The very basic science of Global Warming predicted & WARNED since the 80s we could expect bigger, stronger & more powerful hurricanes. In general, hotter hots, colder colds, disruptions in normal weather patterns & more extremes everywhere, unless we cleaned up our pollution. Of course the GOP in the pocket of big oil have sabotaged environmental efforts at every turn.
Warnings of global warming and climate change actually go back to the dawn of the Industrial Revolution where some scientists were looking at the future. They were right, and people still aren't believing the current ones.
Yes, that is true that Industrial Age scientists already saw the connection between burning carbon fuels and a warming planet.
Mobil Oil researchers also knew by the late 70s that carbon from burning oil would destabilize our environment. Instead of trying to control and reduce the use of oil, they denied this damning knowledge & spread misinformation about the impacts on our environment of burning oil. Profits rule for them, as the Earth slowly heats up, apparently.
There is a great internet meme/poster with Brian Cox (British Physicist) saying "The great thing about Science is it is true whether you believe it or not". The problem is that for a lot of our fellow countrymen, the words of 'Wisdom' from some imbecile with a computer, living in his mother's basement, is just as good - or better - than science. Right now they have the wheel and they are resolute in their intention to steer our country and the world into the ditch.
I remember the source of the "...it's true whether you believe it or not."
Enrico Fermi had a horseshoe on his wall behind his desk. One of his colleagues noticed it and said, "Surely you don't belive it brings you good luck." Enrico replied, "Of course not. I understand it works whether you believe in it or not."
Why is the idea that we are heading toward destroying our environment so hard to grasp? Plato described the limitations of our own perceptions in the Allegory of the Cave; however, we are past climate change theory and into it's destructive execution.
"This is a narcissism question many ask but the answer seems unfathomable to most."
Q - “Don’t such people care at all about future generations? —their grandkids, great grandkids, etc.? Why do they bother trying to amass huge fortunes?”
A - “No, they really don’t care about anyone but themselves. Family is just a tool. They amass fortunes for power, self-glorification, competition & as an attempt to fill a bottomless empty hole inside themselves where a soul should be. That is their personality disorder.”
Thanks, Dan, for continuing to speak out on climate change. However, I would prefer if journalists would not talk about climate in terms of "saving the planet." Everything we do to mitigate and reverse global warming is really about saving us -- human beings. We will not destroy the planet before we destroy ourselves. The planet will recover from the damage we are doing, but we may not. Thanks again for all you do!
I suspect that some of us will survive, but at the cost of the deaths of billions. As migrants move north and south from the equator, they will have to fight at every border, and it will be ugly.
Good point, David. Barring an abrupt cataclysmic collapse, we will continue to see destruction. This may not be just too hot at the equator weather. We are already seeing hurricanes, tornadoes and bombogenesis snow storms in unexpected places. Here in FL, we are having August weather in May.
But every single hour as things heat up will become worse than the one before, for all living creatures. Our inanimate earth doesn’t love us as we purport to love her.
So true, unfortunately. According to the World Wildlife Fund, we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction, which unlike previous extinction events "is driven by human activity, primarily (though not limited to) the unsustainable use of land, water and energy use, and climate change."
How are DT talks with Big Oil all that different from Hardings Teapot Dome Scandal? This sounds like a requested bribe. Thanks for enumerating President Biden’s work on saving the environment. I wish mainstream media would give more time to all his good policies.
I am disgusted at mainstream media's refusal to at least highlight the ongoing positives for ourselves and our country ceaselessly worked on by President Biden.
The last two and a half weeks in South Florida have been brutally hot as well. Lived here since 69 and it has never been this hot in May. We have had no rainy season to speak of and my grass crackles because of it. (I water my plants but not my grass). I am sure most of heard what one of our local Meteorologist said re the Governors stance and new law on Climate Change. It was a respectful & nuanced response and not a smack down as others have said. It is going to be a busy Hurricane season because of Climate Change and we are definitely not prepared for it. Such a sad commentary.
I agree, it is beyond sad. The sugar cane burnings have been destroying the water and are causative of the green algae that continues to cover the once pristine waterways that fish and wildlife depend on. It is horrific also that the people in communities downwind are suffering from the effects as well.
The photos provided by drones show that from above, the dark green color looks like land & not water. Folks that worked diligently for decades via - fishing, tourism (charters etc) can not make a living. People are suffering globally. The climate deniers should beware as the younger generation are & others soon to be voting!
And, in an ironic twist, many of the blue collar workers in communities nearby the sugar cane farms have Trump signs in their yards. It's a wonder they think Trump is working for them ---- when Trump works only for himself and for fellow billionaires.
