Peoples Climate Change March - Today! Forecast: 90 degrees in D.C.

Here we are, in front of the capitol.  No, it's not D.C.  It's home, in Wisconsin at the Women's March.  But, speaking of home, Monona e-mailed me today from D.C.  where she is staying, before leaving for the Peoples Climate Change March - today!  

She said a lady in the hotel lobby commented that she didn't know how she would manage "because it's going to get so hot today."  When Monona asked her if she was going to the March, the woman said, "No, I'm just a tourist."  That, Monona said, got her wondering:  "Have we been treating Earth like we are tourists here?  Isn't this our home?"

Seems to me that an over-heated Earth could be bad, not only for polar bears, but for tourism too.

Truly yours, 

~Polar Bear Witness

Women's March Flashback; Marching to D.C.!

Hi Everybody~  News flashback:

Here's me 'n' Tony.  At Madison's Women's March, he rescued us from THIRST when we had already marched down Langdon Street and back up again to Wisconsin Avenue, where Kennedy Manor is and where our buddy Liz lives.  Tony let us in the building, brought us a bottle of chilled water, a couple of his fresh-baked chocolate-chip cookies and helped us get into the elevator.  Could a Polar Bear ask for more?

And, to bring us right up to date, here's a couple of friends we also are very grateful for.  Linda and Brenda hosted Monona in Plymouth, (mentioned in her post card in an earlier post) as Monona made her way to Washington D.C. to represent us for the Peoples Climate Change March.

Wish I could'a been there at Plymouth's East Bay Grille to enjoy that Arctic Char!

http://www.seafoodwatch.org/seafood-recommendations/groups/arctic-char?q=char

Truly yours, ~Polar Bear Witness

Hello Everyone~

Last time we marched it was for the Women's March in Madison.  Then March came and went.  And in April it was the Madison March for Earth Day, for Science and marching right up to the doors of the power plant to create awareness of global warming.

  

A whole lotta marchin' goin' on!  Next up:  the People's Climate Change March in Washington, D.C.  My friend and champion, Monona Wonders, will be representing us there.  After all, isn't that what people in our nation's capital are supposed to do?  

Represent us?

Truly yours, Polar Bear Witness

P.S. Here's some of what Monona had to say:

Polar Bears of the World Unite to Salute Women on International Women's Day

Polar Bear Witness and his new best friend Polar Bearski thank all the women in the world for all they do to reduce, stop and reverse climate change.
See you at the March for Science on April 22nd, Earth Day!

Print copy of original art by international woman artist, Toni Lieppert Polfus.

Polar Bear Witness Meets Bob at the January 21st Women's March

Back on January 21st en route to the Women's March in Madison, we thanked Alice for the ride and then bailed on her and her car when we got near Langdon Street, which leads down to campus and Library Mall, where things were supposed to start.  Funny thing, by the time we got there, sometime after noon, the place was so packed there was hardly room for a polar bear to stand, let alone march.  We met up with Bob, they call him "Fighting Bob" at the Wisconsin Idea sign.
Sometimes, when people see me they shout out:  "I like your sign!"  What they don't know is that I am a Wisconsin idea too.

Truly yours,
~Polar Bear Witness

Just The Beginning

Meet Alice.  We met in wander land, that is when we were wandering down East Wash, hoping someone would be brave enough to offer a polar bear a ride.  Of course, after introductions, she was glad to be escorting a celebrity. Moi.  

"Don't you think this is just the beginning!" she said.  

"Beginning?" we asked.  

People coming together in a way they haven't before, was, in so many words, what she said.

I guess that's why Monona and I were marching, looking to connect with others who still saw the proverbial glass as half full, even as the Arctic ice is half gone.

Truly yours,

~Polar Bear Witness

The (Polar) Bear is back!

Hello Everyone!

Yes, it's been a while.
Hibernation?
Unfortunately, we polar bears, like most of humanity, work through winter.
Let's just say I had other commitments that kept me busy since 2011.  Time flies!

So here we are, in Madison, back on the streets again.  On our way to the January 21st Women's March to the Capitol.
But before we go, I made a brief pit STOP here.  See that black mound behind me?  Would you believe it was once a heap of white snow?  Kinda greasy looking now.  If gas fumes and tire grime can do that to snow, I wonder what it does to our lungs?  

