Problems, Predicaments, and Technology

  This wasn't on my to-do list for today, but I couldn't resist opening it. Professor Will Steffen presents The Anthropocene - Where on Earth Are We Going? As this video unfolded, I noticed how it really does point out precisely where we are as a species. The picture below helps me to keep in mind the cycle of life . The land doesn't belong to us, we belong to the land: It is a rather stark warning about what is unfolding, and the tipping points of several other systems have also now been added to the information in the video including the Amazon Rainforest turning from a sink into a source of carbon . More evidence that the rainforest can no longer be depended upon for help converting carbon dioxide into oxygen and/or sequestering carbon from the atmosphere is also in several new articles: Researchers investigate mining-related deforestation in the Amazon Tipping elements can destabilize each other, leading to climate domino effects Unchecked climate change will cause seve...

    If you believe that there are good reasons to say that hydrogen produced with nuclear energy should be deemed to be "pink," then there must be something that doesn't click right inside your brain. The people who propose this rainbow of colors for a colorless gas don't seem to realize that when you arrive to this level of silliness, there has to be something deeply wrong at the very basis of the idea. (Courtesy of this article )  I  have mentioned how non-renewable "renewables" don't actually reduce fossil fuel use AND how they require the fossil fuel platform for their very existence in several of my articles. This means that ANYTHING which depends upon that infrastructural layer also doesn't reduce fossil fuel use due to the ongoing building, maintenance, and decommissioning and disposal of the infrastructural layers of civilization which support these upper layers and said "anything" also requires the fossil fuel platform for its ex...

  A commercial airliner produces a condensation trail in the skies over California. Mick West Generally, I tend to try avoid nonsense, especially once I have tackled a particular topic. One of my pet peeves used to be the pervasiveness of one conspiracy theory specifically - the subject of what is commonly known as "chemtrails" and in reality is actually CONTRAILS . I have been very lucky for quite some time and haven't had to deal with this topic for many moons, thankfully. Then, I recently came upon a post where yet another person has been duped into thinking they are real. There is a reason for this phenomenon - a rather large presence by one person in particular who runs a site called Geoengineering Watch. The person running it uses photoshop to alter pictures and of course, pictures prove nothing. He doesn't have any physical evidence of actual emissions to prove any of his musings; nor any actual science behind any of it in the form of any peer-reviewed science....

  We are now all familiar with the strategy of most of the industries surrounding the topic of climate change (or any other environmental predicament which can be utilized as a force to provide an income stream through slick PR work, propaganda, marketing, and advertising). Find what is called a "problem" (halitosis, for instance) and provide an "answer" or "solution" (mouthwash) that is within the reach of a large number of consumers or within the reach of government or shareholders (for large scale purchases or subsidies). This tactic works time and again and has made many of the investors in such schemes rich beyond belief and/or provided jobs and benefits for those employed in such schemes. Of course, schemes are mostly precisely what they are because most of them were not truly needed in the first place. There ARE SOME ideas which have provided quite serious benefits for society, but a rather large portion of these "solutions" target human e...

  Nate Hagens recently produced a new video here  regarding myths and reality and it is very well done. The video goes into precise detail about many core myths and beliefs, and  I have the video queued up to the part about the myth of "technology solving it" for anyone who still thinks solar panels and wind turbines help reduce emissions in any way (spoiler alert; they actually INCREASE emissions). Once you've seen this part, I recommend going to the beginning and watching the entire video from the start. The entire video is excellent with regard to eliminating commonly held false beliefs generally encouraged by industry and governments in an effort to continue BAU (Business As Usual) and industrial civilization as long as possible. I actually wrote out a detailed critique of the video in the groups I manage, but think that this video deserves a much wider audience, which is why I wrote this post. The video is excellent in explaining why technology can not and will not ...

  Trail's Cabin located along the Blue Ridge Parkway Thank you for visiting this site. To make it easier to navigate, I have made this post specifically for the purpose of explaining some of the posts and helping the reader to establish connections to how to best use the posts to enhance his or her understanding and comprehension of the material contained herein.  One way to navigate this site or to find a particular article is to use the "Pages" links or "Blog Archive" or the "Labels" dropdown menus in the upper far left-hand sidebar next to my picture. There, you can find articles by month of publication and title (by clicking on a particular month) or by topic (under the "Labels" dropdown menu). Underneath the "Labels" dropdown menu is the "Blog Archive" which will also help to find specific articles. Throughout the entire blog, I share my knowledge of problems and predicaments global society faces in the coming years. ...