ipernity: Don Sutherland's photos with the keyword: June

Cosmos Close-up

10 Jun 2024

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Close-up of a Cosmos bipinnatos 'Apollo Lovesong' flower at the New York Botanical Garden (Bronx, New York)—June 8, 2024. Nineteenth Century American poet Anna Hubbard Mercur wrote of the Cosmos flower, “The world’s fair flower am I, Cosmos by name; From Paradise…I came…” At the beginning of summer, the Cosmos flower is among nature’s gifts that beautify the sun-soaked and sometimes steamy landscape. In the sun’s blazing heat, it is a refreshing gift to the eyes.

Smoky Afternoon

Don Sutherland

08 Jun 2023

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Wildfire smoke shrouds the Long Island Sound (Larchmont, New York)--June 7, 2023. The New York City area is experiencing a historic period of wildfire smoke. Thick smoke from wildfires in Quebec brought blood-red sunrises, an acrid smell of fire, and almost apocalyptic darkness during mid-afternoon. The visibility crashed to 0.75 miles and the Air Quality Index spiked at 484 in the City. Climate change driven by the burning of fossil fuels is resulting in increasing vapor pressure deficits (a measure of dryness). In turn, fires become more frequent, more expansive, and more intense. To date, the fossil fuel industry receives approximately $5.9 trillion in subsidies annually according to the IMF's methodology that incorporates externalities such as climate change-driven disasters. No policy efforts aimed at directly reducing the burning of fossil fuels are underway and CO2 emissions continue to move farther from the trajectory required to limit warming to 1.5°C over pre-industrial levels. Recent weather extremes--extremes that are increasing in magnitude at a faster rate than the temperature is rising--hints that the world's climate may be approaching or even have reached a critical point. Beyond that critical point may lie a harsher and more unstable climate. The unprecedented smoke event in New York City is perhaps just another symptom of the climate transition that leads to that more volatile climate state.

Annular Eclipse

Don Sutherland

10 Jun 2021

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Just after sunrise during an annual eclipse (Larchmont, New York)—June 10, 2021. An annular eclipse is a rare type eclipse that occurs when the moon is at the farthest point in its orbit around Earth.