Even though I'm eager for a solar-powered car to come along and give me a ride, I could be waiting for a while.  But it would be nice not to have to walk all the way from First Street and East Wash to Library Mall.  But be realistic, who's gonna pick up a polar bear?
Truly yours,
Polar Bear Witness

Lady Forward inspires PolarBearWitness & friends 

Dateline:  Wisconsin State Capitol Steps, Day 11, Thursday, February 24th, 2011

As a Polar Bear, of course, I'm into cool.  
And one of the coolest things for me up here at the capitol has been the people 
and the moments like this where we stand together 
on the staircase of history, 
inspired by ideals of democracy, 
embodied in this tall lady, 
who now guides us:  Forward!

Truly yours, for one more day, PolarBearWitness

Dateline: Madison State Capitol, Day 10, Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Didya hear the one about the Polar Bear that saved the Badger?  

No?  Well, to tellya the truth.  That's why I'm here.  A lotta people here say why they're here:  to save their worker's rights, the right to collectively bargain.  And that's a very important right.  It is one that is not allowed in autocratic countries, like Russia.  Will it be allowed in Wisconsin?  I think so.  Why do I say that?  Because I know badgers and they are some awesome critters you really don't want to mess with, even if you think you are some too-big (or small) for-your-britches kind of Putin-like Walker.

    

Why am I here?  I'm here to save the Badgers.  

On Wisconsin!

I'm the Polar Bear that's out to save Badgercare for the 750,000 Wisconsinites for whom it is, truly, a life line.

No foolin.

It's been a long day and a good day.  And tomorrow is one more day.
Truly yours, for one more day, PolarBearWitness
polarbearwitness.blogspot.com

Wisconsinites! Politically, & Otherwise, Fully Self-Expressed

PolarBearWitness & Pamela Doth Protest

Dateline:  Madison Capitol, Day 10, February 23, 2011

Governor Walker, as you may have observed, is not too popular with Wisconsinites right now.  But you gotta admit that he has presented us with an immense opportunity to be politically and otherwise fully self-expressed.  

When I met Pam, my friend from the neighborhood, up at the capitol, I couldn't help but comment on her sign.  She told me she had just found it and decided to pick up the stick.  As lead vocalist and guitarist with The Motor Primitives, Pam's gotta be somewhat fierce.  

"You go Girrrrrrrrrrrrrrl!" is what I said.

Here are some of the other fully self-expressed true Wisconsin patriots we met that day.

Seeing red & white.  On Wisconsin!

"I buy your message, Polar Bear:  'Gov. Policy 
Greased by Oil $$$$$$$'"

Milwaukee machinists keep the real wheels of government - like the garbage  & recycling pick-up trucks - rolling.  
Iron workers put the backbone in Wisconsin 
and they put Lady Forward atop the capitol dome.  
On Wisconsin!

Truly yours, for one more day,

PolarBearWitness

polarbearwitness.blogspot.com

PolarBearWitness Discovers "The People's House"

PolarBearWitness Makes His Way Around the Rotunda

Dateline:  Madison Capitol, Day 10
Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011


As you can imagine, being in the state capitol for the first time can be a little overwhelming for anyone, much less for a polar bear.


But like they say, it's the people's house, and if ya gotta camp out, it's a pretty nice place to be.  Have you ever met a polar bear on an elevator before?  
Or seen one on an inflated mattresses?  


I'm working to make sure this oil-greased, so-called "budget repair" bill doesn't pass so I don't need to take the air mattress back to the arctic with me as a floatation device.  


Truly yours, for one more day, PolarBearWitness
polarbearwitness.blogspot.com

The State Capitol's Sign-Spangled Majesty

PolarBearWitness Snags an Air Mattress

PolarBearWitness Warms Up to Sheriff Paul

PolarBearWitness & Sheriff Paul: Protection

Dateline: Madison Capitol, Day 10, Assembly Room Entrance, Wednesday, February 23, 2011


Speaking of learning what democracy looks like, I have to admit that I didn't mind being looked after by Fond du Lac County Sheriff Paul.  Which is quite surprising, because normally I would be a little nervous about standing this close to a guy with a gun in his holster.


