Problems, Predicaments, and Technology

  Popcorn Overlook, Lake Burton, Georgia

  Lover's Leap Overlook, Virginia

  Lake Powhatan Swimming Beach, North Carolina

Kure Beach Pier, North Carolina How often do you develop a theory about something or hear about one and then try to prove that theory wrong? I keep trying to prove my theories wrong but instead keep finding proof that they are actually correct (highly disappointingly, I might add). I'm constantly asking WHY we haven't come to realize and accept the facts and then actually ACT upon those facts collectively. For instance, why aren't we working on reducing technology use? The Degrowth Movement recognizes that energy and resource throughput must be reduced either by design or by disaster, and that as such, this necessarily dictates a reduction of technology use. One cannot keep introducing new technologies which require the infrastructural platforms which already exist and magically expect the energy and resources to build, power, and maintain these devices to appear out of nowhere. Furthermore, the energy to power and maintain the infrastructural platforms we ALREADY have ...

Green anole at Hoop Pole Creek Nature Trail, North Carolina  

The gift shop building at the Ocoee Whitewater Center in Tennessee in 2021. The building was destroyed by fire in April 2022. I haven't been able to spend much time writing this summer, as I have been quite busy with a project which has taken far longer than I would have ever imagined. It might be autumn before I actually finish this article, come to think of it. This article combines some of my other articles in a slightly different manner and combines them with two videos and a website which explain the electrical grid. The reason I think it is necessary to explain precisely what the electrical grid is and how it is made up and the components which comprise it is because most people have no clue how complex and complicated this system of energy delivery really is. Furthermore, even fewer people realize what kinds of losses (see these articles here and here ) are incurred by this delivery system, which are extremely substantial. One thing I constantly see people who advocate EVs ...

  It is truly saddening to see so many articles which proclaim complete nonsense. The worst part is that so many people are culturally indoctrinated to the point where they cannot see through these false claims. In this particular one , the claim is made that we need to protect nature (true), quote:  " Our five breakthroughs for nature echo and expand upon those same themes, emphasizing the urgent need to transform our relationship to the natural world on which we ultimately all depend. In a nutshell, here is the handful of headline actions that we are advocating: We need to put nature at the heart of decision-making, with governments and the private sector held accountable for making nature a global priority. An annual investment of US$500 billion to protect and restore nature is a minimum requirement, with funding diverted from environmentally harmful activities into nature-positive initiatives. The communities and local organizations working on the front line of conservati...

  In my last post , I expressed my concerns regarding methane emissions along with the growing speed which our collective predicaments appear to be gaining. Then I explained precisely why we have thus far not made any real progress on these predicaments based upon our collective denial , which has a considerable amount to do with our basic human psychology. In conclusion, the reality is that very few people are actually paying an ounce of real attention. What they are paying attention to are all the distractions - the hype, advertising, marketing, and propaganda. Today I bring more evidence of the increasing speed of these predicaments as I recall some of my articles which I had privately hoped might be a long way off into the future. I'm not one to try to evade uncomforting news. If I was, I most certainly wouldn't be reading and watching these articles, reports, studies, videos, and other media to try to understand and comprehend fully where we are and where we're heade...

  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...

 This facade of the main street in Thurmond, West Virginia, looks impressive but hides the fact that this is a ghost town. No businesses actually exist in these buildings today and the entire town only has 4 or 5 residents today. More info can be obtained here  and here . One of the pernicious effects of the mainstream media regarding climate change and indeed, all the other predicaments under the banner of ecological overshoot, is the sheer level of denial presented. This can easily be detected in many articles about different predicaments such as climate change and I found one in particular  (out of thousands; this is just one of the most recent ones) that brings this phenomenon into focus, quote: " Climate experts warn that, without urgent action, climate change will continue to cause an increase in the intensity of extreme rainfall that can lead to severe flooding. An international research team have concluded that increases in  extreme rainfall  and associa...

I distinctly remember my first introduction to the initialism (or abbreviation or acronym) "NTHE" which ushered me into a whole new set of exploration. I was a member of a climate change group on Facebook at the time (which I had been a member of for quite some time) and I saw a post which was discussing it. I hadn't seen this abbreviation before and wondered what it meant, so I did a search and a whole list of links was presented (as usual) along with the spelled out version, Near Term Human Extinction. I clicked on one which took me to a website blog by Dave Pollard . I started reading and was introduced to another person, Carolyn Baker, with whom Dave had a video interview with. Through this video, I was introduced to another person, a professor by the name of Guy McPherson. A video of him presenting information at an Indiana university, DePauw, where my grandmother attended, was available; so I watched it. The information was stark and I noticed the looks on the ki...