It is ironic. Probably brain damage from drinking the water. I can't believe or don't want to believe that anyone would support a bombastic , hateful , sorry excuse of a human being, yet here we are. As I type these words, all I really hear is ..." we shall overcome someday" . Hopefully sooner than later.
I have to breathe in the ash from Mexico and South of every year from those burnings. It is eerie to see through and surrounds us near the Texas southern gulf area.
It may not take a rocket scientist or environmental scientist to know that more needs to be done, but until a lot more of us are willing and able not only to switch our power sources but to radically move beyond a way of life that depends on such vast energy consumption -- personally and also institutionally, infrastructurally, globally -- we won't ever get ahead of this, not while we stay on the path of consuming consuming consuming. We each do what we can up to some sort of recognizable limit, some doing more, some doing less, but without a huge cultural shift, individual efforts won't add up to much. Do you see that coming, Dan? I don't, no matter who becomes our next president. It just feels sometimes as we debate over the various necessary efforts that we're caught in that old rearranging of deck chairs. Thankfully, I don't vote from this place of perfectionist skepticism -- and I vote, every time, blue up and down the ticket. But I'm sorry to say, not with much hope for true improvement.
When the people with the money and power to change what we are doing, have given up and are building compounds for their survival or destroying democracy so they can use the power of the state to protect themselves while the rest of us die... it does sometimes feel like all we have is a feather to swat hornets.
We got rid of the last of our gas powered appliances this year and now are totally all electric with an energy efficient mini-split heat pump system the provided both warm and cool air conditioning.
We're starting at the wrong end. To stop burning fossil fuel we need plentiful, clean, green electricity that sells for half the cost of oil. The only dependable way we know to produce it right now is atomic, go on a war footing, cut the regulations, commander industry, that will save us until research opens better options .
Bill addresses this today (well, all days…). I like his idea of Joe showing up during heat waves and air conditioning failures and tornados’ and hurricanes’ aftermaths, with his short sleeves rolled up, pointedly laying out the stark difference between his policies and successes and those of the other candidate. That could bring good attention to this. Maybe people just want to ignore it but that is not a plan.
And every time he bans people from being allowed to discuss things like race, discrimination, and LBGTQ+issues he then exclaims Florida is all about “freedom”!
How come DeSantis wants to be everyone's rule maker? Isn't he simultaneously saying he is all about Freedom? Although certainly not about freedom to read what you want or are curious about. I think what he really hates is curiosity. Look at how he is undermining the previously admirable New College.
I keep seeing loss of freedoms from too many in today's Republican party. Even trying to force our nation to be an all "Christian" one--these so-called leaders know nothing about our history or government. Makes me wonder why they loudly back the Jewish populace? (Ironic)
I haven’t gotten a ev or hybrid car yet but I am trying to trade in my gas run machinery for those that are battery powered. Some items are so much lighter and instead of getting exhausted pulling starter cords these new machines are user friendly easier to clean and get the job done maybe even better
Sara, I drove hybrid (Prius) exclusively from 2003 to 2017 when I quit driving. I drove from Sacramento California in 2013 to Washington DC on 52 gallons of gas.
Fay, Requesting a verification on your fantastic 52 number. Was that 52 total gallons or 52 equivalent mpg combined mode? I’m guessing most of that gasoline was sucked going over mountain west grades between California and the continental divide in Colorado, from which point you must of coasted downhill to the Appalachian mountains. Since most other states have interstate highway speed limits higher than California and no reduced speed limits for trucks and trailers, you probably got lots of horn blasts as you kept to 55 - 60 mph in the right lane?
I ask not only out of amazement but for future planning. My wife and I only purchase cars every 15 to 20 years, driving them from new to the 250,000 mile plus grave, but are researching EV verses hybrid verses plug-in hybrid.
That was 52 gallon Sacramento to Washington DC in October 2013. Funny thing is on the return trip same rte mostly I 80 it took 73 gallons. I don't know if I drove faster or the mountains are steeper from the east side compared to the west - there are a lot of mountain ranges. This was my second Prius. My first was 2003, this one was 2010 and my last one that I gave to my granddaughter so it's still running was 2015. I kept track of the gas used since it was tax deductible, I was on a job in DC. Also I tended to drive faster, especially after leaving the Reno area until I got into Illinios. I was driving alone so I had to stay in motels each night. I left Sacramento around noon on Oct 28 spent the night in Elko NV arrived in DC on the 31st and checked into the Hotel at the corner of New York Ave and Bladenburg Rd around 2 PM
I had a Prius that would get me 22 miles to work on the electric motor -- gas only kicked in when I was driving to the top of the 7 story garage where the school had parking. Great little car.