But, as you see, Sheriff Paul was quite polite about protecting me from wandering into the Legislative Assembly Room, where I might have been tempted to chew some things up.  Like one so-called budget repair bill.

  
Truly yours, for one more day,
~PolarBearWitness
polarbearwitness.blogspot.com

UW Madison & UW LaCrosse Students Show PolarBearWitness What Democracy Looks Like

Dateline:  Madison, Wisconsin State Capitol, Day 10, Place of Student Patriots, Wednesday February 23, 2011

PolarBearWitness Likes What Democracy Looks Like

I still haven't figured out what it is with me and women, but no sooner had I lumbered into the hallowed halls of the state capitol than these two beauties called out to say that they liked me.  Wow!  Obviously, I did not resist their affection.  

They are students at UW Madison and UW La Crosse who came to the capitol to help educate the legislators and the governor in what democracy is all about.  

If this is what democracy looks like, it sure looks good to me.  

Yours truly, for one more day,

~Polar Bear Witness

polarbearwitness.blogspot.com 

Bear Hugs from Sweet Friends Warm Up PolarBearWitness on a Cold Day

PolarBearWitness, Josie & Elton Warm Up with Bear Hugs

Dateline: Madison State Capitol, Day 10
Place of True Wisconsin Patriots, Wednesday, February 23, 2011


We weren't at the capitol very long after grazing with Jim P. Hoffa & team when we met our friends Josie and Elton for warm bear hugs on a cold day.


How sweet it is to be loved by you!


Speaking of sweets, Josie is master chocolatier of her Terra Source Gourmet Chocolates.  Yum!


A fellow Capitol marcher called out to us, "That Polar Bear is gonna be losing weight with all the exercise he's been getting up here!"

A few boxes of Josie's chocolates should take care of that.  In fact, we recommend that you purchase a few pounds-worth to have on hand for camping out at the capitol and for keeping up your energy for the "long haul" that Jim Hoffa talked about.   Maybe the teamsters would like to order up a truckload or two?  Think it might be possible to sweeten up a few Republicans???


Yours truly, for one more day,
~PolarBearWitness
polarbearwitness.blogspot.com

PolarBearWitness Comes Out of Hibernation to Graze with Jim P. Hoffa

Dateline: Madison, Wisconsin, Day 10, Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011


Ok, I guess you could say I've been hibernating from my blog posts for quite a while.                                         


But what with the Governor threatening to spill that (David H.) Koch-greased bill all over the capitol, I figured I better get my shaggy, white you-know-what down there to the capitol to be with the people of Wisconsin.

PolarBearWitness is Tickled to Welcome Jim P. Hoffa to Madison

Who knew I'd end up grazing with Teamster General President, Jim P. Hoffa?  Was that cool or what?  

Jim and his team have been putting their muscle behind keeping a greasy oil spill out of Wisconsin government.  I  say, Go Team, Go!

Yours truly, for one more day,

PolarBearWitness

Don't be square, share the bear! 

polarbearwitness.blogspot.com

Favorites

People say you're not supposed to have favorites. But, I've learned, everybody does.

I've been to several neighborhood Friends of Starkweather Creek watershed protection group meetings. So far, Dan is my favorite Board member. Before Christmas he brought a whole stack of CD's he wanted to pass along, and told us we could pick out our favorites.

Dan is a generous guy. But the real reason he is my favorite is because he always rides his bike. By doing this he gives the rest of us less congestion on the road and, more importantly, cleaner air.

Lisa is a new neighbor. Now she's my favorite new neighbor too. What are we doing there,standing by that stop sign in a pile of frozen snow? And what's that in her hand? A shovel. Huh.

There were announcements in the paper telling people that an unseasonable stretch of warm weather could melt the snow so fast that it could cause flooding of Madison's streets and lakes. Lisa was being a good citizen, liberating the storm drain on her corner so the snow could melt in more gradually. If it were up to me, the snow wouldn't melt at all!

Truly yours,

~Polar Bear Witness

Happy New Year! A Better Way?

Happy New Year! A Better Way?

