Phase Change

Me and the girls talking Revolution

Water vapor in the air requires a surface on which to condense - to change phase from a gas into liquid. For clouds to form, little aerosol particles act as condensation nuclei for water in the atmosphere. Without a nucleus, water vapor can get colder than -10°C. This is remarkable, considering water normally freezes at 0°C. Maybe it also tells us that we human beings are not the only things in the world that are resistant to change.

Almost anything small enough (less that or equal to ~0.2 microns in diameter) can act as a nucleus on which a cloud can condense. It could be dust, soot from forest fires or combustion engines, sea salt from ocean spray, volatile organic compounds from phytoplankton or plants, or even bacteria. All this to say, the cloud needs something, anything, to coalesce. This process of cloud formation is an important piece of the water cycle, helping evaporated water turn into rain. Clouds also play a key role in determining how the earth system responds to climate change.

Right now the Palestinian people are fighting for their liberation. They are fighting for their right to live in their homes, to tend to the land, to swim in the sea, to collect rain water. Yes, Palestinians don’t even have the right to collect rain water - it’s been taken from them by the occupation. They are fighting for their rights to raise their children, to watch their parents grow old, to live with dignity. Each act of existence is an act of resistance. Each act is a condensation nucleus for community, for care, for freedom.

Almost anything small can act as a condensation nucleus which might form a cloud bank that alters the earth system’s energy balance. Similarly, a resistance movement in one particular place can act as a nucleus for communities of resistance around the world that can change the balance of power between oppressor and oppressed. Maybe it seems like your own particular act of resistance against a system that is profoundly unjust is too small to make a difference. But maybe your act can be a nucleus onto which other people, other organizations, other communities can coalesce. Maybe together we can form a cloud that casts a shadow over imperialism.

I am undergoing a phase change. Will you change with me?