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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Here’s yet one more example of cooperation in nature.

From the BBC: Ants communicate using signals with their legs and use their antennae to sense different chemicals that other ants lay on the ground called pheromones.

How they do a certain thing, however, is less important than why they do it.

One thing for sure: in the ant world, there is no such thing as greed.  If a bunch of people were trying to accomplish something like this (on a human-sized scale), we’d experience all types of problems associated with certain people wanting more than their share.

If the response to COVID has shown us anything, it’s that greed and selfishness dominate the American society.  You and I live among pigs, and there has never been a moment in history in which this was more apparent.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Here’s an article that discusses Trump’s abhorrence of people stupid enough to follow his lead and keep him relevant in U.S. politics.  From the piece:

The best example is his detached, irresponsible and inept handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hundreds of thousands of Americans died on his watch. He relied on conspiracy theories, magical thinking, blatant lies and distractions to fool the American public. Trump followers in red states have died in huge numbers because they erroneously and foolishly believed he was the benevolent master of their fate. Nothing could be further from the truth. He was, in fact, an accessory to murder. His supporters’ lives meant nothing to him.

Another example, the author claims, is the insurrection of January 6th.  Trump had incited the riot in a desperate attempt to overturn our democratic  process, then did nothing to quell it for hours, but watched it on TV from the White House.

An alarming new low here in the U.S.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

So good to see this.  Think of all the charging cords you’ve been forced to buy over the years, and all the materials that were extracted from the Earth to manufacture them.

Great move in the direction of sustainable electronics, not to mention consumer rights.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

I have to admit that I’ve endured a spate of total bull*** from submissions from my reader base lately.  The meme here is a good example.

Answers:

a) The two have nothing to do with one another. Here’s Ronald Reagan on the subject.

b) Social security isn’t running out of money.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

An acquaintance sent me the meme here.

It IS true that vaccinated people, the majority of Americans, are angry with the conspiracy theorists/QAnoners who are, because of their ignorance, perpetuating this disease.

Have you ever spoken with a doctor on this matter? Or are you thinking that 1.01 million U.S. doctors, who busted their asses though pre-med, medical school, an internship and residency, and then spent their lives treating illness, are now in on a vast conspiracy to kill people?

It’s just so sad.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

In a recent post on our children’s reactions to climate change, I noted that young people are either angry/worried, or completely oblivious.  I believe that, in the main, where this lands is a function of the kid’s family, i.e., what the discussion at home is like.

I remember tutoring a high school senior in science, preparing her for a test on two different areas.  I arrived for our first meeting, hoping, of course, that the event would go well, and that I’d be hired on a continuing basis.  The girl’s mother greeted me at the door, and, to my surprise, seemed a bit unfriendly and suspicious.  I presumed that she was concerned for here daughter’s safety, which is understandable, a belief I confirmed when she sat down in the room with her daughter and me (a first for me, out of many dozens of such engagements).  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

From this piece on climate change and our children’s reaction to it:

For a forthcoming study, researchers with the U.K.’s University of Bath and other schools spoke to 10,000 people in 10 countries, all of whom were between the ages of 16 and 25, to gauge how they feel about climate change. The prevailing response could be summed up in two words: incredibly worried.  And the respondents say governments aren’t doing enough to combat climate change. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability
Here’s a conversation I’m having with a friend surrounding the meme here.
Me:  What should it be called in the other 205 sovereign nations around the world, all dealing with the same disease?
Other friend: By “do your research” do you mean look for the most outlandish speculation and conspiracy theory you can accept?

Me: I’m sure I can find a website that proves that Al Gore or Dustin Hoffman is behind this. That’s how asinine all this is.  Please see this piece on misinformation.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

I thought this was a joke; I would have said that the very definition of a conspiracy theorist is someone who lacks critical thinking skills.  But no, this really is the major finding in a recent study.

You think Trump won the Arizona recount, when he’s the only person on Earth willing to say that? Think everyone else on Earth is inventing fake news?  You just may be lacking in those trivially unimportant critical thinking skills.

I see another important study on the horizon.  Can unprotected sex cause unwanted pregnancies?

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

When someone makes an assertion during a discussion on politics and asks for my position, I often respond, “I believe it’s more complicated than that.”  Border security, declarations of war, limits on free speech, teaching religion in public schools, administering drugs to children, criminal penalties, Israel/Palestine, closing the gap between rich and poor, and dozens of other issues are nuanced, whether we like it or not.

Of course, there many issues in which my viewpoint is black and white.  There are things I want none of, e.g., money in politics and the death penalty, and there are things I want categorically, say, universal healthcare, Carbon Fee and Dividend, common sense gun laws, and a woman’s right to choose abortion.

Yet we need to understand the validity of the point being made in the meme above.

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