Wow. New Year's Eve already. Time to look back, for a moment, before stepping forward into our new life in 2008.

As I've only been around since October, that makes things a little easier for me. But the pretty much universally-agreed-to calendar year has twelve months. That seems like a lot. But people are busy; they need time to get things done. Hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades, centuries. (Beyond "centuries" the reptile brain that both Polar Bears and Humans evolved from, gets unable-to-comprehend, stopped.)

Getting things done and made, I've learned, is what people, for better and for worse, have been evolved to do. Time. Now there's an interest of mine I need to add to my interests lists on my blog profile.

Now, on New Year's Eve, as we are poised to dip our toe into the eighth year of the first decade of this new 21st-century, could it be timely for Homo Sapiens to ask themselves this question: is there a better way?

Just for fun - with this being the new year and all, a time for new understandings - we looked up the definition of Homo Sapiens. Here is what it said: man, woman, human being; the scientific name for the only living species of the genus Homo. Wow. That's special.

Now with me being a Polar Bear, Ursus maritimus, I'm one of several species of Ursus or bears. But Sapiens are the only living species of the genus Homo. Hey man, wow. That makes you dudes, human beings, a one-of-a-kind unique species in your genus: Homo. But I suppose everybody knows that. So what? Well, you've gotta remember I'm a working Polar Bear, just doing my job, trying to figure things out.

So next we looked up sapient. It means wise, sagacious, full of knowledge, discerning. Sagacious? Now that, according to Websters New World Dictionary of the American Language means: keenly perceptive or discerning, shrewd, farsighted in judgment. Discerning, now how about that? Discern: to separate (a thing) mentally from another or others; recognize; make out clearly.

Now, don't you think that having those extra bells and whistles should separate people, Homo Sapiens, out from the rest of us beasts, wouldn't you think? Making you human folks sagacious, that is discerning and farsighted-in-judgment enough, to change and to demand change from our elected leaders, as in: there must be a better way!

Truly yours,

Polar Bear Witness
P.P.S. Please share the bear! www.polarbearwitness.blogspot.com

Solstice Greetings: Air Quality Advisories Ring! Are Ya Listenin'?

Solstice Greetings:
Air Quality
Advisories Ring!
Are Ya Listenin'?

Does it seem a little odd for a Polar Bear to be celebrating a solar holiday like the Winter Solstice? If you've ever enjoyed pictures of me and my relatives basking on an ice flow in the sun - (and there are some wonderful ones in the current issue of Sierra magazine that also features my cousin Marty on the cover, who, I'm sorry to report, has gained weight since being in the zoo, and who, honest, is starting to look a bit like Al Gore . . . but I digress) - you know that we, Ursus maritimus, just like our fellow-bipeds, Homo sapiens, also enjoy and celebrate the sun.

So here we are on the 21st of December, up at 5:30AM, shuffling around in the dark, already enjoying the shortest day of the year, and looking forward to the longest night. But just as I was starting to get excited about that big bonfire they're going to set ablaze at dusk (5:00PM in Olbrich Park), I hear this announcement on the radio that the Department of Natural Resources has issued an "air quality advisory" for southern Wisconsin today. Oh-oh.

I heard that at last year's solstice, on December 21st, it rained. Now this. Just like us charismatic megafauana - (that's what this DNR guy Monona was talking to last night called me) - one thing a fire needs is oxygen. Hum. I'm no scientist, but while humans think they can probably get by without a Polar Ice Cap, they do, I think, understand that oxygen is something we all need to breathe. Is that disappearing now too?

What can we do? What can we do? What can we do? If it is true?
Here's what my friend Judy said: "I just bought an energy-efficient refrigerator. And I replaced all my lights with compact florescents. And, I ride my bike." She nodded once and said as we parted ways, "These are things most people can do."

Judy used to be the City Council member for Madison's "District Six." As a former public official, she would probably encourage everyone to vote in all elections and when we do, to vote in leaders who will help our cities, counties, states, our United States and the world replace anything that now burns fossil fuel with clean-air-renewable energy. Now. Today.

Al Gore recently described carbon emissions as "an open sewer" pouring into and polluting the very air we need to breathe, Earth's fragile atmosphere. Today, on the Winter Solstice, we have an air quality advisory.

