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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Good stuff here.

“This isn’t political” isn’t precisely correct, however; “This shouldn’t be political” is more accurate.  Sadly, fighting COVID-19 is like so many other areas in which science is under attack for political purposes.  Climate change is one that immediately comes to mind.

This proprietor is quite brave.  No doubt anti-vaxxers will be leaving and never coming back.

My son sells whole-house water purification systems to home owners, and performs demos in his prospects’ kitchens.  I asked him if these folks are nervous about a stranger introducing a highly transmissible disease, and if he thought a button on his shirt’s breast pocket that reads, “I’ve been vaccinated” would help.  He replied that half of his prospects are COVID-deniers, and would be immediately turned off.

So terribly sad.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Norway does so many things well, which is why it comes as no surprise that they’re turning their last coal mine into an enormous national park.

A mere 2000 square miles.

Bravissimo.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

“Reusing everything was a way of life.”

So was taking care of one another, behaving with kindness and decency.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

It appears that 52% of Trump voters believe it’s time to secede from the United States.

It’s true that the divide between conservatives and progressives has never been this large, and there seems to be no mechanism to turn it around.  In fact, both sides would be thrilled if there were a way that we could be rid of one another.

If these states were contiguous, and if the world military situation weren’t an issue, this might be a possibility.

IMO, this is definitely what should have happened in 1860, rather than entering the Civil War. Let the Confederacy go.  Because of its reliance on slavery, it would be the pariah of the world.  The trading of goods would have ceased immediately.  A few years later it would have withered, and be blown away by a stiff breeze.

The Red States of America (let’s call them) would be dirt poor,  undereducated, with very little tech R&D.  Again, it would be the pariah of the world (Trump had perhaps 10% support in Europe and the rest of the developed world).

Anyway, some idle thinking on my part.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Montana is a red state if there ever were one, but how much appetite could voters possible have for Ryan Zinke?  Interior Secretary under Trump, Zinke resigned when he learned that he was facing several federal probes for criminal wrongdoing; he doesn’t sound like a good choice for honest, red-blooded Montanans.

Also, as Donald Trump faces legal woes of his own, it’s unclear if his endorsement carries value, even in a state that he won twice.

Lastly, Zinke is a climate denier.  The folks from Montana aren’t known for their progressive views on climate change mitigation, but they have eyes.  They can see what’s happening in the world around them.

Keep in mind as well that Montana isn’t a completely anti-intellectual state, like several I could name.  The University of Montana and Montana State University have a dozen campuses between them.

By contrast, Cora Neumann is a public health expert with a PhD from Oxford, who has spent her career collaborating with local and national leaders to bring quality, accessible health care to rural and Native communities, especially important given the COVID outbreak.

A choice between black and white.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Outside of learning that criminal charges are being brought against Donald Trump, nothing could make me happier than to see Alex Jones losing his fortune.  He’s been losing numerous defamation suits that resulted from his claim that the parents of the children gunned down at Sandy Hook were paid actors.

A judge ruled that Jones failed to provide information required by the court. That makes one wonder why he wasn’t jailed.  Would have been even sweeter.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Maybe you’re thinking that Republicans’ fanaticism about banning abortion is sincere and based on some bizarre religious conviction.

At left we find all the evidence we need that there are far better ways to reduce abortion, and, at the same time, deal with the myriad of other unwanted sexual outcomes.  If the GOP’s motive were anything else than oppressing women, we’d be doing what the Netherlands and many other developed countries are doing.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability
Leo Tolstoy wrote:
When I read your letter it seemed to me impossible that I could send any message to the American people. But thinking over at night, it came to me that, if I had to address the American people, I should like to thank them for their writers who flourished about the (18)50’s. I would mention Garrison, (Theodore) Parker, Emerson, Ballou and Thoreau, not as the greatest, but as those who I think specially influenced me. Other names are (Ellery) Channing, Whittier, Lowell, Walt Whitman–a bright constellation, such as is rarely to be found in the literatures of the world.
And I should like to ask the American people why they do not pay more attention to these voices (hardly to be replaced by those of financial and industrial millionaires, or successful generals and admirals), and continue the good work in which they made such hopeful progress.
Dear Leo,
If you could look forward 170 years and were able to see what we mean currently by “Make America Great Again,” I’m sure you’d do your best to forget you’d ever heard of the United States.
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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

As a lifelong Republican intellectual, my mom wishes Trump had never happened.  Sadly, it’s too late for that now, so at this point she just wants to move on without him before he can do any more damage and cause any more embarrassment to her beloved party. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

This is from a compilation of photos taken in Texas.  To be fair, this type of thinking is at least somewhat common in the entirety of the Midwest and South.

Until social media, one needed to actually visit this region to know that this is no joke; these people are as serious as a heart attack.

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