Five Bullets 6.9.23
This week: Wildfires, King Gizzard & the Ecopocalypse
Hello and welcome back to Circles In Space for Five Bullet Friday, where each Friday I share interesting stuff collected during the week.
If you’re new to Circles In Space, I wrote a bit about myself and this newsletter.
“Open your eyes and see…There is no Planet B”
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s Stu Mackenzie growls the above lyrics from the first track off the band’s 15th studio album Infest the Rats Nest. Released in 2019, the album describes humanity’s failure to prevent an ecopocalypse on Earth which causes the rich to colonize Mars and a group of rebels to flee to Venus. This album feels especially poignant this week.
New York City is dealing with a climate phenomenon we are unfamiliar with - hazardous air quality caused by Canadian wildfires. As global warming increases, drier and hotter conditions increase the likelihood of forest fires in North America. From British Columbia and west to Nova Scotia over 400 fires have engulfed 8 million acres so far. Here in New York, Wednesday was particularly poor with conditions lessening a bit on Thursday as the smoke slowly moves further south. A storm system over Maine kept the smoke locked in our area for much of the past few days. Recent photos show city landmarks shrouded in an eerie, hazy-orange glow. Officials warned against spending time outdoors or to wear masks if required to do so. On Friday as I write this, conditions have greatly improved and air quality levels are currently listed as ‘moderate’.
My thoughts are with the Canadians impacted by the brunt of the wildfires over the past week.
THIS WEEK’S TOPICS:
Looking on the positive side, here are some of the benefits of wildfires which can promote soil fertility, seed germination and eliminate invasive species.
Often the discourse on the cause, prevention and ultimate responsibility of solving climate change is placed on everyday people (at least here in the US) while the majority of damage is done by a few large entities. Still, there are several simple ways we can all get involved and make a difference in protecting our environment.
“…The animals are turning on us… we're about to experience a war of animals on human beings…” - from Violence of the Lambs.
Natural disasters, worldwide pandemics, rising temperatures and sea levels remind humanity that we are only a small part of the Earth’s complex ecosystem which we share with over 8 million species of plants and animals. Recent reports of Orca attacking boats have increased, though the behavior has been common since 2020. Scientists believe that a boat may have collided with a female Orca who subsequently learned how to disable the rudder and teach other Orca to do the same. With reports like these, suddenly John Jeremiah Sullivan’s essay Violence of the Lambs seems less allegorical and more realistic.
Diving headfirst into the realm of post-apocalyptic scenarios, I’ve watched a few episodes of Apple TV series Silo based on Hugh Howey’s fiction novels. The series explores the world of a 144 level underground city, known as the Silo, whose inhabitants are unable to go outside due to the toxic environment. Howey began the series back in 2011 when he published a Wool, a short story on Amazon’s self-publishing platform and later signed a book deal when the series gained popularity.
Ecopocalypse is a recurring theme in King Gizzard’s music. The band, hailing from Australia, is no stranger to the effects of global warming and has donated proceeds from album sales to fund wildfire relief. With their upcoming album to be released on June 16th, PetroDragonic Apocalypse; Or, Dawn Of Eternal Night: An Annihilation Of Planet Earth And The Beginning Of Merciless Damnation the band picks up where Infest the Rats Nest left off. If songs Gila Monster and Dragon are any indication, listeners can expect more heavy thrash metal with punchy drums, crunchy guitars and adrenaline-pumping tempos. The album artwork reminds me of the albino croc scene at the end of Werner Herzog’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams.
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That’s all for this week!
As always, thanks for reading and have a great weekend.
Until next time,
KW
Cool pic!