Problems, Predicaments, and Technology

What is hydrogen sulfide and what does it have to do with extinction events? In my last entry where I discussed James G. Anderson, I pointed out how the current behavior of the climate system will be interrupted and inherently changed by the loss of Arctic ice and the cryosphere in general. This loss of ice in sea ice, permafrost, glaciers, and frozen lakes and rivers will dramatically speed up the process of warming not only in the Arctic, but the entire Northern Hemisphere and beyond. As it does this, eventually, the temperature difference between the poles and the tropics will disappear. Without the large temperature difference, winds will be diminished, causing the world's oceans to mix less. This will cause hypoxic conditions due to less circulation and less circulation will lead to stagnation, and general anaerobic conditions will lead to the production of hydrogen sulfide leading to sulfidic oceans, also known as the Canfield Ocean .  Understanding that the cryosphere  is

  Recently, I had an opportunity to repost a video which I viewed several years ago from Harvard Professor James G. Anderson regarding climate change. I have actually watched the video two or three times in the past, but there are certain parts that have now become more interesting as time has moved forward.  In the video, Anderson reveals why the term "global warming" is very inappropriate and doesn't accurately describe what is really happening. Then he describes what will happen as times moves forward with warmth and moisture entering the stratosphere as a result of climate change - as ice continues being removed from both poles, eventually the temperature difference between the tropics and the poles will disappear. This is a hugely important distinction, as the global climate system today utterly depends on those temperature differences for the way it behaves. I will go into more detail regarding this phenomenon in my next article and how it will affect the planet

  How often do you see people accuse those of us who actually fully comprehend the predicaments society faces of "giving up"? Why do people think we have "given up" just because we understand these predicaments? NONE of us has given up on anything that is worth pursuing - it is the false " solutions "  which actually take society in the wrong direction that we have given up on. Those of us who understand the situation with trees , for instance, haven't given up on planting trees. ( Also see this article here about trees .) We've simply given up on the IDEA that planting trees will have much effect on climate change. We still enjoy planting trees, we just no longer do it for the wrong reasons or think that by planting them that doing so justifies society's continued destruction of the environment. Likewise, we also know that purchasing "green" or "clean" or " renewable" devices such as solar panels or EVs will hav

  One of the things most misunderstood is the concept of free will. Most people have the misconception that we all have free will and (more or less) can "do whatever we want." In reality, this is actually false . While we have the ability to make certain choices, those choices are all constrained to certain norms on average, based upon the reward of dopamine. As Dave Pollard writes about a year ago, " Everything we do is dopamine-driven , based on experiences that have, through positive reinforcement or coercion, been dictated by our entirely ‘unconscious’ behavior since we were born. There is no ‘us’ somehow apart from these evolutionarily conditioned animal bodies, to intervene to do things differently." Now, Dave explains why assigning blame is pretty much useless and nothing more than theater here . Nate Hagens adds this to the mix. This article goes into great depth and explains almost every argument out there regarding this topic. In an update (3-24-24) re

(SPECIAL NOTE: This article was originally written in January, 2020)  “It is the part of a great mind to despise wrongs done to it; the most contemptuous form of revenge is not to deem one’s adversary worth taking vengeance upon. Many have taken small injuries much more seriously to heart than they need, by revenging them: that man is great and noble who like a large wild animal hears unmoved the tiny curs that bark at him.” ~ Seneca Over the years, I have tackled several different ideas that I have seen emerging in many places regarding what I will call "romantic ideas" based upon false beliefs and ignorance. Occasionally, I am surprised by indignant outbursts by people I would never suspect of having the wool pulled over their eyes. Of course, the reason they are often so indignant is because they are simply suffering from grief (and anger and denial in this case), as we all are here. Either way, I want to make it clear that everyone is entitled to their own opinions as I

PREFACE For those who may have stumbled upon this link before reading other entries of my blog, a good place to start instead (so one can understand the context) might be my first entry here . For those wishing to make quicker work of getting acquainted with the details explaining more about the conditions surrounding this particular article with less overall reading, this entry is rather dense with links to supporting material.  What Will We Miss the Most? As time moves forward and we begin to slow down from the constant rush, rush, rush of industrial civilization, what will we miss the most? Will we wake up and begin remembering what we "forgot?" Think back to your own childhood. What did you enjoy the most? Were times "slower" and were there days you could spend outside exploring all over for hours or just chilling and reading books? Could you spend hours listening to the radio, hanging out in a tree house or on the beach at the lake?  Believe it or not, except

Today we shall investigate this question: What would it take for humanity to experience radical transformation of individual and collective consciousness within the next decade? This picture looks inviting, doesn't it? But does it realistically represent the world we collectively live in today? In one word, NO. One look at the news stories of today can easily show how individuals, groups, corporations, and nations of all stripes are arguing and fighting for attention, for purposes, and for goals and strategies. Look at social media and it is ripe with every flavor of disagreement known to society. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that there are few things everyone can agree on, and even when one IS found, nobody can agree on the ways to solve what everyone agreed the problems are. Now, throw in a PREDICAMENT instead of a problem and guess what happens? From my experience, when a predicament is put into the mix, most people still look at it from the same standpoint the