Public Awareness of ‘Nuclear Winter’ is Too Low Given Current Risks

This (see the title above) is particularly true in the UK and the USA; however, I'm guessing it's also true in other places around the world.  Decades ago, I'm fairly certain most people were up to speed on the highly probable effects of nuclear war and the aftermath of nuclear winter on the biosphere.  

https://mahb.stanford.edu/library-item/opinion-poll-survey-public-awareness-of-nuclear-winter-is-too-low-given-current-risks/

Nowadays, we have several world leaders who have developed, or are developing, so-called tactical (rather than strategic) nuke weapons.  Apparently, they think use of them will have no serious or long-term deleterious effects on the life which survives such a war.  According to the scientific fields of ecology, biology, climatology, and physics, such thinking is sheer nonsense.

https://thebulletin.org/2022/10/nowhere-to-hide-how-a-nuclear-war-would-kill-you-and-almost-everyone-else/#:~:text=Using%20a%20radiative%2Dconvective%20climate,weapons%20after%20a%20nuclear%20war.

Leaders such as Obama, Trump, and Biden (all of whom are responsible for our tactical nuke weapon arsenal) have displayed a mind-boggling ignorance of nuclear winter.  How tragic, and that's just in the USA.  I imagine leaders in other nuke weapon countries are just as bad.

In democratic countries, voters need to wake up and kick such politicians out of office.  Nuclear weapons are not necessary to defend a nation, not any nation.

If green plants and oceanic algae - which are the base of food chains AND supply us with oxygen - can't get adequate sunlight for months (perhaps up to a year or two), then such will be an extinction level event for many animals, possibly including humans.  In any case, famine would be widespread.  If animals are subjected to an atmosphere overburdened with soot and other fine particulates from explosion updraft, populations will crash.  Any animal with lungs would be severely impacted.  Then, on top of everything above, there's the damage from radioactive fallout.  Never mind the impact on fresh water supplies.  Ionizing radiation is the ultimate pollution.

BOTTOM LINE:  maintaining nuke weapons not only is the height of ignorance, it's an egregious insult to civil society and a stupidly dangerous risk to all life.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Science does not deal in Absolutes when it comes to the conclusions of research studies

 In my education and work, I've been involved in various aspects of science for a bit more than five decades.  Over time, it seems more and more people have developed a serious misconception regarding research in almost all fields of science.

When it comes to the conclusions of a study (not the measurements leading up to conclusions), Science and scientists usually deal in degrees of probability, not certainty.  In other words, science is not absolute.  Why?  There are too many unknown variables to be accounted for in any scientific investigation.  Because of that, when new discoveries are made in a particular area of research, the previous theory is likely to be modified or even discarded.  With new research, past conclusions often change. We should never forget:  for a long time, it was believed to be a "fact" that the Sun revolved around the Earth.  After all, anyone could SEE it happening every day.  "Proof" positive.  :)

New discoveries by the super-telescope, the orbiting "James-Webb-Space-Telescope" (JWST, launched in 2021), are debunking our concept of Space-Time.  Specifically, Time (as we perceive it) now appears to be nonexistent, an illusion made-up by humans.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IS5y5uFQ_c

In addition, these new findings question the "fact" of a single Big Bang creating the universe. That "absolute" now is being re-considered in depth.  Furthermore, repeated cycles of creation and destruction of the entire universe - in line with Vedic philosophy & the Upanishads - appear to be likely.  [Scientists don't mention anything about the Vedas, but that's what they're now considering.]   Also, the new info suggests the probability that existence is one big NOW, i.e., the past, present, and future all exist at once.

This is Science at its best - past "facts" being challenged by new discoveries.

So, ancient wisdom may be ahead of modern-day cosmologists.  In any case, the new discoveries of the JWST are strongly suggesting that the human concept of TIME is all wrong.

People should not lose belief in Science just because it deals in degrees of probability (regarding conclusions of a study) rather than absolute certainty.  Not even scientists are all-knowing.  A number of theoretical physicists have stated:  humans barely have scratched only the surface of Reality. 

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Nicotine, Mitochondria, Vitamin C, Ketones, Dementia, Parkinsonism, Human Biology, & a Long Life

A change of pace--- 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9XyQrNG7Lc

This is not to promote smoking, but rather to show things are not always as they seem to be.  That's especially true when "things" are coming from The Establishment.    

NOTE:  you won't miss much by skipping the 1st 2 minutes.  Then watch at least the next 10 minutes or so.  Guaranteed:  you'll learn stuff you would never have guessed.  Enjoy.

p.s.  For those who may not know (or have forgotten):  mitochondria are tiny, sausage-shaped organelles in your body cells which provide you with energy (primarily from glucose & fat).  Each cell has between 100,000 and 600,000 mitochondria!  Oh Lawdy Momma  (from the song, "Crocodile  Rock")

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Be Well

Your kitchen stove/range, natural gas & propane, asthma in children, and BENZENE

From Stanford University--- 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1Xk_q7qxv4&t=2s

The clip is only a bit over ONE MINUTE long.

https://news.stanford.edu/2023/06/16/cooking-gas-stoves-emits-benzene-2/

The Bad News

Scientific studies by Stanford scientists have concluded:

a) gas kitchen stoves emit concerning levels of benzene (a    known carcinogen);

b) children in homes using gas stoves have a 42% higher    chance of developing asthma than kids in homes without        such stoves;

c) gas stoves emit other pollutants as well, such as nitrogen    dioxide (which causes respiratory problems) and methane (natural gas); and,

d) the stove hood fan does little to lower benzene levels.

