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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Here’s a petition I just signed, in the form of an online letter to Costco CEO W. Craig Jelinek re: getting rid of single-use plastic.  You may wish to do the same.

In the face of a plastic pollution crisis that’s growing more dire by the day and putting hundreds of species of wildlife in harm’s way, retailers like Costco have a responsibility to reduce the use of wasteful single-use plastic wherever and however they can.

Plastic packaging is the largest single contributor to the plastic waste crisis –14.5 million tons of plastic containers were generated in 2018 alone. It’s clear we need a large-scale shift away from single-use plastic packaging, and Costco can play a crucial role. By taking unnecessary plastic packaging off its shelves, your company can both immediately reduce the amount of plastic in our environment and set an important example for others in the industry to follow.

I urge you to eliminate single-use plastic packaging from your stores.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

As we move closer to 2024, the state of the Republican party doesn’t seem to be improving.

To the chagrin of the vast majority of Americans, Donald Trump, while doing his best to stay out of prison, still seems to be commanding the GOP.

If this goes the wrong way for him, which seems inevitable, Florida governor Ron DeSantis is waiting in the wings.  DeSantis is a truly loathsome human being, but he does have advantages over Trump: he doesn’t seem to be a pathological liar, a career criminal, or a sociopath.

That said, his values and political ideology seem to have come directly from hell.  Here we’re talking about things like LGBTQ and women’s rights, race relations, education, the rejection of science, and adherence to a wide variety of conspiracy theories.

Sounds like serious stuff, doesn’t it?

Not to the guy who wrote the meme above.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Here’s a quote from science broadcaster and environmental activist David Suzuki.

To be sure, part of our problem resides in our disconnection from the natural environment, as our lives become ever more crammed with the pressures of work and the stress of living in a zeitgeist of political insanity.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

I have to admit that I have no special insight into Ron DeSantis’s thinking re: the regressive laws he supports, and this (see left) is a good case-in-point.

He supports the “Stop Woke Act,” designed to combat “woke indoctrination” in Florida businesses and schools by prohibiting instruction that could make some parties feel they bear “personal responsibility” for historic wrongdoings because of their race, sex or national origin.

Well, no surprise, that got struck down for its obvious violation of the First Amendment’s protection of free speech.

My question: Didn’t he see this coming?  Did he ever expect the law to stand up?  Did he go through all the histrionics for any other reason than making the national news?

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

We’re told that Trump is having a bit of difficulty finding qualified criminal attorneys to protect him from the onslaught of indictments that appear to be heading his way.

One good reason is presented in the cartoon at left: history has shown that there is precious little upside in dealing with Trump in any capacity.

If you take the bait, you’re going to come away from this with the realization that this was the single worst decision you made in your entire life.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Nice headline.  Kudos.

It’s time to turn these investigations into indictments.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

I’m delighted to note that Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States is taught at the local high school where I tutor.

I would love to see “a new kind of society,” as he put it so well.  Seems unlikely at this point in history, but it doesn’t cost anything to dream.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

I have a few conservative friends who like to make points like the one here, i.e., that the news about violence and hate is blown out of proportion, as compared with what actually exists out there.

I’m unconvinced.

Whether the news covers it or not, Donald Trump is trying to overthrow the U.S. government.  Depending on how things progress here, Ron DeSantis may replace him as the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, a man who’s ideologically even more backwards than Trump himself.  Women’s right are being eroded.  Important books are being banned from our schools.  Our planet is baking, and our schoolchildren are being mowed down by lunatics with assault weapons.

As Aldous Huxley told us, facts don’t disappear simply because they are being ignored.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

The content of the graphic here is all over our news.  And it certainly rings true, doesn’t it?  It’s very clear that Trump led a team that attempted, and is still attempting, to overthrow the U.S. government.

A moderate cost of living isn’t going to be a huge benefit if your nation now resembles Russia or Venezuela.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

It easy to feel sorry for professional comedians like The New Yorker’s Andy Borowitz, because it’s hard to be funny when the real world is behaving with such comical ineptitude.

There is actually nothing funny in Borowitz’s piece; Republicans actually are worried that removing women’s rights that have been in place for 50 years is a move for which they may pay a heavy price in the November midterms.

Why any woman with the IQ of a turnip would vote for a party that is so hostile to her autonomy and basic dignity is a complete mystery.

On top of that, you’re talking about blatant misogyny; many males in the GOP are known to be p****-grabbing sex abusers, which, one would think, just might amplify women’s disgust.

Strange days indeed.

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