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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

As is the case with so many of our human endeavors, there are people on all sides of the issue of climate change, its importance, and tactics for its mitigation.

In Apocalypse Never, Michael Shellenberger (cover shown here) argues that climate change isn’t that big a deal.  However, his reasoning is flawed, as I’ve tried to show by countering a few of the assertions it makes in the Facebook post promoting the book.

“But in 2019, as some claimed “billions of people are going to die.” (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Americans, especially white ones, have the right to be ass****s, although before now there was never a time in our history where this theory was tested in the real world.

Now, masses of people are flouting laws at all levels of government that require them to observe measures aimed at containing the pandemic.  Few if any of them are being punished in any way, other than ostracism. But do you think the slob shown here could possibly care what refined and decent people think of him? (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

This cartoon was obviously intended to promote Trump by suggesting that Biden is simply a randomly chosen Democrat with nothing that really stands out in his intellect or character.

To me, the funny part about this is that it’s true. Biden is simply the least controversial of the many Democrats who aspired to the nomination.  Most of the people who will be voting for him in November would grant that there is nothing particularly appealing about him, especially if you’re a progressive.

How often we heard that the 2020 Democratic platform must go beyond: “We’re not Trump.”  Incorrect.  While there are elements of the platform that ostensibly address environmental issues, wealth inequality, racial violence and the like, the real game-winner here is this simple five-word assertion: Biden is not a sociopath.  

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Standing behind 2008 presidential hopeful John McCain in the photo at left is his campaign manager and lifelong Republican Steve Schmidt.  When interviewed recently, Schmidt spoke lucidly for two solid minutes in response to a general question about what the Trump Presidency has done to our great country:

Donald Trump has been the worst president this country has ever had. And, I don’t say that hyperbolically. He is. But he is a consequential president. And, he has brought this country in three short years to a place of weakness that is simply unimaginable if you were pondering where we are today from the day where Barack Obama left office. And, there were a lot of us on that day who were deeply skeptical and very worried about what a Trump presidency would be. But this is a moment of unparalleled national humiliation, of weakness.
 (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

New Zealand: Leadership based on science, full compliance from citizenry, all restrictions lifted as case loads vanish to zero

United States: Sham leadership based on politics, rampant defiance from citizens/idiots, increasingly onerous restrictions as case loads soar

Pathetic. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

What a charming human being, exuding all the traditional values of justice, fairness, tolerance, amiability, and mutual respect. I wonder which of the Seven Sisters she calls her alma mater.  Smith?  Wellesley?

On a serious note, it appears that this year we’ll have high voter turnout, despite voter suppression, gerrymandering, and a variety of “dirty tricks”:  calling nursing homes, asking for residents’ voting preferences, and, depending on the response, explaining, “Oh there’s no need to go to the polls; I’ve recorded and registered your vote for you,” posting “detour” signs that get prospective voters lost, or simply, “Polling Place Closed.”

This will without doubt be the dirtiest election in U.S. history, and the question remains, what will Trump do if he’s thoroughly and clearly destroyed?

In any case, first things first: vote.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

This is great.

I’d like to think that the dozens of times my kids watched me do precisely this as they were growing up has helped bring two kind young adults into our world.

A sustainable civilization is a kind one; there is no way around that.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

A reader sent me the meme here and comments: What if this is fake being fake and I too am fake? Life is so more confusing since the days before memes and robots, one of which I might be.

Good point. The only thing we know for certain is that we exist, as Descartes told us about 500 years ago.

That, of course is irrelevant to our lives; the fact that absolute certainty is unavailable to us does not mean that we can’t use reason and common sense to figure out what is extremely likely to be the case and to act accordingly.

Buying whatever you see on social media with out corroborating the data is a terrible idea, but using social media to share ideas and opinions is a very powerful tool.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

A reader asserts: I hate to break it to you but the US is a socialist country. Shall I list all the social programs we have or are you astute enough to look them up all by yourself? Obviously the latter doesn’t apply does it?

LOL!  I normally ignore comments from people with manners from hell, but this trash enables me to make a point: (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

George Takai, whom American baby boomers remember as Mr. Sulu on the original Star Trek, is no fan of the president, and, as illustrated here, often uses humor to express himself.

In truth, if Trump winds up in prison, it’s far more likely that he’ll become a ward of New York state rather than the federal government, since state crimes are not pardonable by the U.S. president.

Yet it’s hard to imagine that he and his family of criminals won’t leave the country and live out their lives in Mother Russia, where they will be extremely heavily protected.  Hunting down Osama bin Laden will  be like swatting a fly in a small bathroom compared to getting to Trump once he gets out of here.

 

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