I appreciate that. I have a Yaris which gets 28 miles to the gallon -2009. I might get another 5 years out of it. 52 Gallons sound wonderful for a cross country trip!
Got into an argument with a right winger. He said we don’t have to worry about it as God will take care of it. I said “yes he will just not the way you think.” Then I realized, didn’t the Bible say this time we will all burn up?
Please let your Christian colleagues know that the God of Creation in the Book of Genesis explicitly wants humankind to take care of the Earth and life in and on its land, air and waters.
That’s the traditional misunderstanding. In the Bible the word “earth” can mean the natural world (the land) but it often means the people, or their way of life. 2 Peter 3:10, in Merlin’s link, is followed by verse 13, which says the present “earth” is to be replaced with a “new earth.” This refers back to Isaiah 65:17, which promised the Jews in Babylonian exile that they would be restored to their land, which was fulfilled after Cyrus conquered Babylon. There they would enjoy a “new heavens and a new earth.” Obviously not a new sky and a new planet. Rather, a more favorable governing arrangement and an improved life back in their ancestral homeland, restored to prosperity.
That of course happened over 500 years before Peter wrote about a future day, but the meaning is much the same: this old “heavens” (corrupt and failing governments) and “earth” (a life of suffering for most) will be removed, as utterly and irreversibly as if it had been literally burned up. Then finally the prayer everyone seems to know but few seem to understand will come true: His Kingdom will have come, and His will finally done ON EARTH as it is in heaven.
This is also what Rev 11:18 means (written as viewed after the fact.) Note the last few words.
Thanks Stan! I sincerely do appreciate your clearing up my misunderstanding. Very enlightening. Although this is not the forum for it, I would someday be interested in your thoughts on the Golden Statue of Trump being worshiped at some of his rallies verses the Golden Calf. Have a great Memorial Day weekend!
I don’t know much about the golden statue of Trump other than seeing the pictures of it flanked by grinning idiots. The resemblance to the golden calf made by the Israelites as an excuse to have a party was immediately noticed by many commenters. That the religious supporters of trump seem not to have been offended is astonishing… I guess. Their form of religion doesn’t seem to involve much Bible knowledge, just blindly follow the charismatic preachers who assure them they are saved, give money, those people over there are the problem. Keep it simple, they love it. God will not be kind, they will be dismayed. Matthew 7:15-27. See also Matthew 13:36-43. Jesus is very kindhearted to the meek, but don’t mess with him.
Look at my substack if you want to see what I have published. I intended to post it all on substack but found it unsuitable, so it’s mainly a link to my website (begun about 25 years ago).
The Atlantic at the doorstep of Mar-a-Lago does not care who lives there. Walls will not work. The sea level is rising. Hurricanes will continue to increase in energy and frequency. . Car manufacturers will make EVs and hybrids. Would that the energy giants increase research in alternates to fossil fuels.
The people must re-elect President Biden to save this planet. All Trump thinks about is money and feeding the oil companies. He could care less about saving this planet.
Trump and the Republicans don’t care about the environment nor apparently do those big oil guys. What do they think will happen if we just abandon the new technology and revert back to the gasoline engine industry? Do they think somehow they and their family will somehow not be affected by climate change because they’re so special with all their money? Do they really think the lives of their families and all the families in the world are worth the cost of the money they make by ruining the environment? I just don’t understand that type of greed. Look at Trump, pushing 80 what more could he possibly need that he doesn’t already have? For that matter the rest of these oil executives, they all have huge incomes how much more do they need? Their greed is appalling, the willingness to destroy our planet for the sake of money they don’t even need is truly sick and Trump is so not qualified to ever be in the Oval Office again. The entire Republican Party needs to clean up their act and think about humanity instead of their bank accounts. What are they doing in Washington anyways? It doesn’t seem like they’re doing anything for the people just for the wealthy.
You know that 1.5 degrees Celsius thing? The degree of heating beyond the pre-industrial normal? The number the global warming experts have said we cannot go above and have any hope of preserving civilization as we know it?
The planet exceeded that number over four of the last 12 months.
He was bribing them , basically. Telling these oil men that if they’d give him a Billion dollars to help him win he’d see to it that they could drill, drill, drill sounds like a bribe to me. It also sounds illegal for a Presidential candidate to be making such deals! How is this legal? It smells to high heaven. As usual he doesn’t doesn’t think the rules ever apply to him. I want to know is this legal for him to take this money and do this about face?
