Problems, Predicaments, and Technology

  Forest clear cut along Chattooga Ridge Rd. in South Carolina

  The chairlift at Natural Tunnel State Park, Virginia

Looking towards the Atlantic Ocean from Fort Macon, North Carolina

C.R. "Doodle" White Overlook, Hampton, Tennessee

  "Civilization is the child of the Neolithic Revolution, of the widespread adoption of agriculture as a mode of production, and agriculture necessarily causes leaching and loss of topsoil, as well as many other environmental consequences, including climate change. Nor does any city live by bread alone. It needs water, so it must build dams and aqueducts. It needs wood for fuel and timber, so it must chop down forests. It needs metal for coins, swords, and ploughshares, so it must dig mines. It needs stone to erect palaces, courts, temples, and walls, so it must quarry away mountains. And it must build roads and ports needed to transport all the necessities of urban life. In short, a city lives by both consuming and damaging a wide array of ecological resources."  ~ William Ophuls - Immoderate Greatness: Why Civilizations Fail See more here. "The illusion of control or agency and the attachment to it creates much suffering."             ...

  Pictures of wildfire damage at Glacier National Park in Montana 2016 What type of activities will help in reducing the effects of ecological overshoot? I'm often asked this question when I point out that solar panels, wind turbines, nuclear energy, hydroelectric dams, EVs, and all other technological devices will not help climate change, pollution loading, or any other predicament under the parent predicament of ecological overshoot: "Well, what are your solutions?" Sadly, this question assumes that I am pointing out a PROBLEM, not a predicament. Predicaments don't have solutions. So, I don't have a solution (and nobody else does either, despite claims to the contrary - more on that in a couple of paragraphs). But I can tell them what WON'T help. Buying more stuff, REGARDLESS of what it is, WILL NOT HELP. Because ecological overshoot is a predicament with an outcome and not a problem with a solution , people need to adjust their expectations accordingly....

  The Koocanusa Bridge is the only bridge connecting the east and west sides of Lake Koocanusa in Montana and is Montana's highest (215 feet above the river) and longest bridge. A bridge too far? What will be the consequences of energy and resource decline on the healthcare industry? Will medicines be affected? Unfortunately, energy affects every one of us in very distinct ways. While these questions are very important ones indeed, energy and resource decline will affect far more than just the healthcare industry. It  will affect parts of our daily lives in almost every way imaginable. Agriculture and food and water security will be one important area of concern. Another area of great concern will be climate change and collapse , as collapse will reduce the level of energy available to deal with the increasing incidences of extreme weather events and natural disasters caused by climate change. Think about a piece of infrastructure - ANY infrastructure - how did that piece...

  Disease SARS-CoV-2 goes 'underground' to spread from cell to cell Understanding the entry mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 into human cells Bird flu detected in dead knots washed up on the Wadden Sea Large Israel bird flu outbreak kills 2,000 wild cranes New grafting technique could combat the disease threatening Cavendish bananas Cancer is a ubiquitous disease of mammals, study concludes Bird flu outbreak in French foie gras  region Debilitating human parasite transmitted  via dogs eating fish Citrus greening disease can infect an entire tree weeks before symptoms appear Black bears could play important role in dispersal of pathogen-carrying ticks Climate-driven disease compromises seagrass health UK reports unprecedented jump in early season bird flu cases Microplastic pollution aids antibiotic resistance Wrangling an octopus-like viral replication machine Deer can catch COVID: Here's what hunters should know Synthetic tissue can repair hearts, muscles, and vocal cords How the...