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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

“It was among the strongest feelings of grief I have ever encountered. The contrast between the vicious coldness of space and the warm nurturing of Earth below filled me with overwhelming sadness. Every day, we are confronted with the knowledge of further destruction of Earth at our hands: the extinction of animal species, of flora and fauna . . . things that took five billion years to evolve, and suddenly we will never see them again because of the interference of mankind. It filled me with dread. My trip to space was supposed to be a celebration; instead, it felt like a funeral.”

It’s not uncommon for space travelers to have profound thoughts as they look back at the Blue Planet. When I was in grade school in the 60s, we watched a movie in which an early astronaut related his feelings of awe that there are “no lines, no borders” on the Earth’s surface.  All the force we apply to divide up the planet into (often warring) countries is entirely artificial.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Since my college days almost 50 years ago, I’ve believed that the United States is experiencing the unsustainable end game of unbridled capitalism, i.e., that we were seeing winners win and the losers lose.

I graduated in 1977, just before the base year of the comparison in wages between CEOs and workers, shown at left.  As is apparent, things have only gotten worse since then.

Moreover, workers are becoming unnecessary in most industries, as automation replaces human labor.  This is why union busting today is like shooting fish in a barrel: workers have no leverage, and nowhere to go.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

People who don’t vote in their best interests come in two varieties. Ironically, they’re polar opposites:

Altruists.  Many people with no kids in school vote for school bond issues because education is important to society. The same can be said about people with health insurance voting for universal healthcare, and the list goes on.

Idiots.  Many of the people who voted for Trump, especially in 2020, believe that tax breaks for billionaires create jobs, that environmental responsibility hurts the economy, that the former president is bringing jobs back from overseas, that Jews are replacing them, and, most glaringly, that the U.S. medical industry is conspiring to shut down the American economy and social fabric with pandemic remedies that have no scientific value.

Strange days indeed.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

This reminds me of the response a fellow from Sweden gave me, when I asked about his country’s perception of Trump: “We simply feel sorry for you.  Not one of us thought this could ever happen in the United States.”

This, as we all know, is quite a dramatic shift.  Until 2016, at least since the turn of the 20th Century, the U.S. was the envy of the world, especially in regard to its respect for rule of law.  How ironic is that?

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Interesting comment here from Walter Shaub, former director of the United States Office of Government Ethics.

I hope he’s right, but I see no reason that the divide between Trump’s supporters and his opponents will ever become a cut and dried matter.

Ask yourself what will happen when the former president is charged with seditious conspiracy, theft of classified government documents, election tampering, and whatever else.  Those backing him in congress will try to pretend they saw through him from the start, and his supporters in the electorate will simply shut up and move on to the next ultra-right-wing nut job.

Americans have terrible memories. That’s what makes us so susceptible to demagogues in the first place.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

When Tulsi Gabbard came on the political scene years ago, she held great appeal as a left-of-center Democrat with a keen mind, a powerful stage presence, and a deep commitment to humanitarian values.

Recently, however, she has shifted to the right to the point that she’s barely distinguishable from Marjorie Taylor Greene, and she wants us to believe that this is some sort of natural progression.

From this article published in February of this year: (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

A reader sent me meme here, and I see where he’s coming from.

Until recently, there was nothing fashionable about being stupid.  Now, that’s changed.

The saddest part of all this kicks in when we consider the challenges we face in terms of putting our civilization on a path towards sustainability.

The understanding of science isn’t a requirement, but accepting and acting on it certainly is.

 

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) recently attacked President Joe Biden for supporting developing wind power on the grounds that it is not always windy outside.

From the article linked above:

“He thinks wind turbines are the way to go!” she complained. “I mean what is he going to do when it’s not a windy day? Is he going to stand out there and blow hot air at all the wind turbines? Because that’s basically what he does!” (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Former House member Joe Walsh has a point here.

The scene with Walker is disgusting, but there’s nothing about it that’s the least bit out of character for today’s GOP.

What’s strange here is that Walker is going to get skunked, regardless of how much the GOP spends supporting the lying moron.  This is Georgia, not Alabama.  The state ranks a respectable #30 in education, and its people are generally bright, productive, and upstanding.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

The content of the meme here is correct, but hardly relevant given the present-day situation in which Republicans are desperately trying to pass a federal ban on abortion.

Of course, there are some women who, for reasons know only to themselves, want to be controlled.

There are others, far more, who will vote Republican because they are willing to give up some of their rights in exchange for supporting what today’s GOP stands for: racism, Christian fanaticism, rejection of science, and the general MAGA / “Let’s Go Brandon” mentality.

 

 

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