July Digest
Heat and death
July has been marked by fire and heat all over the northern hemisphere. We are now well into the third heatwave of the 2026 summer, and this time it’s even more extreme and deadly. The temperatures published by weather media aren’t exactly accurate either. During the second heatwave, the official highs in our closest town were in the 36-38 C range. And that was accurate in the shade or when measuring air, but outside my house I registered 47 C after five minutes in the sun. As a gardener and beekeeper, the only word I have for the feeling I have is panic.
When I planned my July Digest in my head, I wanted to write about what I am reading, eating, and drinking, but I just don’t have the stomach for it today. Nobody is going to give a shit what I read in July 2026 anyway. I spent three days in the hospital for a procedure, and these heat waves are hell for autoimmune diseases. Hell.
People argue endlessly online about the need for air conditioning in Europe, and yes, that is true, but the AC argument fails to evaluate the root of the problem. It’s not just that houses in some parts of Europe aren’t built for heat. It is that politicians across the globe have done nothing infrastructurally to give human beings relief in the form of cooling centers or AC, but they have also done nothing in the seven decades climate scientists have been giving them the data that always had the same conclusion: extreme weather events like we are seeing now. And have been seeing for at least the last two decades. Does nobody remember the fires in Australia in 2020? What about the flooding in Pakistan that flooded one third of the country? They haven’t done anything to prepare us, and we still think we live in a democracy.
For the Love of Baby Jesus, Please Stop Visiting Italy in July
A few weeks ago, I intended to write an essay, "Please don't travel to Antarctica." If you follow many travel accounts on social media, you may have noticed, like me, that so-called influencers are traveling to Antarctica in droves. While Antarctica is indeed a place of unrivaled natural beauty, I don't believe anyone who is not a scientist on a researc…
I went to my first Earth Day event in 1990 with my best friend Autumn and listened and read every pamphlet I got my hands on, and even then, I knew and believed the science. Human activity- particularly the use of fossil fuels -is what brought us here. It’s the food chain, it’s the transportation chain, and above all, it is the military-industrial complex. Governments in the West serve oligarchs, corporations, and the military-industrial complex, which for us means the United States military and NATO, and of course making sure Israel can commit genocide and ecocide with our tax dollars and euros.
At the beginning of the month, Ettore and I went to Trentino for a week-long holiday. We went to hike and eat. It was important for me after such a long convalescence to be able to prove to myself that I still can do long-distance walks. I can accomplish a 1200 ascent and not be hospitalized. And I did. We went on some beautiful hikes that took us to beautiful valleys and lakes, away from crowds. In some parts though, it felt like a disaster zone. The quick retreat of Alpine glaciers should be of the utmost importance for Europeans, and it isn’t just the AC argument. Once the glaciers are gone, the rivers that supply water to the most important farmland will be dry. And that is the same for the Alps, the Apennines, the Himalayas, etc. We focus, rightfully, on polar ice melt because when the ice caps melt, it disrupts the jet stream and creates extreme weather. The glacier melt is an immediate threat to life around many parts of the world.
You can look on the NASA fire map and see where there are fires in real time. Have a look at sub-Saharan Africa. I beg you. This is the direct result of Western hegemony and capitalism, and none of us is willing to take even simple steps to mitigate this even a little bit. There isn’t enough pasture in the world for all the animals we eat. Everyone wants to chomp on meat, and even if they believe it is from a sustainable source, it simply cannot be. 40% of deforestation on planet earth is caused by clearing land for grazing animals. There is not enough room on Earth to produce the volume of meat we eat in a sustainable way. Just stop. If you eat meat, don’t dare talk about AI water use. AI data centers are a drop in the bucket compared to livestock. And most of that water is used to water crops for their feed, not for the animals themselves.
I will die on this hill. If you are still consuming more than 10% of your calories from animal sources, you are a big part of the problem. I personally can’t stop the military-industrial complex, but I can control what I eat.
The one thing we do actually have control over still is what we consume, and honestly, wine people? You suck the worst. You work in an industry that is at risk of extinction due to climate collapse, and you keep ordering your charcuteries and steaks because that’s what some shitty bold wine needs. The forecast isn’t great for our future, and the vanity it takes to convince oneself that this is ok is just pure narcissism at this point. Why do your taste buds matter more than a kid in a tent in Gaza with heat stroke? I am not even saying stop eating meat. If you limited your diet to 10% or less of your caloric intake, you’d be able to support sustainable regenerative farming in a real way.
I have been vegetarian since 1990, with occasional fish eating, I was 14, despite having silent generation Aussie parents, despite going to Catholic school, despite living in America where it is seen almost as a national duty to eat beef. It isn’t that hard. And it is better for your health by all measures.
Maybe I am the delusional one? I think about all those pigs, chickens, and cows on farms around the world, standing in their own shit, with no real freedom of movement. Or the ones coming from better pastures still being loaded into trucks in this heat for transport in deathly heat. I think about the dogs in canile with no relief; I think about the fish in lakes that are too warm or without oxygen. I think about old trees being slated for lumber and their connection to the forest and their neighbors and what that means. I will never forget koalas on fire, seeing horses on the loose in Bordeaux as their owner gives that at least a chance to escape. I think about old people who will die alone and rot in their apartments in Europe because of outdated infrastructure. I think about my friends Tareq and Mahmoud in Gaza who are in flimsy tents suffocating in this heat (like omg, the heatwave is not just affecting white folks in Europe), and their children getting heat blisters and the camps being overrun with rats, and how Tareq and I talked about the blessing he had recently when a cat gave birth in their tent and how that could at least mean pest control and he is giving what little water they are rationed to the mamma cat. And for what?
Greed.
Please consider leaving shallow bowls of water around your area for animals (wild and domestic)
I’ll be offline for August.
These are some great articles on here.
Can you PLEASE consider donating to my friends Tareq and Mahmoud in Gaza? Tareq is trying to raise funds for a fan that will cost around $500 thanks to the US Israeli blockade. Mamhoud’s fundraiser is just to get basics. If everyone who reads this donates $5 to each family if would made a huge different in their lives.
