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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

To the author of this meme, I say wow.  I’m amazed at how many Americans believe school is essentially about enforcing conformation in our thoughts and in our actions.

What’s the downside of understanding math and science?  Of reading the world’s great books, and being able to write about their meaning with some level of skill? Participating in sports? Developing social skills?  Becoming employable?

I understand that effective schooling means adhering to at least a modicum of discipline, but without it, no one learns anything.  And young people need to learn eventually that our society has rules, the disobedience to which causes some really bad things.

Most of the animus on the subject comes, I believe, from the far right, people who believe that our educational system cranks out liberals.  It’s true that the more highly educated one is, the less likely he is to be a racist Trump supporter.  If you disbelieve that, you may want to ask your doctors where they stand on the subject.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

I find Carl Sagan to be one of the most admirable characters in human history, and I certainly understand what he’s saying here.

But I also understand that there are people on our only home who must be stopped from destroying it.  Our very survival depends on our successful opposition to them.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

John Bolton has predicted Trump won’t run for president again in 2024 because he (Trump) fears being known as a loser if it doesn’t work out, and that his current posturing is being done only to keep attention on himself.

Interesting.  A lot can happen in the next three years that could change this dramatically.  Having a single-digit approval rating is one of them.  Prison is another.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

I’ve been thrown off a horse twice, both after my asking him to canter.  The more recent of the two happened when the animal took a few steps, but then halted abruptly and lowered his head, causing me to to fall forward.

Clearly, the horse knew (at some level) Newton’s first law of motion, which states that there must be a net external force for there to be any change in velocity, either a change in magnitude or direction. In other words, if I weren’t able to grab the pommel or the horse’s neck, my body would continue to travel in the direction I was before the horse stopped.

My point here is that the common horse has a native, instinctual understanding of at least some of the laws of physics.  That’s more than I can say for the fellow pictured above.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

This map shows areas where a wet-bulb temperature (see explanation below **) greater than 32.0°C (89.6°F) occurs for more than 10 days per year at 4.0°C global warming.  Such a temperature rise could see nearly half of the world’s population (4 billion) living in areas potentially affected by killer heat.
One billion face heat-stress risk from a 2°C rise.
Note that these areas are, generally, the poorest on the planet.  Rich people can afford to avoid being subjected to misery.  This is just one of dozens of examples of how climate change is causing the world’s poor to suffer disproportionately.

**  Wet-bulb temperature is defined as the temperature of a parcel of air cooled to saturation (100% relative humidity) by the evaporation of water into it, with the latent heat supplied by the parcel. In other words, some of the heat in the air goes into cooling the air via evaporation, up to the point of 100% relative humidity, at which point no more evaporation can take place.  This is why people in Arizona say, “At least it’s a dry heat,” meaning that their sweat is readily evaporated, cooling the body.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

The bar chart below lists the top carbon emitting countries over the last 171 years.  The relevance?  There is absolutely none, as far as I can see.

China and India had virtually zero industrialization until very recently.  That doesn’t mean they’re not of huge concern in today’s fight against climate change.

In fact, if the developed world proves incapable of solving the carbon problem for everyone on the globe, catastrophe is certain.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

When I was working on my MA in philosophy (at my father’s expense), his friends used to kid him, “Hey, Craig.  What’s the job market looking like for professional philosophers?”

Seriously, two points:

It’s both annoying and amazing that people equate the value of a college degree with career earnings.  Maybe this is because it’s the only benefit that can be easily quantified, but it could be argued that better educated people have fuller lives.

On the other side of the coin, anyone who looks down on trade workers is simply mean.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

From this:

In a fiery speech on Tuesday, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) called on the Republican Party to reject former President Trump’s lies and return to an identity rooted in “fidelity to the Constitution … [and] the rule of law.” (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

A friend sent me this, but it was so preposterous, I immediately looked it up.  As I soon learned, he never said this.

Also, it directly contradicts the core tenet of communism: To each according to his need, from each according to his ability to pay.
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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

The cartoon here makes its point, but I doubt it’s true.

On a national level, there are too many Republicans that have realized that Trump is simply a conman.

Moreover, his legal woes are just starting to mount.  What’s going to happen in Georgia re: election tampering?  In New York re: fraud?  In Washington D.C. re: treason/sedition/inciting an insurrection?  Some of these charges will be sexier than others, but in the end, it doesn’t matter, and the enormity of all this has nowhere to go but up.

I predict something like Nixon, only on a more explosive scale.  Nixon had his party’s support.  Until he didn’t.  Same here, but with a bang that will be visible from outer space.

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