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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

So true.

Life in the United States is great, if you’re of European descent and were born into an affluent family with laudable values. If you wish it to, as most people do, this more or less insulates you from the entirety of U.S. history, defined, as it was, by slavery, the slaughter of the Native Americans, constant imperialistic conquests around the globe, the pillaging of the environment and natural resources, the exploitation of the world’s poor, systemic racism before and after the emancipation, the waging of aggressive wars, the cruel treatment of asylum seekers, our $750 billion annual military budget that comes at the expense of education and healthcare, our constant slipping in the world freedom rankings, and the support of totalitarian regimes.

And that before the last four years, where we found ourselves at the brink of losing the American democratic republic.

Perhaps it was this brush with disaster that will represent a watershed event that ultimately moves this nation forward into what it could have been all along: the land with liberty and justice for all.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

If you think Google Earth is amazing (and it is) here’s the radio equivalent.  Each white dot is a licensed radio station, this app lists every single one on the planet.  Click wherever you want, and listen to what they’re airing–in real time!

Some surprises, but not too many. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Those living outside the U.S. may find it hard to understand how it is that some of our 50 states routinely do absolutely despicable things.

Here, we have the state government of Wyoming proclaiming: You can do a lot of things in this state, but goddammit, voting your conscience and acting on your principles aren’t among them.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

That’s $519 million in cash, according to this.

As usual, there are hidden costs that are much harder to quantify.  The figure above doesn’t include the cost of:

• The further deepening disgrace and shame that the U.S. has suffered in the international community.

(more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

The cartoon here is funny, but its implications aren’t.

“The election was rigged.”  “COVID-19 numbers are overinflated.”

When it comes to climate change it’s either: a complete hoax perpetrated by the anti-capitalists, caused by something other than human activity, a very minor threat, or so large that it’s impossible to mitigate.

Readers are constantly sending me their ideas about Milankovitch cycles or solar events as the true drivers of global warming.  I shouldn’t be sarcastic, but sometimes I’ll respond, “You know, that’s amazing.  I can see from your profile that you’re an insurance salesman in Baton Rouge, and you’ve discovered something that every single one of the tens of thousands of climate scientists, some of whom have been working on this phenomenon since the 1970s, has missed.  I see a Nobel Prize in your immediate future.”

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told reporters in a fierce defense of former President Trump, “The party is his and doesn’t belong to anybody else.”

Let’s hope that’s true.  Diphtheria will be more popular than Donald Trump when all the reporting is in, covering fraud, tax evasion, violation of campaign laws and the emoluments clause, obstruction, and whatever else I may be missing.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

I don’t know who created the meme here, but it certainly speaks for the vast majority of Americans.

There are plenty of Hispanics in the rural part of Santa Barbara County that is home to 2GreenEnergy.  Are they all here legally?  Probably not.  Does anyone care?  Absolutely not.  In general, they’re hardworking, honest, family-oriented, handy, festive, and willing to do work that we Anglos won’t. We hope that, one day, there will a path to citizenship for them.

There are also people with “Trump 2020” banners up, more than two weeks since Trump left office.  It’s hard to pass one of these places, the home of a seditionist, and not cringe.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Uncategorized

Biden is doing exactly what the majority of Americans were praying he’d do: immediately stop the damage that Trump caused to Americans’ health, to the environment, to international relations, to the very concept of truth, and to the economy, teetering as it is on the brink of collapse.

What’s going to happen in the next 3.95 years is anyone’s guess, but it’s hard to argue that this is off to anything but a wonderful start.

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Love this!

The idea of “living small,” i.e., carrying a low carbon footprint, is appealing to every decent person living on this planet.

The day is coming where people who live like pigs will be regarded as such, and that time can’t come soon enough.

That, btw, is why GM sold its Hummer brand; they could see that their customers were starting to get flipped off, and they wisely wanted to distance themselves from that PR drubbing.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

Here’s an article from Dr. Vandana Shiva (pictured) called: Fake Food, Fake Meat: Big Food’s Desperate Attempt to Further the Industrialisation of Food, which begins:

The ontology and ecology of food

 Food is not a commodity, it is not “stuff” put together mechanically and artificially in labs and factories. Food is life. Food holds the contributions of all beings that make the food web, and it holds the potential of maintaining and regenerating the web of life. Food also holds the potential for health and disease, depending on how it was grown and processed. Food is therefore the living currency of the web of life. (more…)