Saturday, February 20th

Covid deaths in the US edge towards the half million mark although infection rates are supposed to be dropping sharply. Texas is declared a disaster as the freeze has disrupted water and electricity. The explanation is that the state’s infrastructure was created at a time when the climate was thought to be stable. Ted Cruz returns from his Mexico vacation trying to look as if he didn’t just run for cover.

I choose to see this as opening up positive possibilities. The virus seems to be in retreat; people are waking up to climate change, and that means they’ll start to want something done about it. And Cruz has once again shown himself in his true colors. This has been a time of sharp and painful lessons.  Let’s make sure we learn from them.