There is no doubt that our civilization, certainly the United States, is experiencing a rise in hate at this moment, so let’s take a look at the factors that may lie behind that phenomenon.
Russian involvement. All 17 U.S. intelligence agencies tell us that the Russians are hugely invested in campaigns, focused on both the 2016 and the upcoming 2020 elections, to polarize Americans, to pull us out of the political middle, and firmly into either the left or right. (more…)
Below is yesterday’s “poem for the day” from Garrison Keillor’s “Writer’s Almanac.” There’s a lot to like here, but one thing that I want to comment on is “Don’t think that progress exists. It doesn’t.”
Well, that’s a downer, and one that I would have rejected out of hand until a few years ago, with the rise of tribalism and greed, coupled with authoritarian governments popping up all around the globe. (more…)
Scientists will be discovering new effects of global warming, most of them harmful, for an indefinite period of time into the future.
My wife, devotee of Thoroughbred breeding and racing, came across this just now, pertaining to reproductive health of broodmares, and the fact that there is an increase in still births and foal deaths, always a heart-breaking phenomenon. (more…)
Denmark’s history of growing apples and berries in public places for all its citizens to enjoy goes back more than 500 years. Now, as shown here, Ottawa and Adelaide are joining Copenhagen in making this happen in modern times. (more…)
It is true that dismissing Bernie Sanders as a “communist” reveals “profound ignorance,” but just how important a mistake is that, in a land in which almost half of the electorate believes that Trump is a honest and stable genius? The United States in the year 2020 isn’t a nation that merely dabbles in ignorance; we frolic in it; we bathe in it. (more…)
This is another of those posts inspired by the artwork of Maurizio Rega, who, as if it needs to be said, specializes in trees.
Fun facts: Trump, the only world leader who denies the theory of anthropogenic climate change has rolled back 95 different environmental regulations. But he wants to plant lots of trees, and astonishingly, bills himself as an environmentalist.
Are the following excerpts from an online survey from the NRA (National Rifle Association in the U.S.) a sincere attempt to understand Americans’ sensibilities vis-a-vis gun rights? Here are a few sample questions, along with some things to think about.
Question #1: Do you agree that the Second Amendment guarantees your individual right to own a firearm? (more…)
There are no scenarios in which climate change extinguishes the entirety of human life. The planet may warm by 5 degrees C (9 degrees F), and, though the amount of human suffering will be beyond our capacity to imagine, those families who go into this catastrophe with some level of wealth will be able to deal with the worst conceivable outcomes. (more…)
Back in 2010, I interviewed a gentleman at NREL (the National Renewable Energy Laboratories) as part of my first book, Renewable Energy–Facts and Fantasies. A ran into him a few years later at the Intersolar show in San Francisco and asked him about NREL’s current focus. (more…)
From this article: Singapore aims to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040, making a bigger bet on electric cars as part of its efforts to cut greenhouse gases and fight climate change, the finance minister said on Tuesday. The wealthy city-state of 5.7 million, which is hiking investment in flood defences, joins Norway, Britain and others in setting a target to cut the use of vehicles with combustion engines. (more…)
