Problems, Predicaments, and Technology

I have pointed out several of Nate Hagens' videos and some of his other work in the past, and I was critical of some of his ideas last year. Since then, his videos have been increasingly impressive; especially the series of Great Simplification videos he has done. The Great Simplification - Full Movie , which just came out last week, is really great AND not too long, at less than 33 minutes! I like the fact that he doesn't go into hopium or attempt to predict an overly optimistic outcome. Perhaps he has begun to realize that things aren't really getting better and that some dark clouds have begin to appear on the horizon? I agree with him that human society doesn't HAVE to go the way of the dodo, but certain outcomes have already been baked into the set of predicaments we now face as a result of our past behavior and I don't yet see any massive change of behavior which would result in a better outcome.  One of the great qualities of this new video is how it explai...

Kure Beach, North Carolina

One of the most incongruent messages I constantly hear about climate change is talk of "solutions" and how "we can do it" which doesn't really agree with the science much at all (see  Agency - Do We Have Free Will?  and The Grand Illusion  for details) . I've been hearing these same messages for 40 years now, and I keep asking myself that if we can do it, why haven't we?   In fact, just the other day, I saw a claim that "if we don't change direction within three years that climate change will become irreversible." I almost laughed, since climate change is ALREADY irreversible on human timescales and has been for quite some time as pointed out in my article, Denial of Reality, quote:  " Most people think that climate change can be "fixed" or reversed, but current science shows that climate change is  irreversible  on human timescales. Another article shows that this is due to  ocean heat uptake  (OHU). Another  recent study  ...

  Poison Ivy growing prolifically on a hillside 

Keowee Toxaway State Park, South Carolina

  Issaqueena Falls, South Carolina

  White Sands National Park in New Mexico, a very unique gypsum sand desert

  I have written in here several times that no other form of energy can match fossil hydrocarbons in their energy density except for uranium, but uranium requires a nuclear reactor to be utilized; something that cannot be carried by hand (like a container of gasoline can). Oil is especially important not only because of its density, but also because of its portability and versatility. No other form of energy can be transported and utilized as easily as oil. Most of us are familiar with oil in the form of gasoline or diesel, but perhaps also in kerosene or fuel oil as well. Natural gas is actually higher in density, but requires slightly different storage and engines. This portability and versatility explains why so many power tools such as lawn mowers, chainsaws, spin trimmers, lawn edgers, and more are powered by gasoline. The same advantages are also why most cars, trucks, tractors, agricultural machines, mining equipment, and roadbuilding equipment all use gasoline or diesel as ...

My dad on the Hiawatha Rail Trail (the old Milwaukee Route) just outside the St. Paul Pass Tunnel (Roland Trailhead). More info:  https://www.ridethehiawatha.com/ Not that I have all that large of a following, but it has been quite a few weeks since my last entry, and I do feel that an explanation is in order. Normally, I wouldn't find many issues in my own personal life something worth sharing on a blog about science and the set of predicaments we find ourselves in as a species. However, in this particular instance, I do think it reflects an issue connected to the wider sense of what this blog is all about - accepting predicaments we have little or no agency over. The picture above was taken in 2012, almost a decade ago. I had suggested that my dad accompany me on a trip out west. I had been telling my parents stories of my trips out west for the previous decade or so at the time, and while my mom had been to the Pacific Coast with a friend of hers, Dad had never been that far wes...

  Hagood Mill is a much more accurate picture of what our energy future looks like [more info:  https://www.hagoodmillhistoricsite.com/ ]

  Bridge over Cataloochee Creek on the Old Cataloochee Turnpike; near Cataloochee Valley, North Carolina There are apparently many people who misunderstand my articles, why I write them, and what it all means at the end of the day. I read scientific articles - LOTS of them, and I read them almost every day (scroll down to  see the " FILES " here ). I'm curious, and I am constantly searching for answers to a rather simple question; "Yeah, but WHY?" Occasionally I misunderstand something or the science changes, and I make sure I correct myself. More often than not, the general theme remains unchanged. Such is the way of ecological overshoot. It cares not one bit what we think of it. It does not respond to our beliefs. It isn't interested in our desires, opinions, or plans we have for the future. Is "it" ecological overshoot, nature, or the laws of physics? Does it really matter, considering all three are equally oblivious and disregarding of our emot...

Whitewater Falls, North Carolina

Sams Gap at the Tennessee/North Carolina border