Dan…thank you for writing about the global warning issue. Sometimes we get caught up in the “headline news” of the cycle and forget about other issues. I don’t really understand the mechanics involved but I am going to take your word it, as well as the word of the Biden administration as well as mechanics and scientists. We must do something and EVs are a good start. Trump and his fund raisers for oil and gas executives should be looked into. And where is a large part of this money going? I’m guessing paying his legal fees. Downright despicable!
I hope you continue to bring issues that are not part of the main News cycle to your readers. These issues can’t be forgotten. Number One on my list is gun control legislation. Mass shootings, whether in schools, in places of worship, in shopping malls are going to happen again. Let’s not forget. And let’s not allow our legislators to forget either.
No surprise about Trump; he's getting increasingly desperate as the various legal nooses begin to close around his neck.
But just as I fear that in this country too many of us are going to need a four year stint of Trump 2.0 before we realize just how fragile our democracy is, so on a global level too many of us are going to need to have our collective noses thoroughly rubbed into the true potential of climate change before we are willing to do anything that will really upset our lives. Trouble with that is, of course, the longer we wait, the more difficult it will be to adjust.
It always takes a long-going catastrophe, an attack on the wallet, and a gross inconvenience to get peoples' attention. High energy bills, rolling blackouts, and no power for light and heat/air conditioning may be influential.
Four year stent? Have you been reading Project 2025, executive as dictator on day one? Trumps health may take him down but the wealthy corporations and people behind the plan will just get another fool to fill the chair while they continue to steal elections and freedoms anyway they choose. They have uncovered enough loopholes to take this country away from its people and are relentlessly doing so already. Think Texas, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, etc.
The entire Southeast is gone already to voters who did not pay attention and now they will not get the chance to reverse course with a corrupt bought for sale SCOTUS.
Yes, I'm fully aware of Project 2025. As one who has taught US history for over 40 years, I'm also aware of the fact that such ideas have been an all too present part of the American story going back almost to our inception as a nation. You should read some of the rhetoric of southern slave owners in justification of not only slavery but of a government of the 'elite', or take a look at the KKK manifestos from the 1920s when that organization was in its heyday. In another area that tends not to get a lot of attention anymore, read some of the rationales that for half of our history kept women out of the voting booth.
Read Robert Kagan's new book, Rebellion, to get a fuller picture of that aspect of our history.
But for all the current rhetoric on all sides, the only Americans who have any real experience of an authoritarian state are recent immigrants from such places. Even the most ardent Trump supporters really don't understand what the fulfillment of his ideas might mean for them, let alone for those who oppose him. Authoritarians can and often have turned on their supposed supporters as easily as they turn on anyone else.
I'm not minimizing the risks but neither am I ignoring the fact that at least half of Americans don't want Trump or anyone like him. There have always those in the United States for whom democracy is an uncomfortable, unwanted, and even disastrous state of government and of affairs, but they haven't won yet. Trump is the first potential candidate to have so openly espoused authoritarianism, but he is at best a very weak reed on which to build such a thing here. Are there others far more focused and intent on pulling it off - yes, always have been. But again, they have yet to pull it off.
The very basic science of Global Warming predicted & WARNED since the 80s we could expect bigger, stronger & more powerful hurricanes. In general, hotter hots, colder colds, disruptions in normal weather patterns & more extremes everywhere, unless we cleaned up our pollution. Of course the GOP in the pocket of big oil have sabotaged environmental efforts at every turn.
Warnings of global warming and climate change actually go back to the dawn of the Industrial Revolution where some scientists were looking at the future. They were right, and people still aren't believing the current ones.
Yes, that is true that Industrial Age scientists already saw the connection between burning carbon fuels and a warming planet.
Mobil Oil researchers also knew by the late 70s that carbon from burning oil would destabilize our environment. Instead of trying to control and reduce the use of oil, they denied this damning knowledge & spread misinformation about the impacts on our environment of burning oil. Profits rule for them, as the Earth slowly heats up, apparently.
There is a great internet meme/poster with Brian Cox (British Physicist) saying "The great thing about Science is it is true whether you believe it or not". The problem is that for a lot of our fellow countrymen, the words of 'Wisdom' from some imbecile with a computer, living in his mother's basement, is just as good - or better - than science. Right now they have the wheel and they are resolute in their intention to steer our country and the world into the ditch.
I remember the source of the "...it's true whether you believe it or not."
Enrico Fermi had a horseshoe on his wall behind his desk. One of his colleagues noticed it and said, "Surely you don't belive it brings you good luck." Enrico replied, "Of course not. I understand it works whether you believe in it or not."
