Human Evolution and Sustainability
Here’s a clever reminder of how humankind came to fill its role as the only life form whose activities despoil its home.
Tagged with: human evolution and sustainability
The Rejection of Science Might Be Humankind’s Undoing
Many of our civilization’s greatest thinkers believe that humankind has found itself in an “evolutionary cul-de-sac,” i.e., that we’ve progressed as far as this species is capable, along road with a dead-end ahead.
Normally, these folks talk about our superabundance of technology and our woeful lack of compassion for one another.
Another concept is, ironically, in many ways the polar opposite. I join those who fear that it is, in fact, the rejection of science that will bring us to ruin.
Tagged with: rejection of science
If Elected, Would Pence Pardon Trump?
As discussed here, Pence is shifting his position on the subject, but what else could be expected from a person tragically born with neither a spine nor a personality?
Could be a moot point, given that Pence could no more be the next U.S. president than he could be overlord of the Milky Way galaxy.
Tagged with: pardoning Trump
What the Insurrectionists Came to the U.S. Capitol to Incite
If there were only some way to identify the true intentions of these insurrectionists.
What brought them to the Capitol on January 6th? They couldn’t have come to initiate a civil war, could they?
Tagged with: insurrectionists
The Problem Isn’t Guns?
This might make sense if it weren’t for countries like Japan that are both a) almost completely godless and b) nearly totally safe from gun violence.
Tagged with: The Problem Isn't Guns?
America the Horrifying
As the United States makes its way through the first half of the 21st Century, we see terrifying reminders of ignorance and divisiveness.
Tagged with: ignorance and divisiveness
What Should We Be Doing as Temperatures Rise and Earth Becomes Less Inhabitable?
We know that the Earth is experiencing record high temperatures, and that these data points are not isolated, but are part of long-term warming trends that derive from the buildup of greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere, largely due to our civilization’s consumption of fossil fuels.
We also know that the overarching economic power structures on this planet couldn’t care less about abating the unprecedented levels of suffering that are making their way around the globe: the mass displacement of populations due to the disappearance of land masses, the storms, the wildfires, the loss of biodiversity, the acidification of our oceans, and so on.
I met a young fellow today who was interested in this subject, but believed that our response is based on lies foisted upon us by the woke socialists. “Isn’t it true that wind turbines require a great deal of oil to manufacture the blades and maintain themselves in operation?” he challenged me.
I explained that, although there is no environmental “free lunch,” there are a great number of actual facts that matter. When it comes to renewable energy, the most important metric is “EROI,” or “energy return on investment.” Wind turbines return somewhere between 18:1 and 30:1 in terms of EROI, meaning that, on average, if we spend one kilowatt-hour producing and maintaining a wind turbine, we’ll get, say, 25 kilowatt-hours back over the time of its operation. Meanwhile, most of that energy displaces what would have come from coal, with its greenhouse gas emissions in terms of CO2 and methane, its heavy metals in the form of mercury, arsenic, cadmium, and selenium, as well as its incredible array of extremely toxic, carcinogenic radioactive isotopes.
Did I make an impact here? Frankly, I’m not sure. But if I failed, it wasn’t because I didn’t try. That’s all that can be expected of us, IMO.
The Answer: More Guns?
Believe it or not, there are people all around this country who are reveling in the mass shootings that took place over the holiday weekend in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Fort Worth. That may sound like an outrageous statement, but incidents like these bring huge spikes in gun sales, as idiots everywhere become even more convinced that they need guns, especially the weapons of war, to protect themselves, and the gun industry is all too happy to oblige them.
One might think that the ever-escalating slaughter of innocent people, especially tiny children, would bring us closer to the commonsense gun laws that exist in civilized nations around the globe. Yet the precise opposite is true.
Tagged with: commonsense guns laws
Trends in Environmentalism
South Pass, Louisiana (USA).
At left we see an example of a disturbing trend, i.e., the precipitous decline in the number of Americans who consider themselves environmentalists. According to this article, a 1989 Gallup poll reported that 76 percent of Americans considered themselves environmentalists, but by 2021 that had declined to 41 percent.
It’s possible, however, that this is a matter of semantics, as most of us (about 70 percent) favor public policies that control air, water and toxic waste pollution.
The author of the article linked above speculates: What has happened is that the image of environmentalism and environmental advocacy itself has become entwined in the political polarization that has infected all aspects of American political life.
That’s certainly true. The anti-woke crowd stands in vehement opposition to anything that benefits humankind, and taking care of our planet is just one example.
Tagged with: environmentalism and environmental advocacy
How Americans Regard Our Supreme Court
Times are not good here in the United States. In particular, we seem to be on a train that is speeding towards the destruction of everything that made us great: fairness, honesty, and the upholding of our citizens’ rights.
Tagged with: How Americans Regard the Our Supreme Court
