Long-Term Slog

California governor Jerry Brown explains to the American Geophysical Union, “This is not a battle of one day or one election. This is a long-term slog into the future. And you [the climate scientists in the AGU crowd] are the foot soldiers of change and understanding and scientific collaboration.” post

James Fallows says of the speech, Governor Jerry Brown of California got Twitter-verse attention for saying two days ago that if Donald Trump shuts down satellite collection of climate data, “California will launch its own damn satellites.” I’ve now seen the short speech from which that line was taken. It’s remarkable enough to be worth your time.

It’s a genuine fighting speech, with a tone that is resolute but positive, rather than resentful or doomed. It’s a rousing call-to-battle against the environmental backwardness and larger disdain for fact of the coming era, from a person who as he nears age 80 has struck a distinctive Happy Warrior tone of resistance. Happy, in its confidence. Warrior, in its resoluteness.

Brown mentions protecting California's national labs. The backstory here must revolve around devolution at Los Alamos in the hands of the military-industrial complex and Trump appointments that favor more of the same. post