Michael
I have a t-shirt with that quote. Love Brian Cox.
Why is the idea that we are heading toward destroying our environment so hard to grasp? Plato described the limitations of our own perceptions in the Allegory of the Cave; however, we are past climate change theory and into it's destructive execution.
As Noted this week,
"This is a narcissism question many ask but the answer seems unfathomable to most."
Q - “Don’t such people care at all about future generations? —their grandkids, great grandkids, etc.? Why do they bother trying to amass huge fortunes?”
A - “No, they really don’t care about anyone but themselves. Family is just a tool. They amass fortunes for power, self-glorification, competition & as an attempt to fill a bottomless empty hole inside themselves where a soul should be. That is their personality disorder.”
https://substack.com/@samray/note/c-56791196
Thanks, Dan, for continuing to speak out on climate change. However, I would prefer if journalists would not talk about climate in terms of "saving the planet." Everything we do to mitigate and reverse global warming is really about saving us -- human beings. We will not destroy the planet before we destroy ourselves. The planet will recover from the damage we are doing, but we may not. Thanks again for all you do!
yep, mother earth will kick us off at some point in the future and start all over again—as she has ben known to do.
Love it!
I suspect that some of us will survive, but at the cost of the deaths of billions. As migrants move north and south from the equator, they will have to fight at every border, and it will be ugly.
Good point, David. Barring an abrupt cataclysmic collapse, we will continue to see destruction. This may not be just too hot at the equator weather. We are already seeing hurricanes, tornadoes and bombogenesis snow storms in unexpected places. Here in FL, we are having August weather in May.
Yep again. The earth and maybe some viruses and bacteria, our predators!
But every single hour as things heat up will become worse than the one before, for all living creatures. Our inanimate earth doesn’t love us as we purport to love her.
So true, unfortunately. According to the World Wildlife Fund, we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction, which unlike previous extinction events "is driven by human activity, primarily (though not limited to) the unsustainable use of land, water and energy use, and climate change."
Well said.
How are DT talks with Big Oil all that different from Hardings Teapot Dome Scandal? This sounds like a requested bribe. Thanks for enumerating President Biden’s work on saving the environment. I wish mainstream media would give more time to all his good policies.
Agreed, Linda, The main difference is the total dishonesty of the majority in the House of Representatives
If it isn't illegal to solicit bribes to get elected, American democracy is already done.
The damage already begun will no doubt be completed by SCOTUS. The Court just gets scarier with every decision.
I am disgusted at mainstream media's refusal to at least highlight the ongoing positives for ourselves and our country ceaselessly worked on by President Biden.
According to Joe Kahn (NYT), it’s not their job.
More time to Biden's good policies and less time to Trump.
I agree. All we hear is Trump, Trump, Trump. Almost zero about what President Biden has accomplished
The last two and a half weeks in South Florida have been brutally hot as well. Lived here since 69 and it has never been this hot in May. We have had no rainy season to speak of and my grass crackles because of it. (I water my plants but not my grass). I am sure most of heard what one of our local Meteorologist said re the Governors stance and new law on Climate Change. It was a respectful & nuanced response and not a smack down as others have said. It is going to be a busy Hurricane season because of Climate Change and we are definitely not prepared for it. Such a sad commentary.
I agree, it is beyond sad. The sugar cane burnings have been destroying the water and are causative of the green algae that continues to cover the once pristine waterways that fish and wildlife depend on. It is horrific also that the people in communities downwind are suffering from the effects as well.
Still, they burn😩
Boats all the way east on the ICW are covered with ash from the sugar cane burnings. Isn't that something?
The photos provided by drones show that from above, the dark green color looks like land & not water. Folks that worked diligently for decades via - fishing, tourism (charters etc) can not make a living. People are suffering globally. The climate deniers should beware as the younger generation are & others soon to be voting!
And, in an ironic twist, many of the blue collar workers in communities nearby the sugar cane farms have Trump signs in their yards. It's a wonder they think Trump is working for them ---- when Trump works only for himself and for fellow billionaires.
It is ironic. Probably brain damage from drinking the water. I can't believe or don't want to believe that anyone would support a bombastic , hateful , sorry excuse of a human being, yet here we are. As I type these words, all I really hear is ..." we shall overcome someday" . Hopefully sooner than later.
I have to breathe in the ash from Mexico and South of every year from those burnings. It is eerie to see through and surrounds us near the Texas southern gulf area.
It is unf**kingbelievable
Sea levels have also risen in Florida as a result of Climate Change. Isn’t there a law which prevents making that connection? Even for policy?
