Coffee and the Human Condition

I hate the taste of coffee. God knows I have tried to stand  in line at Starbucks and ask in a smug all –knowing voice “Give me a Latte” , and then retreat to a little table and pretend I am enjoying it. But they know it is fake when I refuse to use the cute little terms like “Tall, Grande and Vente” (I am still not sure what these mean) and just say “small”. I also  refuse the whipped cream on top and, to add insult to injury, I ask for only half a cup, which drives the barista crazy. Of course I say that I will pay for a full cup, but that does not assuage their opinion of me. In fact I can  only tolerate to sip the coffee by adding two or three packages of sugar.

And as for Starbucks, Peets and their ilk, these stores are the quintessential American plastic copies of the original coffee houses in Greenwich Village in the 60’s. They exude artificial friendliness in a “Steppford Wife” sort of way. And the fact that all look identical, no matter where you are in the US, belays the attempt  to convey a friendly neighborhood atmosphere.

I do however like the concept of coffee, the gemutlichkeit and camaradie that goes with sipping a cup with friends. But even this is sullied when I see the furtive smokers in the leper space outside the building at work with the cigarette in one hand and the omnipresent cup of coffee in the other (Why do smoking and coffee drinking go hand in hand?)

When I travel to my adopted country, Brazil, I do enjoy the institution known as the afternoon cafezinho (little coffee), where one goes to the neighborhood stand up Butequim (counter corner restaurant) and gets a tiny cup filled half with powdery sugar to which is added hot strong black coffee. One is then expected to drink the entire cup with one quick movement of the head. The only saving grace is that it tastes like sweet hot syrup. Again, I like the concept but I don’t like the actuality. But alas, the Starbucks disease has also infected Brazil; they even advertise that they are recreating the “Starbucks Experience” in Brazil.

Ah well, nothing is perfect.

June 2012 - The Most Destructive Fires in Colorado History

These fires were predicted to occur in the Southwest by almost all climatologists as a result of climate warming. The warming caused the severe droughts, which allowed the bark beetles to increase their range, which killed trees and created more fuel for wildfires. And yet no one in the popular media nor any politician - even President Obama - made this obvious logical connection.

And Andrew Freeman in the Climate Central blog pointed out that a major heat wave is hanging over the Southwest and is moving east. He said that "Denver endured a record fifth straight day of 100-degree temperatures on Tuesday, and the high temperature of 105°F tied the city’s all-time record high, a milestone that reached just a day earlier. Colorado Springs also hit an all-time mark on Tuesday, with a high of 101°F."

This is the most serious issue that the human race has ever faced and not a single politician in our country nor in any other country is planning to do anything about it. As Bill McKibben wrote recently, "Today is one of those days when you understand what the early parts of the global warming era are going to look like."

 God help us, the people in power will not! Their children and grandchildren will say "What were they thinking. Why did they ever let this happen?"