We have to expect that there will on occasion be a storm; it is just part of the way the weather system on our planet works. Until recently, prior to the regular impact of climate change on the weather, we could also expect things to settle down after a storm. Even if damage was done, we had an expectation that things would return to a normal that fosters the remarkable wealth of life we enjoy. Of course our continuing to add CO2 to the atmosphere has changed that.

Here in Vermont we have had two “500-year” floods in the past two years. It is not a matter of just cleaning up the mess but reckoning with the inevitability of the next flood and the next. Buildings are being abandoned, hardened, lifted, moved, all at immense cost and with less than total assurance the measures taken will allow us to remain in the towns and cities we have occupied for many years.

The meeting in the White House today between our President and Vice President and President Zelenskyy ended up as a stormy time. I was horrified to see the way Trump and Vance behaved. Classic abusive behavior. And even worse was the fact that no one else in the room stood up and shouted “The king is not wearing any clothes!” I will be curious to see which, if any, Republicans in Congress speak for sanity.

Of course, our President has portrayed the war in Ukraine as simply costing us millions. In fact it is a vicious fight to the end, started by Russia and their long history with Ukraine, that has resulted in tens of thousands of Ukrainians being killed and wounded, huge swaths of infrastructure decimated—including significant damage to the largest nuclear power plant in the world—and the rich agricultural landscape littered with mines and bombs. The damage cannot simply be measured in money.

I am ashamed of our President. I am fearful we will never return to a time when peace is possible. Readers, please write your Congressional delegates and ask them to recommit to finding true peace in Ukraine, and to requiring Russia to make substantial payments for rebuilding. To President Zelenskyy, know that many of us stand with you and your country and look forward to a day when you can enjoy peace after the storm.

28 Feb This entry was published on February 28, 2025 at 9:15 pm. It’s filed under John Snell, John Snell Photographer, www.johnsnell.photography and tagged climate change, JD Vance, nato, peace, politics, russia, Trump, Ukraine, war, White House, Zelenskyy. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.