Please read this lengthy piece from Global Research (Canada). It discusses some data/ideas that confront much of the environmental movement in the US. It is not unconcerned with environmental problems but distinctly throws water on what that been happening due to co-optation by the big money factors. -
Whenever the big banks and other monied entities are involved in something it seem critical that we stop, step back and look hard at what they are doing and why are they involved in a people's movement. By definition they are NOT the people.
Our dear home, planet Earth, will survive and rebound. We will not. I used to read a book to my first graders called The Wump World. It is a children’s book about what we are doing to our planet right now. I encourage you all to look for it. The people came in a spaceship looking for a new place to live having destroyed their old one. Guess what! This gentle peaceful world where the dear wumps lived was trashed. The wimps went underground and lived in caves. But guess what!!! The people had to board their space ships and leave as they had destroyed this place. Pollution!! Eventually the wumps came out and managed to survive. Their gentle world eventually returned as Nature grew over the destruction. So yes. The Earth will survive and rebound. But wait…do we have spaceships that will carry our population away to a brand new clean lovely place?? I am afraid not!! 😢😡
The issue is very, very complex. Reductionism on either side is a mistake. Lots of that in the comments section here.
Policies that have good intentions can have awful consequences. Like agricultural collapse and resulting political and societal turmoil (Sri Lanka) and countries being priced out of the energy markets (thanks to wealthy nations, as happened to Pakistan all last summer/fall). Like the EU closing in on $1 TRILLION of household and business support (read: fuel costs), after which zero carbon emissions-free new sources of electricity generation will be left behind. All of which we have written about.
It's easy to attribute all weather to human influence caused by CO2 emissions from fossil fuels. But plainly wrong, even according to the UN IPCC itself.
There's a simple, general rule in science: when everything is proof of your hypothesis, nothing is.
Extreme weather caused by Climate change is not really surprising, scientists have been warning us for years. But Big Oil, Auto Manufacturers, Utility companies, and the 1% Fascists like the Koch Brothers have continued funding efforts to deny it, suppress the truth, and block any regulations or programs to help stop it or reduce carbon emissions. Many people are still trying to fight it regardless of the Fascist opposition but i feel like it's too little too late, humanity is doomed
As a part of nature she is making her world better. She is also making a place for fish to propagate. The cost/benefit analysis is not so simple as we would like.
Microbes eat other microbes, so what you are labeling damage is really part of the essence of life itself.
We are a part of nature and we "feather our nest" just like other creatures. Our feathering requires making lumber from trees to build a comfortable nest. The trees we use grow back in about 40 years. The homes last about a century, so this is very sustainable.
Great essay as always Mr. Rather! Few decades earlier, we used to have four seasons with all their special characteristics and charm the people love .What happened now ? All four seasons are messed up! Their distinction is gone! Yes Climate is changing rapidly ; and we are getting used to it !
Like an X-ray image weather “exposes” us. To our bare bone skeleton structure. It exposes what lies beneath the hubris, greed, arrogance and lack of humility in the eye of her storms.
None of us will be around when our pale blue dot in space finally joins the Universe of dark dots. All we can hope for is that we can extend the time period for our descendants.
As I get older (82 next month) I find that weather attacks my body more and more. As I age I find my comfort temperature gets narrower and narrower. I used to live in Phoenix and would be out on the lake fishing when the temp hit 100 degrees or more. I used to live in Pennsylvania where lake effect snow would come brutally to my home town. Now, at my age, I find if it is colder than about 72 or hotter than 82 I am uncomfortable. And weather has a lot to do with it. I became a snow bird to help with this. And, it makes me grumpier as you may have noticed.
WEATHER, is NOT! "mother nature!" It IS, GODS Right HAND! MANKIND, Needs to WAKE UP! Father GOD, is Trying to GRAB! OUR ATTENTION! JESUS! awaits, For OUR Humbled HEARTS!
When I think of weather, I think of farmers. Temperature changes, flooding, drought can cause shifts in planting & harvesting schedules, what’s planted, the quality of the food product when it’s harvested. I’ve heard the phrase “farming is the biggest crap shoot going”. I think there’s a lot of truth in that, especially related to weather.
That said, I still marvel at the sight of corn as it grows. I pass fields of planted crops on the way to our beach house. It’s wonderful to see the stalks grow higher and higher as we make our weekly journey. If rain has been plentiful in the spring, I think of “knee-high by the 4th of July”. Or I might watch its stunted growth if there’s been too little rain.
We would do well to give more than a passing thought to our collective impact on the weather and how our individual efforts could, just perhaps, help turn things around for future generations.
Hello, Gandalf: Let's start with the verifiable number from my googling.
"Since 1880, average global temperatures have increased by about 1 degrees Celsius (1.7° degrees Fahrenheit). Global temperature is projected to warm by about 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7° degrees Fahrenheit) by 2050 and 2-4 degrees Celsius (3.6-7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100." These numbers are for the entire planet, measured year-round. The 2050 and the 2100 numbers are admittedly extrapolations.
Please don't do your own extrapolation based on what you see and read for one winter's experience in just the U.S. Glaciers, to advance, need warming temperatures, to provide a (relatively) slick surface on which to travel. In periods of cold, glaciers are frozen in place, while snow accumulates on top. Glaciations are have been measured to last between 16,000 and about 30,000 years, with complete 'cycles' taking about 25,000 years. I think that climate scientists, geologists and glaciologists will be willing to be found wrong. Cheers
Thank you!