[Other studies have shown that gas stoves emit formaldehyde and carbon monoxide as well.]

The Good News

There's not a lot:  

a)  a well-ventilated home can significantly reduce benzene    concentrations; and,

b) benzene levels will be lower if you never run the        stovetop burners on "High".

It would appear that natural gas is not as "clean" as the petrochemical industry has been saying for years and years.  Or perhaps they meant in comparison to coal, which isn't a very high bar, eh?

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

p.s.  Please excuse the spacing problems in this piece.  Tried to correct them, but faulty algorithms prevented me from doing so.  [High Tech has more faulty algorithms than the amount of "Carter's Little Liver Pills" decades ago.  And the Techies want us to trust them with so-called "A. I.":]

Humans, all other life on Earth, technology, and the future

 As we begin a new year, consider a physicist's view of what our economic superorganism is doing to our quality of life.  The ecologist, Nate Hagens, interviews Thomas Murphy.  I especially enjoyed his unique method of putting human history into perspective, which is covered in the first 6 minutes.  Don't miss it; at least watch that.  [You can spare 6 minutes:]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6yFrh1X6DI

You may have to adjust it back to the beginning. 

In terms of the geological time frame on Earth, we "modern" humans (Homo sapiens) haven't been in existence for very long - about 200,000 years or so.  Our ancestors started about 2.5 million years ago.  In a recent essay - The Simple Story of Civilization - Prof. Murphy compressed our full time (ancestors + "modern") on this planet into a 75-year span.  Using that time frame for our total existence,  he calculated the following:

a)  a mere five years ago, Homo sapiens appeared;

b)  only fifteen weeks ago, agriculture (and "civilization") began - that's about 10,000+/- years ago in the geologic time frame;

c)  barely four days ago, the Age of Science began - about 400 years ago in geologic time;

d)  only a day and a half ago, the Age of Fossil Energy started - around 150 years ago in normal geologic time;

e)  finally, just twelve hours ago, global and rapid eco-devastation began - that's about 50 years ago in normal time. 

The petrochemical industry is largely responsible for e) above.

According to Dr. Murphy, several important points arise from the scenario just described.

1)  Prior to the advent of agriculture and settlements/towns/cities (civilization), we lived more or less in harmony with Nature.

2) For thousands of years after the emergence of civilization, we still had some degree of harmony with our habitat.

3)  Nevertheless, the arrival of civilization started a path of accumulation of possessions, development of hierarchies in the extreme, and efforts to control Nature.

4)  Then, only 150 years ago, we harnessed a Master resource - relatively cheap, abundant, and easily transportable fossil energy -and we basically went berserk on overconsumption and increased attempts to control Nature.

5)  Little thought was given to unintended consequences.

6)  Our current civilization was not designed to be sustainable.  For one thing, the economic system the Powers-That-Be worship is constantly and infinitely craving more energy, and more production, and more consumption.  More, more, and more into infinity.  It's not sustainable ecologically, thermodynamically, financially, or socially.

7)  Plus, we've "doubled-down" on efforts to control Nature, something which never will be fully attained.  Meanwhile, we're damaging/destroying the basis of our biophysical existence.  Such a system is destined to fail, and we're getting close to that point.

8)  Because the system (a Superorganism) is so large, and essentially uncontrolled, the failure will be monumental.

Prof. Murphy's BOTTOM LINE is this:

Our current path clearly is not sustainable.  The spurt of growth and expansion we've seen in the last 150 years is not the norm in human history, is temporary, and is unsustainable to the max.  Future choices must ALL be predicated on (paraphrased) sustainability principles which conserve and protect the ecosphere.  In short, he's saying something I've echoed a number of times:  everything must change if we are to survive and thrive.  Only then will we be able to bequeath a healthy habitat and society to our descendants.  

How to bring about necessary changes is an open question.  A good start would be to ignore Corporatocracy propaganda, shun dogma, open our minds, be more cooperative with others, live with intention, and increase our thinking out-of-the-box.  Many people and nonprofit groups are doing such, and even a few parts of some governments are doing so.  Best choices for moving forward are emerging, and should be supported.  Make time for that.

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Not only my opinion.  Take Care, Be Aware, and Find Peace of Mind

Approaching the Net Energy Cliff

 https://steadystate.org/approaching-the-energy-cliff/#comments

It's difficult to see how any objective person can deny it, but apparently (from what I've read and watched), many do.  Combine what's at the link above with the narrative at the link below, and any denial becomes nonsensical.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0pt3ioQuNc&list=WL&index=70&t=11s

When reality says there's a high probability troubles are coming soon, it's best to plan for them instead of burying our heads in the sand or relying on a vague notion of "human ingenuity" (and the Market) to somehow see us through.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Wildfires, the micronutrient chromium-3, the highly toxic chromium-6, & Climate Change

 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/12/12/wildfires-leave-trail-toxic-metal-soil/

Our bodies contain various metals, e.g. zinc, which are necessary for proper nutrition.  Another of those metals is chromium-3 (Cr-3), which helps in metabolizing glucose, the "fuel" of living things.  Chromium-3 is commonly found in soils in the western USA, Australia, Europe, and several other countries.

There's another form of chromium which is highly toxic, chromium-6 (Cr-6).  Research has shown that wildfires can convert Cr-3 into Cr-6.  The toxic metal then is updrafted into the atmosphere and carried various distances.  Read the short Stanford news article found at the link above for more information.

By now, most people are aware that wildfires are exacerbated by the ongoing changes in climate.  All the above gives humans one more reason to mitigate climate disruption ASAP.  We aren't doing nearly enough, or fast enough.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well