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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

If you want to watch a four-minute video that will inspire you to the point of tears, you won’t do much better than this.

Admiral William H. McRaven has been a voice of integrity over the past five years.  He’s spoken in unison with many others at the top of our military, as Trump was clearing peaceful protestors for a photo-op, abandoning our allies in Syria, using our troops against legitimate protestors, disempowering NATO, pardoning war criminals, and referring to our fallen soldiers “suckers” and “losers.” (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

“The agency needs more than a return to quiet competence.”

Oh really?  Speaking for myself, I’ll be quite happy with the removal of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, criminal who used his power to hamstring an institute that Benjamin Franklin set up decades before the American Revolution.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics
A reader sent me the meme here.  When I wrote:
“Not sure what you’re referring to here,” he responded: “Please do some research. This is one of the most critical information. The trials happened in 1947 after the horrors of WWII.”
I know what the Nuremberg Trials were, but I don’t see how history may be repeating itself in this case.  The only connection I can see is that many of the Jan. 6th insurrectionists, who are one by one being sent off to prison, are contending that they were just following orders (from the then-President of the United States). As I’ve often written, I find that to be a mitigating circumstance, and therefore I believe they deserve some level of leniency, even though they are detestable human beings.
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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Senior Energy Analyst Robert Rapier writes: It’s hard to believe, but this guy was once highly respected. Now he has revealed himself as a total crackpot. 

When you look at people like Flynn and Rudy Giuliani, you’re left wondering why people with fabulous reputations could decide to flush their good name down the toilet.  Of course, these two lunatics do have something in common: Trump.  It’s not hard to imagine that the former president could by quite forceful in twisting people so as to get them to forego their integrity and good standing in our civilization.

Another group of people that surrounds Trump is composed of white collar criminals like Steve Bannon, Roger Stone, Michael Cohen, Rick Gates, Paul Manafort, George Papadopoulos, and Allen Weisselberg.  These people didn’t have to give up a reputation of honor, because they never had one to lose in the first place.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

This is a good example of the logical fallacy called “equivocation,” which means using the same word in two different senses.  For example, “Good steaks are rare these days, so be sure not to get yours overcooked.”

Scientists should question science, insofar as, yes, that’s how science makes progress.  Football coaches, landscape architects, and pastry chefs, on the other hand, should trust science, because their lack of training in the subject matter will only cause them to misinform themselves and others.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

As we all know, correlation doesn’t imply causation.  It’s perfectly possible that our ceasing to tax the ultra-rich, which actually began in 1980 with Ronald Reagan,  wasn’t the cause of the collapse of our educational system, middle class, etc.

It sure seems that way though, doesn’t it?

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

Almost half the country lives in a fairyland in which reason and intelligence have ceased to matter.

The irony here, of course, is that Jordan is referring to the anti-vaxxers as “real America,” where the precise opposite is the case.

As they say, “Science doesn’t care what you believe.”

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Here are the first few questions of an online survey, written (obviously) by a right-wing group.

Check out the question on patriotism.  Most Americans, regardless of their politics, consider themselves patriotic, but, in using the term, they mean two entirely different things.

To Trump supporters, this means revering the flag, the unequivocal right to bear arms, white supremacy, tiny government, suppression of asylum seekers, and rejecting science as it applies to the pandemic and climate change.

To progressives, it means admitting that our country has flaws, and working to correct them.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Let me make another point to Britt Bee, who writes: We all need to be very careful about being rich white people telling poor brown people (how to lead sustainable lives).  

Indeed.  Ironically, we actually need these people in rural parts of the world to consume more, not less.  There are countries where people’s life expectancy is 53 years, 32 years fewer than Japan.  In these regions, almost no one has access to clean water, electricity/refrigeration, and other essentials.

We all share a moral responsibility to rectify this.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Britt Bee writes: Any discussion of population is a minefield and population control itself is considered a ‘wicked problem.’ Traditionally, thwarting population growth has been associated with racism and eugenics and it will take a lot of unpacking to arrive at policies that will be trusted. We all need to be very careful about being rich white people telling poor brown people that we know best about how many poor brown people there should be. A valid argument made on the issue is when representatives from poor but populous regions point out that their per capita ecological footprint is far smaller than that of Western nations. It is our lifestyle that is unsustainable, not theirs. (more…)

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