Dear Friends,

Ed’s perch on top a stack of 300 hardcover books.

I’ve got a new piece of furniture: A pile of boxes containing 300 copies of Marcher, Walker, Pilgrim. Sure, it looks right handsome in the corner of our living room, but I’d be happy to sell you a piece or two. Click here for details, or come to the launch of my yearlong book tour this Sunday in Des Moines, 2:00 p.m. at 500 E. Locust Street. We’ve also got readings coming up in Davenport on December 7 and in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids on December 8. Here’s the schedule for these and other readings.

And yeah, the book is very readable. Even my cat Mika is getting into it.

Cat Mika is captivated by Ed’s new book.

In other news, California’s deadliest fire ever reminds us that, while we have to move beyond fossil fuels as quickly as possible, we also have to help the victims of global warming’s wrath. And no, President Trump, we don’t all need to grab rakes and fan out across the forest floor. Often, the best thing we can is to send money or supplies directly to the victims.

April Jones invited friends and neighbors over for dinner and respiratory masks.

While the fire was still raging, I got a call from April Jones describing the dangerous air quality in Chico, where she lives. Chico is about 14 miles from Paradise, the town of 26,000 that the Camp Fire incinerated — the town President Trump called “Pleasure.” Twice.

After talking with some of our Bold Iowa team members, I offered to help. High-quality respiratory masks were badly needed and in such high demand there were none left on store shelves in Chico. I checked stores in the Des Moines area and found a few that had masks. Kathy Byrnes and I bought as many as we could manage and Shari Hrdina figured out how to ship them.

April added a word of thanks to her mask.

Thanks to many of you, Bold Iowa raised enough money to send 380 masks to April and her neighbors. Besides that shipment of masks, I want to thank Mika’s veterinarian, Dr. Kim Houlding, for providing an additional 250 masks. Because of the rain this past week and the tireless effort of nearly 10,000 firefighters, we’re holding those masks in reserve as there will, unfortunately, certainly be other fires where these masks are needed.

Last week, April wrote to say, “I had people over for dinner today and handed out about half of the masks. Some people in Magalia are getting to go home and begin the clean up process. These masks will help. I really appreciate all your efforts to help us!”

Given all that’s going on just in our own country, it’s hard to imagine there’s a climate denier still out there:
— Fires in California,
— UN report last month saying we have twelve years to figure out climate change or else,
— This month’s National Climate Assessment laying out the catastrophic impact of climate change on the US economy and public health, and
— What might be the coldest November in Iowa on record (following the coldest April on record).

Even President Trump has moved beyond calling climate change a Chinese hoax, though he refuses to hear what scientists are saying about the clear, verifiable cause of our problem.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, we all must do everything we can at this unprecedented moment in human history. One small thing you can do is buy my book — all proceeds support the work of Climate March. Beyond the intriguing story of an amazing and exhausting adventure, the book might inspire you to find ways to deepen your own commitment to help mobilize America to fight climate change, before it’s too late.