The Monday Mix (09/05/2022)
Hey friends,
Once again, I’m late in sending this out so I’ll get straight into what I want to share this week.
The Little Ice Age
A really interesting piece on an often overlooked piece of history, the ‘Little Ice Age.’ All the talk today is about rising temperatures, but it’s amazing to look back only 500 to 200 or so years ago and see how different the climate was back then. The article states that the last time the River Thames completely froze over was back in 1814, which isn’t all that long ago in the grand scheme of things. The idea of the Thames freezing over now is so fanciful it would be almost apocalyptic.
Learning what caused the ‘Little Ice Age’ and how our ancestors adapted to this is key if we’re going to tackle the climate crisis in the coming decades.
1002 In Review
Sharing this because, for some reason, I find the concept of reviewing a year from the medieval period as if it recently happened, funny. But also because it’s interesting and there’s a lot of fascinating info in here. My historical knowledge doesn’t go back that far, mainly to 1066 and the Battle of Hastings, as this is one of the first things we’re taught in Britain.
I’m not sure if the idea is for the site to review every year in detail going forward, but if it is, I’m here for it!
Roe V Wade
The news the past week that the American Supreme Court looks likely to strike down Roe v Wade, the ruling that paved the way for abortion to be constitutional was shocking. My position on this is clear: women shouldn’t be dictated to by the government on what they can and can’t do with their bodies. This is just so obvious to me that it boggles my mind how anyone can think differently.
The whole debate around abortion is something that baffles me. There are a lot of double standards, especially from men. Make no mistake, if men had to go through pregnancy then you can rest assured there would be no debate about abortion, it would be legal. No ifs or buts. But because we don’t, a lot of men think they can dictate what a woman should do with her body. This is just plain wrong. This is part of a worrying trend worldwide where women’s rights are being eroded because of dogmatic beliefs. If Roe v Wade is struck down it won’t stop abortions it will just make them harder to access, as they’ll just go underground on the black market.
Far from stopping abortion, it will just endanger the lives of thousands of women needlessly. Rights are hard-won but easily lost. Roe v Wade is a perfect and terrifying example of this.
Book I’m reading - One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A book that’s been on my shelf for a while that I’m finally getting around to reading. I’ve heard lots of great things about this book, so I’m looking forward to getting into it. I’m not too far in so can’t confirm whether it’s living up to my expectations, but it’s intriguing trying to work out the plot.
Quote I’m pondering: “Poets say science takes away from the beauty of the stars—mere globs of gas atoms. Nothing is 'mere.' I too can see the stars on a desert night, and feel them.” – Richard Feynman
That’s all for this week.
Until next time,