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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

The first day without Trump as a force in our lives will indeed be a blessing.

Yet that could come if he’s run over by a bus, and sadly that won’t buy us much in terms of national redemption.  What needs to happen is, unfortunately, a somewhat drawn-out legal process; it involves criminal charges and then lengthy trials that result in convictions.

Through whatever arduous processes are necessary, we must all learn that we made a terrible mistake in 2016 that must never, ever, be repeated.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Growing up in the 1960s there was very little “thinking outside the box” that went into pumpkin carving. The paradigm commanded us to, under our parents supervision, to  cut holes for the eyes, nose, and mouth; any creativity went into cool facial expressions.

Over the last 20 years, we’ve seen a veritable explosion in this space, where clunky, boring holes have been replaced with nuanced scraping and the use of razor-thin slicing to provide shadows, as well as subtle shades of color and lighting.  At the same time, the spooky heads that had been the default for decades have been replaced with the widest possible range of subject matter.

Here’s the work of some talented justice seeker.  Fabulous.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

From this:

“Trump will be indicted in a RICO action in GA, and federally for Obstruction of Justice (at minimum) for his theft of classified information, plus Seditious Conspiracy and Conspiracy to Defraud (at minimum) for Jan 6th. In short, he should face three criminal cases before 2024,” Dean wrote. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

California is implementing a law under which doctors who spread misinformation about COVID can be disciplined, and predictably, the MAGA crowd is apoplectic, calling it a violation of free speech.

Of course, most people with MD degrees are intelligent folks whose treatment strategies are informed by science, not QAnon; they’re not recommending against vaccinations, and they’re not suggesting the swallowing of bleach, so this applies to a very few.  Having said that, I’m sure there are doctors who believe God-knows-what about virus-based diseases.  Should they be allowed to use that ignorance to harm their patients?

It’s hard to see how this is different than any other sort of blatant malpractice.  If an Ob/Gyn delivers babies with a post-hole digger (see photo), the AMA will remove his license to practice medicine immediately.

Given that, why does California need a law to ensure that its residents are protected against crackpots?

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Once a country is habituated to liars, it takes generations to bring the truth back. -Gore Vidal, writer (3 Oct 1925-2012)

Well, that’s not exactly cheery news, is it?

In any case, I wouldn’t say that the United States is “habituated to liars.” Rather, about 40% of its population have cognitive biases, rooted in hate and fear, which are so powerful that these folks have trouble distinguishing truth from fiction.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

We have a president who makes gaffes.

We do not have a president who stole classified documents (including nuclear secrets) and tried to overthrow the U.S. government.

Speaking strictly for myself, I can live with that.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

No one who understands the subject doubts that the growth of renewables is a good thing.  Yet the eight billion people on this planet right now are increasingly hungry for energy, and most of them live in areas where their electricity comes almost exclusively from fossil fuels.

India is the best example.  Above we see how its 1.41 billion people, especially those in the northeastern part of the country, have ramped up their energy use in the last nine years alone, most of this increase coming from new coal-fired power plants.

It is for this reason that we are forced into a single imperative here is the technologically advanced world: we either create a solution to decarbonizing our energy and export to the developing world, or we are all doomed to suffer the ravages of climate change.

This, by the way, is why nuclear energy must be an important part of the global grid-mix; there is no way to ramp solar and wind in time to avert catastrophe. Unfortunately, too many people who self-identify as environmentalists don’t get this.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

Many of us had trouble with the concepts of heaven and hell since we were three or four years old.  Is it plausible that a loving God sent the souls of everyone who lived before the resurrection of Christ, or those whose birthplace meant their complete ignorance of Christ, to suffer eternal torture?

My advice if I may offer it: Think for yourself.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Anyone looking for a little inspiration may find it in this work from Joan Baez calling for justice for Iranian women. Brings tears to my eyes.

Based on the lives of many artists, of which  Baez is just one, those who think artists don’t matter in the trajectory of our society should reconsider their positions.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

At a conference on sustainability a few years ago I learned that, on average, a cordless drill is used for nine minutes between the time it comes off the shelf at the hardware store until finds its way into a landfill.

That’s just sickening.  Especially so, when we consider how easy it is to slow down the wasteful consumption of our physical resources by offering all manner of consumer items in a library setting.

 

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