never a dick.
8. Take care of yourself.
And finally, my thanks and a shout out to all of you who visited me this year, from the United States and Canada, Brazil, to the United Kingdom, especially Ireland, and then to India, Taiwan, Vietnam, Finland, Germany, and Russia and China. I hope that you will visit again wherever you are. Have a safe and prosperous 2024!
Memoirs of an American Asshole 