In the spirit of the holidays, perhaps its time to put some coal in the stockings of our misguided and replaceable leaders?

Air quality advisories ring! Are ya listenin'?
Truly.
~Polar Bear Witness
P.S. Please share the bear! www.polarbearwitness.blogspot.com
PPS: If you think you might be seeing a "ghost in the window" of the Mermaid Cafe, that's our occasional coffee shop pal, Mike. Mike has provided a public service in Madison by being an outspoken advocate for bikes and better urban land use for years. He has also been busy insulating buildings to reduce energy use!

Reptile Brain

Reptile Brain

If Reptile Brain sounds like it would make a good name for a rock 'n' roll band, I would certainly agree, it is. In fact, there is a band in Madison called Reptile Palace Orchestra and they are, actually, quite good. They've been around for a number of years, I understand, and, maybe, if they named their band as a comment on human civilization - please forgive me if I offend anyone - perhaps they were prescient.

Prescient is a big word for a Polar Bear. But Monona was reading the New York Times Book Review earlier today, and that's where the word came up. The dictionary says it means: knowledge of things before they happen or come into being.

Speaking of reptiles crawling along, you may wonder where my bear brain is going with this. And where does this handsome couple fit in? Meet my new best friend, Raj. And his wife Tora.

We met Raj last week at the Atwood Community Center where he gave a presentation titled What You Can Do About Global Warming on a cold and snowy night. Even so, we wondered what - for an event that was well-advertised in the newspaper weeks ahead and held in a community of more than 250,000 people - the turn out of seven people meant? There was a gentleman from the power company, a gentleman from the Sierra Club, and three other gentlemen, including our friend, Michael Paul, and one of who we talked to after Raj's presentation, Ric.

Raj is a disciple of Al Gore and something called The Climate Change Project. theclimateproject.org Earlier this year Raj spent a few weeks attending the project's Nashville boot camp, so to speak, where he and others learned how to be foot soldiers, as it were, to spread the word of Gore, as presented in his book and movie, An Inconvenient Truth. The essence of the book, the movie and Raj's talk is basically: that billions of humans out there driving cars fueled by gas and heating homes and buildings with coal is overloading Earth's atmosphere with the consequence of way-too-much heating - our fair, and now-suffering planet - up.

Raj pointed to three things as major challenges to civilization that have contributed to global warming and that may have a role in determining our future fate: world population explosion, the fossil-fueled, rapid industrial/technical revolution, and our own way of thinking. In closing, Raj made this observation: "It's difficult to make these changes, to wrap our heads around these issues of human survival." And he posed this question to his audience of seven: "What's the disconnect?"

As the small audience broke up, Ric told me he had read that it was embedded in the behavior of our early human ancestors to harvest food, like shellfish, where-ever it could be found, and then, once the food was gone, these early humans would leave behind the emptied stocks, the despoiled shells and move on. Ric suggested that, perhaps, it was some primal behavior that had us, as a species, despoiling our place-on-Earth by burning the candle of CO2-emitting-fossil-fuel at both ends, polluting the fragile atmosphere we need to raise crops, drink water and to breathe, as though we could just, simply, pick up and move on.

Monona nodded her agreement and speculated: "Perhaps, as a species, we are kind of "frozen" within the limitations of our still-evolving reptile brains."

Truly yours,
~Polar Bear Witness
PS: Stay tuned to read more about this topic in our next blog: (Monona's Theory of the) Reptile Brain, Part Two

Conditions Excellent!

Conditions Excellent!

In case you're reading this fast-breaking blog at this moment -Wednesday morning, December 12th - in Madison, and in case you own a pair of cross-country skis, I recommend that you stop what you're doing, take a long lunch or leave work early and get out to your nearest park or the Arboretum to ski!

With the amount of snow cover we have, you can almost snap on your skis right outside your door.
We left the car behind in a snow drift, headed over to the lake and, following someone else's tracks, felt almost magically pulled along as we glided over perfect snow.

And now, after our breakfast of blueberry jam on toast with hot tea, we just heard the weekend weather forecast: more cold, more snow. Whoopie!

Truly and very happily yours,
~Polar Bear Witness