It may not take a rocket scientist or environmental scientist to know that more needs to be done, but until a lot more of us are willing and able not only to switch our power sources but to radically move beyond a way of life that depends on such vast energy consumption -- personally and also institutionally, infrastructurally, globally -- we won't ever get ahead of this, not while we stay on the path of consuming consuming consuming. We each do what we can up to some sort of recognizable limit, some doing more, some doing less, but without a huge cultural shift, individual efforts won't add up to much. Do you see that coming, Dan? I don't, no matter who becomes our next president. It just feels sometimes as we debate over the various necessary efforts that we're caught in that old rearranging of deck chairs. Thankfully, I don't vote from this place of perfectionist skepticism -- and I vote, every time, blue up and down the ticket. But I'm sorry to say, not with much hope for true improvement.
When the people with the money and power to change what we are doing, have given up and are building compounds for their survival or destroying democracy so they can use the power of the state to protect themselves while the rest of us die... it does sometimes feel like all we have is a feather to swat hornets.
We got rid of the last of our gas powered appliances this year and now are totally all electric with an energy efficient mini-split heat pump system the provided both warm and cool air conditioning.
We're starting at the wrong end. To stop burning fossil fuel we need plentiful, clean, green electricity that sells for half the cost of oil. The only dependable way we know to produce it right now is atomic, go on a war footing, cut the regulations, commander industry, that will save us until research opens better options .
Sadly true, Catherine.
https://billmckibben.substack.com/p/memo-to-joe-fight-a-climate-election?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=438146&post_id=144691258&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=1hfuu&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
Bill addresses this today (well, all days…). I like his idea of Joe showing up during heat waves and air conditioning failures and tornados’ and hurricanes’ aftermaths, with his short sleeves rolled up, pointedly laying out the stark difference between his policies and successes and those of the other candidate. That could bring good attention to this. Maybe people just want to ignore it but that is not a plan.
Same in Florida. It’s alarming. Gulf waters already 87 degrees and 25 “named storms” are forecast. More than ever.
And yet Governor DeSantis wants to remove all references to climate change in state legislation. Denying it does not make it go away.
He really is a piece of work! A dictator want to be waiting in the wings. What’s with this dictator fever that’s coming from the Republican Party?
And every time he bans people from being allowed to discuss things like race, discrimination, and LBGTQ+issues he then exclaims Florida is all about “freedom”!
How come DeSantis wants to be everyone's rule maker? Isn't he simultaneously saying he is all about Freedom? Although certainly not about freedom to read what you want or are curious about. I think what he really hates is curiosity. Look at how he is undermining the previously admirable New College.
I keep seeing loss of freedoms from too many in today's Republican party. Even trying to force our nation to be an all "Christian" one--these so-called leaders know nothing about our history or government. Makes me wonder why they loudly back the Jewish populace? (Ironic)
I haven’t gotten a ev or hybrid car yet but I am trying to trade in my gas run machinery for those that are battery powered. Some items are so much lighter and instead of getting exhausted pulling starter cords these new machines are user friendly easier to clean and get the job done maybe even better
Sara, I drove hybrid (Prius) exclusively from 2003 to 2017 when I quit driving. I drove from Sacramento California in 2013 to Washington DC on 52 gallons of gas.
Fay, Requesting a verification on your fantastic 52 number. Was that 52 total gallons or 52 equivalent mpg combined mode? I’m guessing most of that gasoline was sucked going over mountain west grades between California and the continental divide in Colorado, from which point you must of coasted downhill to the Appalachian mountains. Since most other states have interstate highway speed limits higher than California and no reduced speed limits for trucks and trailers, you probably got lots of horn blasts as you kept to 55 - 60 mph in the right lane?
I ask not only out of amazement but for future planning. My wife and I only purchase cars every 15 to 20 years, driving them from new to the 250,000 mile plus grave, but are researching EV verses hybrid verses plug-in hybrid.
That was 52 gallon Sacramento to Washington DC in October 2013. Funny thing is on the return trip same rte mostly I 80 it took 73 gallons. I don't know if I drove faster or the mountains are steeper from the east side compared to the west - there are a lot of mountain ranges. This was my second Prius. My first was 2003, this one was 2010 and my last one that I gave to my granddaughter so it's still running was 2015. I kept track of the gas used since it was tax deductible, I was on a job in DC. Also I tended to drive faster, especially after leaving the Reno area until I got into Illinios. I was driving alone so I had to stay in motels each night. I left Sacramento around noon on Oct 28 spent the night in Elko NV arrived in DC on the 31st and checked into the Hotel at the corner of New York Ave and Bladenburg Rd around 2 PM
I had a Prius that would get me 22 miles to work on the electric motor -- gas only kicked in when I was driving to the top of the 7 story garage where the school had parking. Great little car.
