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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

One thing Trump supporters adore about their hero is his fierce independence, his lack of concern for what others may think about him.

In the case of the Gulf of America issue, there must be people on his team urging him to “knock off this petty s***,” or words to that effect, and concentrate on matters that got him elected in the first place: mass deportations, lowering grocery prices, environmental deregulation, etc.

But again, the fact that he looks like a jackass to people all around the globe means absolutely nothing to him.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

In his latest article in Forbes, energy analyst Robert Rapier explains why “Drill, Baby, Drill” is unlikely to have a substantial impact on oil production. “There’s a total disconnect between Trump’s desire to lower gasoline prices and any incentive for producers to drill more,” he writes.

Rapier goes on to quote Liam Mallon, President of ExxonMobil’s Upstream division, who recently reinforced this sentiment, stating:

“A radical change in production is unlikely because the vast majority, if not everybody, is primarily focused on the economics of what they’re doing.”  Mallon’s perspective reflects a broader industry trend—oil producers remain focused on financial sustainability rather than short-term production boosts.

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We need to ask ourselves which seems more likely: Big Oil’s knee-jerk reaction to Trump’s political rhetoric, or their approaching the matter rationally, opting to do everything possible to remain profitable.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

How will alien intelligences regard humankind, when and if we finally meet?  It comes down to the criteria they impose.

Let’s hope it’s not kindness.  Many of the planet’s formerly great societies, including our own, have taken a turn for the worse, in just the past few years.

In 2010, the democracy in Hungary was regarded as among the very strongest on the planet, certainly the most robust in Central and Eastern Europe.  Now, a scant 15 years later, under Viktor Orbán, the country has sunk into dictatorship.

It’s almost certain that the United States is headed in the same direction.  The document outlining Project 2025 and the course that Orbán took his country through are practically identical.

At some point in our lives, most of us have been drunk and said to ourselves, “God, I hope no one sees me like this.”  That’s the state of the world right now.  Let’s hope the aliens don’t see us like this.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

At left are the words of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of the original television series “Star Trek.”

The concept that differences in ideas and cultures are something to be regarded as a “delight” is the very soul of “woke.”

Encouraging diversity and inclusion.  Wow.  “He was before his time,” as they say.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

You don’t have to be a great communicator like Winston Churchill or Ronald Reagan to know that deliberately distracting your audience when you’re trying to make serious points is a bad idea.  That’s what made the decision to have a little kid, capable of doing or saying anything at any time, milling around when his dad was speaking.

Musk wants to assure the American public that his actions are honest, legal, and helpful?  And he comes out juggling flaming torches?

And yes, Trump was clearly pissed about what was happening here.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics
“White House says judges balking at Trump’s actions are provoking a ‘constitutional crisis.'”
That’s rich, but it really is the single most common tactic that Team Trump uses as it attempts to undermine our democracy and put an end to rule of law.
Who’s actually causing the constitutional crisis: the people ignoring the law, or the judges who are desperately trying to keep it in place?
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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

What Aldous Huxley said here is absolutely true, and it applies so broadly across human society.

Most obviously, we have environmental collapse in general and climate change in particular.  The longer we delay our efforts to decarbonize our energy and transportation sectors, the higher the price we will ultimately pay.

Unfortunately, most Americans aren’t really on board here, otherwise a plurality of voters wouldn’t have elected a president who immediately withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Accord, abandoning the world in this existential struggle for survival.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

I can’t swear the story at left actually happened, but it certainly rings true–especially the end.

People who don’t want a more inclusive and fair society truly are “unpleasant.”

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

As shown below, it seems that the Associated Press, which has been serving to inform the world’s people since 1846, is having a bit of trouble doing its job. In particular, it was banned from a U.S. White House press briefing for its unwillingness to accept Trump’s changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

Insofar as journalism is the only profession specifically named in the Constitution, we may safely conclude that the Framers took the freedom of the press quite seriously.

Of course, they were also pretty darned insistent they didn’t have a king.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

As we step even deeper into the constitutional crisis which is being structured at the hands of President Musk, those federal judges sure are busy little beavers.

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