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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

At left is what Bertrand Russell said perhaps a century ago.

My take on this may be slightly different, in that I call religion our prescientific understanding of the universe.  Human beings with our newly formed big brains were called upon to crave an explanation for natural phenomena: disease, weather, astronomy, etc., and we wanted our fear of death somehow assuaged.  Absent science, religion was our only choice.

One hundred years hence, however, is there any reason to have any confidence that “religion … will fade away?” As we look at Israel vs. Hamas and the banning of abortion here in the United States at the hands of the evangelical Christians, do we see any progress along the lines that Russell predicted?

What we do see is a civilization careening at the edge, largely because of its failure to adopt science.  When it comes to climate change mitigation alone, it looks like we’re going to cook our home planet.

If I could only be a believer, my life would be so much easier. But I can’t accept that channel, and neither should you.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

Even as a small boy, I was a tough sell on religion, but the concept of a Devil whose work is to pull us away from Christ is arguably more ludicrous.  Of course, I don’t speak for everyone on this point.

That said, pointing to Lucifer as the cause of random things you don’t approve of, in this case veggie burgers, seems absurd beyond words.  Again, that’s just me.

Keep in mind that demand creates its own supply.  As long as there are people looking for answers to life’s tough questions who accept (and actually pay to hear) the words of Rick Wiles, you can remain assured that he and the other televangelists will remain a vibrant and lucrative part of our society.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

We need to add to this:

• Character doesn’t matter.

• Telling the truth is for sissies.

• Treason and sedition are acceptable ways of staying in power after you’ve lost an election by seven million votes.

 

What kids will learn if Trump somehow escapes justice:

• Rule of law means absolutely nothing in the United States.  There are banana republics all over the world in which justice matters more than it does here.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Here, a couple of journalists from Bloomberg attempt to explain how climate change mitigation is receiving political backlash, both in the US and the EU (two of the three largest emitters).

Bottom line: extreme right-wing forces on both sides of the Atlantic are wielding considerable power.  The last thing we need.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

Who doesn’t completely admire this man, if for only his sheer humility?

As a tutor, I essentially teach.  If I have a kid in front of me who wants to learn math/science or any of the humanities, I’m pretty effective.

But occasionally, I come across moments where I can open up that mind and get it to look at life and learning on a grander scale.  In those few moments, I suppose I could be called Socratic, thus flattering myself.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Here’s what Santa Monica (CA)-based environmentalist Zan Dubin wrote to the editor of the Los Angeles Times in response to an article on income and childbearing, which includes: “What largely remains overlooked, however, is the abject failure of America’s political elite to protect the country’s middle-class standard of living.”

Zan responds:
I was glad to see a prominent article giving voice to those who choose to be child-free.
However, falling birthrates were described as a negative trend because of economic concerns. Why not quote scientists or environmentalists who have different concerns or see the upside to this complex situation?
The title of this 2022 study in the journal Biological Conservation says it all: “Overpopulation is a major cause of biodiversity loss and smaller human populations are necessary to preserve what is left.”
In a March 2023 article in Scientific American, Harvard professor Naomi Oreskes approvingly quotes the Royal Society: “More people ‘has meant that ever more natural habitat is being used for agriculture, mining, industrial infrastructure and urban areas.’ ”
In a 2013 interview, David Attenborough said, “All our environmental problems become easier to solve with fewer people, and harder — and ultimately impossible — to solve with ever more people.”
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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

From this: Engine manufacturer Cummins must pay the second largest environmental penalty in United States history: a whopping $1.6 billion to settle claims that it outfitted hundreds of thousands of trucks with software to defeat pollution controls.

Plug-In America co-founder Paul Scott writes:  Jennifer Rumsey is the CEO of Cummins. She’s been a high level member of management for over a decade and was intimately involved in this scheme to defraud California regulators and presumedly those in other states. While I appreciate that her company has been fined $1.6 billion, it is also a fact that the consequences of her crime involve more human deaths from the added diesel pollution. Seems she should spend time in prison for that.

As I noted repeatedly during the (extremely similar) VW emissions scandal, corporate malfeasance, while it isn’t brand new, continues to escalate as time passes.

When I was working as a business consultant a few decades ago, principally to the Fortune 100 tech companies, no-one would have dreamed suggesting a conspiracy to defraud government regulators, cheat customers, and endanger the health of everyone on Earth.  If someone had actually done so, he would have been fired immediately and escorted off the premises by security.

Times have changed, to put it kindly.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Re: Trump, the Lincoln Project writes:

Let the math do the talking:

49% of Republicans in Iowa.

44% of Republicans in New Hampshire.

Roughly 40% of Republicans in South Carolina.

All of them voted against Trump.

The guy who’s “unstoppable.” The guy who’s basically running as an incumbent. Between 40-50% of Republican primary voters – the absolute, most motivated core of the party – do not want Donald Trump as their nominee.

It’s true that a huge swath of GOP voters would like to see another nominee. But what happens if they don’t?  These are people like my mom, traditional conservatives, who, bless their hearts, have the capacity to see that Trump is a criminal sociopath.

But how will this translate at the polls? How many will abstain?  How many will vote for Biden?

It’s anyone’s guess.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Much speculation has gone into pinning down exactly where American education fell off the rails.

We might infer that Aristotle would point to how our teachers are both underpaid and rendered impotent in establishing order in the classroom.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Who hasn’t driven next to a car whose driver has hip-hop music blasting into his (and your) ears?  Is it even remotely possible not to form a negative judgement about such a person?

The music one gravitates to is most definitely a reflection of that person’s character.

Perhaps that’s a segue to a piece on the tragedy of removing music from our schools.

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