Home › Blog › Page 187

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

At this point, it’s hard to see a soft landing for the war in Israel, partially because all parties directly and indirectly associated with the conflict are led by people who are more in love with staying in power than they are motivated by a vision of peace for their people.

I just got off a Zoom call with some old friends who are very pro-Israel, and who are infuriated that the world narrative surrounding the conflict includes the notion that Israel has bullied the Palestinians, and is thus partially responsible for what is taking place there.

My position, though I didn’t even think about uttering a word of it during that call, is that this type of intractable situation is the only possible result that can derive from people living in close proximity to one another who have divergent viewpoints on God.

Imagine that human civilization didn’t evolve with religion at its core.  Imagine that, instead of looking into the sky in search of an omnipotent being, we developed a way of thinking about things that was based on evidence rather than faith and the insane idea that the God of people A is better than the God of people B.

Of course, that didn’t happen, and now we face the inevitable result: Hamas, Israel, Palestine, Hezbollah, Iran, and Saudi Arabia –all with no end in sight.

Tagged with:

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Reader Scott McKie notes:

Face it — all Trump backers / voters are as morally and politically corrupt as he is.

And all Republican voters are as politically corrupt as the MAGA crowd — because, as they have continuously demonstrated: they will not, by choice, consider working politically with any Democrat, in sufficient numbers, to get anything done.

Not sure “corrupt” is the right word here, but you bring up an interesting point.

What will make the 2024 presidential election interesting, at least insofar as it appears now, is that virtually all voters who think of themselves as Republicans will vote for the GOP nominee, even if he’s a sociopath and convicted criminal.

My mother is an intelligent, well-educated woman who long ago realized that Donald Trump is one of the vilest people ever to walk the Earth.  Will that deter her from voting for him?

No.  Mom represents a significant cohort in our electorate that would cast her ballot for an affable dog before she’d vote for a Democrat.

Tagged with:

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change
This from ExxonMobil:  What do you think? On a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high), how important are Low Carbon Solutions to you?
A skeptical mind might ask what’s actually going on here.  Is Exxon basing its business future on what the American people think about global warming?
I doubt it.  Isn’t it more likely that they’re looking for evidence that gives them latitude to continue destroying the planet?
When I look at garbage like this, I think of all the young people who have chosen a career path that supports Big Oil in its public relations.  How pathetic that is.
Tagged with: ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

I wish the content of the meme here were anywhere close to being the case.  According to recent surveys, little has changed in Americans’ viewpoint on Trump; he remains broadly unpopular with the public, but he is not without substantial support.  63% of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of the former president, while 35% view him favorably. A year ago, Trump’s rating stood at 60% unfavorable.

In all, about one-third of U.S. voters, which number about 160 million, believe that Trump is an honest and effective public servant, the only person who can make America great again.

Now, if the former president is found guilty on any of the 91 felony counts against him and sentenced to prison, could that change things?  Unlikely.

Tagged with:

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

This guy has broad appeal to people of low reasoning capacity.

“Declare independence from communist China.”  I guess that makes sense until you ask yourself what it actually means.

Two of his other tenets:

God is real.

and

There are two genders.

He’s a great candidate for people who have trouble thinking.

Tagged with:

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Warren Buffett still buys oil and gas companies. His rationale, as he explains here by means of a comparison, is that he owns positions in Walmart, even though they sell cigarettes. In other words, he laughs off the moral aspect of investing, as so many billionaires do with such incredible panache.

Anyone who is empowering the fossil fuel industry in its resistance to decarbonize our energy and transportation sectors is either a) ignorant of the issues or b) indifferent to the quality of life that this planet can support, making him a total ass****.

Buffett doesn’t strike me as ignorant.

Tagged with:

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Maybe it’s too early to start thinking about reestablishing a society of respect for human decency after we get past our bout with Trumpism.

As suggested in the photo here, it would be foolish to think that the journey will be anything less than perilous.

Tagged with:

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

FWIW, I don’t believe for a moment that Mike Lindell, the MyPillow guy, is anywhere near broke.

Keep in mind that he is a professional liar, one who claimed he had ironclad evidence that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from his pathologically lying buddy–until it became time to actually produce the evidence. There is nothing about this guy that’s anywhere near honorable.

Tagged with: ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Over the past few decades, billionaire Bill Gates has invested heavily into various technologies associated with climate change mitigation.

Here are his thoughts on reducing the emissions from the meat industry, presented in an article in which he points out, “If cattle were a country, it would rank number three in the world in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.”

He claims that, currently, plant-based meat is far lesser recognized than, say, renewable energy and electric transportation as a tool to decarbonize our civilization, and I’m sure he’s correct.

What we have on our side here, however, is that products from companies like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat are virtually indistinguishable from burgers, sausage patties, etc. that come from slaughtered animals and the cruelty that factory farming represents.

Tagged with:

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Honest people do not have “opinions” on Trump’s guilt or innocence.

In the U.S., we have a legal system that will determine this, in four different criminal courts, where he’ll be tried on (at least) 91 felony counts.

The results are completely independent of what his supporters (or detractors) think about the matter.

Tagged with: