In 1896 Svante Arrhenius worked out the effects of CO2 in the atmosphere on the Earth’s heat. At the rate of human production of CO2 at that time he expected it might take over 3 thousand years for manmade CO2 emissions to have any impact. Data collected since the 1900s has shown the correlation between CO2 and mean temperatures and is not anything new. Greenhouse gases act as the Earth’s thermostat.
It’s been almost ten days since the disaster called Election 2016 and the media has been struggling to come up with a narrative they can use to try and keep themselves relevant. The mainstream has to figure out a way to sell “what has happened” to the public. People are already talking about boycotts. Clearly demonstrations and riots are bad for business unless you sell placards or riot gear. And people who still have money in this country want to know how their funds will perform well this Christmas and New Year.
No one trusts the government anymore. And people feel that government only works for a few, the 1%. This is not just something happening here in the U.S. (although I am writing this the day after Trump was elected). No, this is a world wide condition. If you are living in the first world you probably dislike your government and feel it works for only a few. If you are living anywhere else you probably hate your government and/or the government of the United States. You might even feel threatened by your government.
I wrote this because of the recent election news, but it is also a continuation of an earlier post about the zombie apocalypse.
I don't have cable. I don't watch any news channel. And I don't watch ads except for the few times I am forced to watch them, like previews at the movie theatre. The only other ads I see are the ones Facebook puts in my face every day. So I tend to observe current events by browsing “other” information. Lately I’ve been considering the popularity of apocalyptic movies and TV shows.
“Take it back, take it back
Take that thing right out of here” - Jack Bruce
If you are reading this today then you know what is already in the news. I should not have to recap. And as happens whenever violence appears, everybody has an opinion. Some people show immediate sympathy. Some demand justice. Some just want another chance to be on TV. Some will use it for prejudice and racism. Some as an excuse to create more hatred and do more violence. Some to promote fear. These sort start asking for increased security. Right to privacy has to go first. Then free speech. Blah, blah, blah. Every war, every bad idea, every evil regime in history starts by promoting fear. If you've been paying attention you've already seen the people of the U.S. manipulated into starting a war based on fear.
What is different about now? Probably nothing. But I think things could change for the better. And I have some reasons why and in a way they have everything to do with Apple. Not as a technology company. Not as the maker of the iPhone. But as one of the most powerful companies on earth.
I was asked to fill out a survey about a week ago from the office of the POTUS asking what are the most important issues facing our country today. My answer was that there is only one really important issue which is that of our extinction. Maybe they were listening to my ranting because lately I have seen a lot more messages from the White House about climate change. But then today I was reading some link bait somewhere about the argument against climate change (a.k.a.
It seems funny to write about economy when we have a much worse problem looming. Who cares if you make $10.10/hour when we are busy committing suicide by sponsoring such activities as the Keystone XL Pipeline.
Four years ago I wrote that the political media was dead and didn’t know it yet. I thought at that time we’d quickly bury that corpse. Tonight we drove another stake into its undead heart but like zombies the only sure kill is to kill the head. I’m sure everyone feels a huge sense of relief that the elections are over. Especially when we have spent what seems like an eternity listening to the media talk about the “race”. Perhaps that is part of the strategy.
The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government. - Thomas Jefferson
