we’re hoping for a concerted effort on the part of the world’s health professionals . . . to get this malignant condition under control, and help keep M.E. in a livable state.

This year, a treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons came into force. Sounds great, huh? The only problem is this: not one of the nuclear nations signed on. We can’t let that happen with fossil fuels.

This November, the city of Glasgow will have its chance, as host of COP26, to give new meaning to its own name. In this make-or-break climate decade, will Glasgow come to mean “we screwed up our last chance”?

Granny Blacklock knew how to keep cool . . . Summer after summer for close to 92 years, she survived the Okanagan heat. I wonder if she would have survived the heat dome.

We who live in 2021 are faced with a metaphoric iceberg of our own, and one of gargantuan proportions. This iceberg (yes, it’s a melting one) is a human creation called climate change, and we’re steaming straight towards it at full speed.

We think of exercise as something we squeeze into our lives (or not) in the form of workouts; meanwhile, when we need to go somewhere, we'll probably take the SUV. Why is this? Are we just lazy? Do we no longer have legs?

In days gone by, we humans made our messes, and expected the planet to mop them up. But we’ve multiplied to almost 8 billion people, and the Earth can no longer absorb our impact. Collectively, we’re rapidly wrecking the place, crossing one planetary boundary after another.

The pediatric conference had record attendance this year . . . And yet, in three and a half days, there wasn’t a single mention of the other looming health threat of the 21st century: climate change and the critical state of the planet’s health.

We drive to the gym for our workouts. We have treadmills in our basements, on-line Pilates classes, and exercise bikes. Sometimes we even go out for walks in our neighbourhoods. We get a dog, so we'll have to walk. Our dog gets obese . . .