Everything is interconnected. As a Shinnecock Indian, I was raised to know this. We are a small fishing tribe situated on the southeastern tip of Long Island near the town of Southampton in New York.
Sve je povezano. Kao Indijanku iz plemena Šinekok, odgajali su me sa ovim na umu. Mi smo malo ribarsko pleme sa jugoistočnog vrha Long Ajlenda blizu grada Sauthemptona u Njujorku.
When I was a little girl, my grandfather took me to sit outside in the sun on a hot summer day. There were no clouds in the sky. And after a while I began to perspire. And he pointed up to the sky, and he said, "Look, do you see that? That's part of you up there. That's your water that helps to make the cloud that becomes the rain that feeds the plants that feeds the animals."
Kada sam bila mala, deda me je vodio da sedim na suncu na toplom letnjem danu. Na nebu nije bilo oblaka. Nakon nekog vremena počela bih da se znojim. A on bi pokazao na nebo i rekao: "Gledaj, vidiš li to? To tamo je deo tebe. To je tvoja voda koja pomaže da se stvori oblak koji postaje kiša koja hrani biljke koje hrane životinje."
In my continued exploration of subjects in nature that have the ability to illustrate the interconnection of all life, I started storm chasing in 2008 after my daughter said, "Mom, you should do that."
U mom trajnom istraživanju predmeta u prirodi koji imaju sposobnost ilustrovanja povezanosti svega živog, počela sam da jurim oluje 2008., nakon što je moja ćerka rekla: "Mama, trebalo bi to da uradiš."
And so three days later, driving very fast, I found myself stalking a single type of giant cloud called the super cell, capable of producing grapefruit-size hail and spectacular tornadoes, although only two percent actually do. These clouds can grow so big, up to 50 miles wide and reach up to 65,000 feet into the atmosphere. They can grow so big, blocking all daylight, making it very dark and ominous standing under them.
Tri dana kasnije, vozeći veoma brzo, našla sam se kako uhodim posebnu vrstu ogromnog oblaka koji se zove superćelija i koji je sposoban da stvori grad veličine grejpfruta i spektakularne tornade, iako to radi zapravo samo dva procenta. Ovi oblaci mogu toliko da porastu, do 80km u širinu i da dostignu visine do 19km u atmosferi. Mogu da porastu toliko da blokiraju svu svetlost čineći stajanje ispod njih veoma mračnim i pretećim.
Storm chasing is a very tactile experience. There's a warm, moist wind blowing at your back and the smell of the earth, the wheat, the grass, the charged particles. And then there are the colors in the clouds of hail forming, the greens and the turquoise blues. I've learned to respect the lightning. My hair used to be straight.
Jurenje za olujama je veoma čulno iskustvo. U leđa vam duva topao, vlažan vetar i osetite miris zemlje, pšenice, trave, naelektrisanih čestica. A tu su i boje u oblacima kada se stvara grad, zelene i tirkizno plave. Naučila sam da poštujem munje. Moja kosa je nekad bila ravna.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
I'm just kidding.
Samo se šalim.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
What really excites me about these storms is their movement, the way they swirl and spin and undulate, with their lava lamp-like mammatus clouds. They become lovely monsters.
Kod ovih oluja me zaista uzbuđuje njihovo kretanje, način na koji se uvijaju, okreću i talasaju se, sa njihovim mamatus oblacima, nalik lava-lampama. Postaju divna čudovišta.
When I'm photographing them, I cannot help but remember my grandfather's lesson. As I stand under them, I see not just a cloud, but understand that what I have the privilege to witness is the same forces, the same process in a small-scale version that helped to create our galaxy, our solar system, our sun and even this very planet.
Kada ih fotografišem, ne mogu da se ne setim lekcije mog dede. Dok stojim pod njima, ne vidim samo oblak, već razumem da to čemu imam privilegiju da prisustvujem su iste sile, isti procesi manjih razmera koji su pomogli da se stvori naša galaksija, solarni sistem, naše sunce i čak i ova planeta.
All my relations. Thank you.
Svi smo povezani. Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)