Most of us are only interested in conspiracies if they’re someone else’s fault.

This isn’t just an environmental issue. It’s a business issue. A joy issue. A future generations issue. It’s much more than “an issue.” It’s everything.

People all over North America are suffering from dangerously toxic air from wildfires. Half a million acres are burning, in Canada, and the smoke just spreads 1000s of miles away. We’ve gone through this for years, here in Colorado. It’s hit the East Coast before, but not often. Wet, cool Nova Scotia where my mom lives has been aflame. We buy air purifiers, and stay indoors, if we’re privileged. We wear masks outside, hopefully. It’s dangerous for our health, even in short bursts.

And yet we don’t make the connection. We don’t change our habits. We talk about third party candidates when Trump and fascism could give a shit about any of us, or climate crisis.

And next door, a gas powered leaf blower or weed whacker is running right now. We haven’t woken up.

I’ve been interviewing climatologists who are freaked out about The Earth and everything on it for decades, now, and we haven’t woken up. But we can. Maybe.

Folks, including dear friends, continue to invest in conspiracy theories. Well here’s a conspiracy in broad daylight: plastic and fossil fuel companies pushing poison for short term profits, when we now have a clean and domestic-job creating and healthy and even cheaper alternative: wind and solar are both cheaper, these days, thanks in large part to that boring, decent, caring, powerfully progressive Biden and Bernie and the millions who do care who voted for sanity.

But it’s on us to respond, too. Fight back against the conspiracy that is in broad ddsaylight. Go vegan. Bike, walk, bus, EV, carpool. Do whatever you can or are inspired to do. There’s subsidies now here for ebikes and EVs and electric water heaters and swamp coolers. Use ’em. Avoid single use plastic like the plague (which almost none of my friends care to do). Focus and fight, or all future generations are imperiled. This is the real Star Wars rebellion, it’s here, now, and it’s not in cinemas, it’s your life.