Please read this lengthy piece from Global Research (Canada). It discusses some data/ideas that confront much of the environmental movement in the US. It is not unconcerned with environmental problems but distinctly throws water on what that been happening due to co-optation by the big money factors. -
Whenever the big banks and other monied entities are involved in something it seem critical that we stop, step back and look hard at what they are doing and why are they involved in a people's movement. By definition they are NOT the people.
https://www.globalresearch.ca/1500-scientists-say-there-no-climate-emergency-real-environment-movement-hijacked/5809791
Our dear home, planet Earth, will survive and rebound. We will not. I used to read a book to my first graders called The Wump World. It is a children’s book about what we are doing to our planet right now. I encourage you all to look for it. The people came in a spaceship looking for a new place to live having destroyed their old one. Guess what! This gentle peaceful world where the dear wumps lived was trashed. The wimps went underground and lived in caves. But guess what!!! The people had to board their space ships and leave as they had destroyed this place. Pollution!! Eventually the wumps came out and managed to survive. Their gentle world eventually returned as Nature grew over the destruction. So yes. The Earth will survive and rebound. But wait…do we have spaceships that will carry our population away to a brand new clean lovely place?? I am afraid not!! 😢😡
The issue is very, very complex. Reductionism on either side is a mistake. Lots of that in the comments section here.
Policies that have good intentions can have awful consequences. Like agricultural collapse and resulting political and societal turmoil (Sri Lanka) and countries being priced out of the energy markets (thanks to wealthy nations, as happened to Pakistan all last summer/fall). Like the EU closing in on $1 TRILLION of household and business support (read: fuel costs), after which zero carbon emissions-free new sources of electricity generation will be left behind. All of which we have written about.
It's easy to attribute all weather to human influence caused by CO2 emissions from fossil fuels. But plainly wrong, even according to the UN IPCC itself.
There's a simple, general rule in science: when everything is proof of your hypothesis, nothing is.
Extreme weather caused by Climate change is not really surprising, scientists have been warning us for years. But Big Oil, Auto Manufacturers, Utility companies, and the 1% Fascists like the Koch Brothers have continued funding efforts to deny it, suppress the truth, and block any regulations or programs to help stop it or reduce carbon emissions. Many people are still trying to fight it regardless of the Fascist opposition but i feel like it's too little too late, humanity is doomed
As a part of nature she is making her world better. She is also making a place for fish to propagate. The cost/benefit analysis is not so simple as we would like.
Microbes eat other microbes, so what you are labeling damage is really part of the essence of life itself.
We are a part of nature and we "feather our nest" just like other creatures. Our feathering requires making lumber from trees to build a comfortable nest. The trees we use grow back in about 40 years. The homes last about a century, so this is very sustainable.
Great essay as always Mr. Rather! Few decades earlier, we used to have four seasons with all their special characteristics and charm the people love .What happened now ? All four seasons are messed up! Their distinction is gone! Yes Climate is changing rapidly ; and we are getting used to it !
Like an X-ray image weather “exposes” us. To our bare bone skeleton structure. It exposes what lies beneath the hubris, greed, arrogance and lack of humility in the eye of her storms.
It knows no color , class or status.
None of us will be around when our pale blue dot in space finally joins the Universe of dark dots. All we can hope for is that we can extend the time period for our descendants.
So true! Well stated!
As I get older (82 next month) I find that weather attacks my body more and more. As I age I find my comfort temperature gets narrower and narrower. I used to live in Phoenix and would be out on the lake fishing when the temp hit 100 degrees or more. I used to live in Pennsylvania where lake effect snow would come brutally to my home town. Now, at my age, I find if it is colder than about 72 or hotter than 82 I am uncomfortable. And weather has a lot to do with it. I became a snow bird to help with this. And, it makes me grumpier as you may have noticed.
WEATHER, is NOT! "mother nature!" It IS, GODS Right HAND! MANKIND, Needs to WAKE UP! Father GOD, is Trying to GRAB! OUR ATTENTION! JESUS! awaits, For OUR Humbled HEARTS!
That’s the theory. The jury may think otherwise.
I definitely believe that nature is in charge. However, humans have damaged the natural cycles with pollution for at least 150 years or more.
When I think of weather, I think of farmers. Temperature changes, flooding, drought can cause shifts in planting & harvesting schedules, what’s planted, the quality of the food product when it’s harvested. I’ve heard the phrase “farming is the biggest crap shoot going”. I think there’s a lot of truth in that, especially related to weather.
That said, I still marvel at the sight of corn as it grows. I pass fields of planted crops on the way to our beach house. It’s wonderful to see the stalks grow higher and higher as we make our weekly journey. If rain has been plentiful in the spring, I think of “knee-high by the 4th of July”. Or I might watch its stunted growth if there’s been too little rain.
We would do well to give more than a passing thought to our collective impact on the weather and how our individual efforts could, just perhaps, help turn things around for future generations.
Hello, Gandalf: Let's start with the verifiable number from my googling.
"Since 1880, average global temperatures have increased by about 1 degrees Celsius (1.7° degrees Fahrenheit). Global temperature is projected to warm by about 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7° degrees Fahrenheit) by 2050 and 2-4 degrees Celsius (3.6-7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100." These numbers are for the entire planet, measured year-round. The 2050 and the 2100 numbers are admittedly extrapolations.
Please don't do your own extrapolation based on what you see and read for one winter's experience in just the U.S. Glaciers, to advance, need warming temperatures, to provide a (relatively) slick surface on which to travel. In periods of cold, glaciers are frozen in place, while snow accumulates on top. Glaciations are have been measured to last between 16,000 and about 30,000 years, with complete 'cycles' taking about 25,000 years. I think that climate scientists, geologists and glaciologists will be willing to be found wrong. Cheers