Agreed. I'm glad I gave my last Prius to my granddaughter, I still get to ride in it.
I appreciate that. I have a Yaris which gets 28 miles to the gallon -2009. I might get another 5 years out of it. 52 Gallons sound wonderful for a cross country trip!
Got into an argument with a right winger. He said we don’t have to worry about it as God will take care of it. I said “yes he will just not the way you think.” Then I realized, didn’t the Bible say this time we will all burn up?
Please let your Christian colleagues know that the God of Creation in the Book of Genesis explicitly wants humankind to take care of the Earth and life in and on its land, air and waters.
(Replying to Doug, not other commenters:)
That’s the traditional misunderstanding. In the Bible the word “earth” can mean the natural world (the land) but it often means the people, or their way of life. 2 Peter 3:10, in Merlin’s link, is followed by verse 13, which says the present “earth” is to be replaced with a “new earth.” This refers back to Isaiah 65:17, which promised the Jews in Babylonian exile that they would be restored to their land, which was fulfilled after Cyrus conquered Babylon. There they would enjoy a “new heavens and a new earth.” Obviously not a new sky and a new planet. Rather, a more favorable governing arrangement and an improved life back in their ancestral homeland, restored to prosperity.
That of course happened over 500 years before Peter wrote about a future day, but the meaning is much the same: this old “heavens” (corrupt and failing governments) and “earth” (a life of suffering for most) will be removed, as utterly and irreversibly as if it had been literally burned up. Then finally the prayer everyone seems to know but few seem to understand will come true: His Kingdom will have come, and His will finally done ON EARTH as it is in heaven.
This is also what Rev 11:18 means (written as viewed after the fact.) Note the last few words.
Thanks Stan! I sincerely do appreciate your clearing up my misunderstanding. Very enlightening. Although this is not the forum for it, I would someday be interested in your thoughts on the Golden Statue of Trump being worshiped at some of his rallies verses the Golden Calf. Have a great Memorial Day weekend!
Worshipping an idol, golden or otherwise, breaks the 3rd Commandment (Exodus 20:3,4).
I don’t know much about the golden statue of Trump other than seeing the pictures of it flanked by grinning idiots. The resemblance to the golden calf made by the Israelites as an excuse to have a party was immediately noticed by many commenters. That the religious supporters of trump seem not to have been offended is astonishing… I guess. Their form of religion doesn’t seem to involve much Bible knowledge, just blindly follow the charismatic preachers who assure them they are saved, give money, those people over there are the problem. Keep it simple, they love it. God will not be kind, they will be dismayed. Matthew 7:15-27. See also Matthew 13:36-43. Jesus is very kindhearted to the meek, but don’t mess with him.
Look at my substack if you want to see what I have published. I intended to post it all on substack but found it unsuitable, so it’s mainly a link to my website (begun about 25 years ago).
Much biblical rewriting in the works
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/k/kjv/kjv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=5354562#:~:text=%5B10%5D%20But%20the%20day%20of,therein%20shall%20be%20burned%20up.
The Atlantic at the doorstep of Mar-a-Lago does not care who lives there. Walls will not work. The sea level is rising. Hurricanes will continue to increase in energy and frequency. . Car manufacturers will make EVs and hybrids. Would that the energy giants increase research in alternates to fossil fuels.
Mar-a-Lago in the Sea? Would that be so bad?
If global warming includes the loss of Floridumb, I'm all for it. (not really)
The people must re-elect President Biden to save this planet. All Trump thinks about is money and feeding the oil companies. He could care less about saving this planet.
Trump and the Republicans don’t care about the environment nor apparently do those big oil guys. What do they think will happen if we just abandon the new technology and revert back to the gasoline engine industry? Do they think somehow they and their family will somehow not be affected by climate change because they’re so special with all their money? Do they really think the lives of their families and all the families in the world are worth the cost of the money they make by ruining the environment? I just don’t understand that type of greed. Look at Trump, pushing 80 what more could he possibly need that he doesn’t already have? For that matter the rest of these oil executives, they all have huge incomes how much more do they need? Their greed is appalling, the willingness to destroy our planet for the sake of money they don’t even need is truly sick and Trump is so not qualified to ever be in the Oval Office again. The entire Republican Party needs to clean up their act and think about humanity instead of their bank accounts. What are they doing in Washington anyways? It doesn’t seem like they’re doing anything for the people just for the wealthy.
