Currently — May 19, 2023: Superbloom

The weather, currently.

This year's superbloom of wildflowers in California has been epic. Brought on by unusually high snowfall and a wet winter that has also meant catastrophic flooding, it has created what Atmos magazine's Jasmine Hardy calls "blissonance", the coexistence of beauty and destruction brought on by climate change.

"This dichotomy of grasping onto moments of beauty amidst a climate emergency is an enigma of our era. What if fixating on the big picture of climate change is doing us more harm than good? What if focusing on these smaller pieces is the only thing keeping us from unraveling?"

If you've struggled with climate anxiety, especially tied to weather events, I encourage you to read Hardy's fine essay — it's essential to hold on to these moments of joy and pleasure for all of us wanting a better world. This is what we're fighting for.

-Eric Holthaus

What you can do, currently.

Paid members will have a truly premium weather experience. Here's some of what we have planned:

• Text directly with Eric, our founder, who will personally answer your weather questions and give you a customized forecast on demand.

• Our first weather app, which will put your daily weather in the context of climate change, no matter where you are, anywhere in the world.

• Reader-ownership — an experiment in direct democracy so that Currently can remain accountable to our most important stakeholders, you, the readers.

We have SO MANY more exciting features planned, but we can't do this without your direct support. Your paid membership makes Currently possible.