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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

From the late 19th Century until Einstein published his work on special relativity in 1905, a great number of scientists believed that physics had gotten to the point of a near complete understanding of the universe.

This was probably due to a form of conceit, i.e., that all forces, particles, fields, etc., conform to human intuition.  What we’ve learned since, of course, is that phenomena that are either very small or very large contain huge paradoxes.

I took one semester of quantum mechanics.  I got a C+, for which I was grateful.  It never entered my mind to take a second semester.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

What Bertolt Brecht said here is interesting, but it’s untrue, at least in the United States under most circumstances.

The First Amendment does not protect certain types of speech, but generally, deliberate lying is fine, as long as it’s not an overtly criminal act, e.g., perjury, inciting to violence, or defamation.

This is an important distinction in today’s America because we have an entire political party, a former president and 2024 candidate, and several “news” organizations whose only characteristic making them viable is nonstop lying.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Wow, that’s one powerful photograph.

It makes one think: 100 years from now, who will have had the better life?

Presuming they’re Americans, the old lady lived through the Great Depression and numerous wars, and doubtlessly had to deal with many personal hardships and losses.

The baby will benefit from all manner of technology: IT, communications, and especially healthcare; he’ll likely live a longer and healthier life.

Exactly what he’s going to have to deal with in terms of everything else, however, is anyone’s guess.  Nuclear war? World fascism? The demise of U.S. democracy? Environmental devastation?

On a less dramatic basis, what about a loss of job opportunities as automation and AI replace human labor?

We can only wish him luck.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

My father left college temporarily to drop bombs on the fascists’ oil refineries, completing 29 successful missions before being shot down, and, with his men, spending the last six months of the war in a POW camp.

My role as an anti-fascist is far less exciting, though, with joining protest marches and my daily writing, I’d like to think I’ve made a difference.

Miss you, Dad.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Trump tried to overthrow the U.S. government, and some bozo wants to charge him with parking in a handicapped space?

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

In most of Europe, highways, like the one shown here, are constructed such that populations of wild animals are not cut off from one another.

This eco-friendly civil engineering practice is virtually nonexistent in the United States.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

A reader notes: I’m certain their defense will be, “What, it’s a form of recycling…!”

Yes, they lied, but ironically, in this case, the world’s a (slightly) better place as a result. Reusing is almost always better than recycling.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

The ad here reads: Show your support for President Trump & The 2nd Amendment by hanging this limited edition yard flag outside your house, in your garden or wherever your patriotic heart desires. This is the perfect item for any patriot!

Fortunately, Americans’ appetite for this type of messaging is evaporating.  The Big Lie is on its deathbed, given the revelations from Fox News and Trump’s inner circle.  Yes, there will be a few morons who hold onto it, even as torrents of sworn court testimony rain down to the effect that there was no significant voter fraud in the 2020 election.

Soon, the word “patriotism” will return to its former meaning, where dishonesty and treason play no part.

Second Amendment fanaticism may be harder to eliminate.  The hardcore nuts have been thinking that Democrats have been “comin’ for their guns” for half a century.  The fact that there hasn’t been a whisper about banning handguns for sane adults to use for personal protection doesn’t mean a thing to them.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Scott McKie asks: Isn’t Fox News legally registered somewhere as a “news” outlet? And if so, what is the verbiage in that registration?  Could be interesting to see if they are registered and if so, could they be taken totally off cable by not adhering to what’s in that registration. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Here’s a podcast of the NPR show Ideasphere, in which host Guy Rathbun speaks with environmental activist Andrew Boyd, author of the recent book I Want a Better Catastrophe.  Fabulous discussion, highly recommended.

Boyd is terrifically well informed about climate change and what must be done to mitigate it. He’s also quite the comedian–an unlikely combination to be sure.

I guess I should have been clued in by the kidding on the level title of the book.  Does anyone want a catastrophe?

Its concept, of course, is that some level of catastrophe is already baked into our future, and that at this point our descendants are incapable of avoiding great suffering as the result of our selfishness.  But is the driver really selfishness, or our blind and ignorant acceptance of the fossil fuels industry’s insistence, funded with hundreds of millions of dollars of public relations, that global warming is a liberal, anti-capitalist hoax?

It’s a 30-minute experience you won’t regret.

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