You know that 1.5 degrees Celsius thing? The degree of heating beyond the pre-industrial normal? The number the global warming experts have said we cannot go above and have any hope of preserving civilization as we know it?
The planet exceeded that number over four of the last 12 months.
"Call it [Trump's offer to the oil execs] what you want: a shakedown, quid pro quo, scandalous, but apparently it isn’t illegal."
No? Soliciting a bribe isn't illegal?
He was bribing them , basically. Telling these oil men that if they’d give him a Billion dollars to help him win he’d see to it that they could drill, drill, drill sounds like a bribe to me. It also sounds illegal for a Presidential candidate to be making such deals! How is this legal? It smells to high heaven. As usual he doesn’t doesn’t think the rules ever apply to him. I want to know is this legal for him to take this money and do this about face?
Dan…thank you for writing about the global warning issue. Sometimes we get caught up in the “headline news” of the cycle and forget about other issues. I don’t really understand the mechanics involved but I am going to take your word it, as well as the word of the Biden administration as well as mechanics and scientists. We must do something and EVs are a good start. Trump and his fund raisers for oil and gas executives should be looked into. And where is a large part of this money going? I’m guessing paying his legal fees. Downright despicable!
I hope you continue to bring issues that are not part of the main News cycle to your readers. These issues can’t be forgotten. Number One on my list is gun control legislation. Mass shootings, whether in schools, in places of worship, in shopping malls are going to happen again. Let’s not forget. And let’s not allow our legislators to forget either.
No surprise about Trump; he's getting increasingly desperate as the various legal nooses begin to close around his neck.
But just as I fear that in this country too many of us are going to need a four year stint of Trump 2.0 before we realize just how fragile our democracy is, so on a global level too many of us are going to need to have our collective noses thoroughly rubbed into the true potential of climate change before we are willing to do anything that will really upset our lives. Trouble with that is, of course, the longer we wait, the more difficult it will be to adjust.
It always takes a long-going catastrophe, an attack on the wallet, and a gross inconvenience to get peoples' attention. High energy bills, rolling blackouts, and no power for light and heat/air conditioning may be influential.
Four year stent? Have you been reading Project 2025, executive as dictator on day one? Trumps health may take him down but the wealthy corporations and people behind the plan will just get another fool to fill the chair while they continue to steal elections and freedoms anyway they choose. They have uncovered enough loopholes to take this country away from its people and are relentlessly doing so already. Think Texas, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, etc.
The entire Southeast is gone already to voters who did not pay attention and now they will not get the chance to reverse course with a corrupt bought for sale SCOTUS.
Yes, I'm fully aware of Project 2025. As one who has taught US history for over 40 years, I'm also aware of the fact that such ideas have been an all too present part of the American story going back almost to our inception as a nation. You should read some of the rhetoric of southern slave owners in justification of not only slavery but of a government of the 'elite', or take a look at the KKK manifestos from the 1920s when that organization was in its heyday. In another area that tends not to get a lot of attention anymore, read some of the rationales that for half of our history kept women out of the voting booth.
Read Robert Kagan's new book, Rebellion, to get a fuller picture of that aspect of our history.
But for all the current rhetoric on all sides, the only Americans who have any real experience of an authoritarian state are recent immigrants from such places. Even the most ardent Trump supporters really don't understand what the fulfillment of his ideas might mean for them, let alone for those who oppose him. Authoritarians can and often have turned on their supposed supporters as easily as they turn on anyone else.
I'm not minimizing the risks but neither am I ignoring the fact that at least half of Americans don't want Trump or anyone like him. There have always those in the United States for whom democracy is an uncomfortable, unwanted, and even disastrous state of government and of affairs, but they haven't won yet. Trump is the first potential candidate to have so openly espoused authoritarianism, but he is at best a very weak reed on which to build such a thing here. Are there others far more focused and intent on pulling it off - yes, always have been. But again, they have yet to pull it off.
I hope you are right; and thank you for the history lesson!
So do I!
Unfortunately, the rest of the countries on the planet don't have the combined power to bomb us to rubble, which is what it took to defang Germany.
Ike is gone and deprogramming the herd of sheep not very practical. Scary to the max.
You'll forgive me if I don't see the relevance of your comment.
A little WW2 history might be helpful
I can only think that TCinLA was actually replying to someone else, but hit the wrong REPY button.
You'll pardon me if I don't see any intelligence in yours.
Of course a rational reply would have been to further explain that relevance, but perhaps rationality was not your intent.