Democrats and the Meta-Crisis

Senator Warnock (Dem from Georgia) gave a great speech at the Dem National Convention in Chicago.  Parts of it touched me deeply.  Nevertheless, I've seen nothing anywhere which convinces me that mainstream Democrats (Biden, Obama, Harris, Schumer, Walz, Pelosi, etc.) fully understand the ongoing Meta-Crisis or how to address it.  The very few Dems who do (still not fully, but way above the mainstreamers) are not mainstream, and have been marginalized to the hilt (Sanders, Warren, AOC, Omar, Jayapal, Barbara Lee, Ro Khanna, etc.).  And time is running out.

Do the Democrats understand the Crisis (in general) better than the Republicans?  Yes, apparently so.  Despite that, their grasp of the Crisis falls short of what's needed to navigate through it.  Such is the case mostly because of what appears to be a lack of Systems thinking on their part.  They tend to put each of the various aspects of our predicament into a separate "silo" (so to speak).  Deeply connected parts of the Crisis thus become separated when "solutions" are considered.  [An example is in the next paragraph.]  Most likely, the result will be a series of incomplete (or failed) responses.

Currently, the "Big Kahuna" being dealt with (barely) is Climate Change, a symptom of Ecological Overshoot.  For the most part, it has been placed in its own "silo".  Biodiversity Loss, also a symptom of Eco-Overshoot, is in another silo and is being given short shrift.  Its connection to climate disruption, soil degradation, preventing the spread of disease (pandemics) and more doesn't appear to be under consideration.  There's a lack of holistic thinking and synthesis in such a "silo-ing" approach.  Biodiversity Loss is every bit as important as Climate Change when it comes to responding to the human predicament.

The Green Party fully understands the Meta-Crisis, all aspects of it - sociological, ecological, economic, and ethical.  Those candidates should be elected, but won't be... mostly because Americans (in general) are ecologically illiterate.  [That statement is not an insult; it's an observation.  I'm illiterate about lots of things:  medical surgery, business management, particle physics, auto mechanics, etc.; there's no reason to be insulted about that:]  Plus, there's the unrelenting propaganda from most Republicans, Oligarchs, and Plutocrats.  

C'est la vie

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

MORE idiocy, mostly from politicians

1.  As the Biden Admin bemoans the continuing excessive killing of civilians by the Far-Right Israeli Leadership, $20 billion more in military hardware for Israel has been authorized...with no conditions attached.  [It's true some of that hardware - F-16 fighter jets - won't be available until 2026; however, bombs-missiles-and other munitions probably will be shipped in less than a month from now.]

2.  Trump appears to be melting down.  His gaslighting tactics - lying, accusing his opponent of actions which apply to him, constantly changing the subject when backed into a corner by logic & truth, egregiously insulting people, making unsubstantiated claims, etc. - are not having any significant effect on his opponents.  He seems to be baffled by that, and as a result, when speaking publicly he rambles, whining about different things and spewing out topics which have little-to-no connection to one another.  He's now the confused, old man in the race.

 

3.  Spokesmen for the Israeli military claim everything is being done to avoid civilian deaths in Gaza.  "Everything" includes evacuation orders.  The problem is:  every place refugees evacuate to is attacked, and often without warning.  In a recent bombing of a school, over 100 people were killed.  Many of them were blown into so many pieces they were unidentifiable.  [Source:  the independent news show, Democracy Now!]  Israel says 31 Hamas members were killed in the attack.  Do the math: over two-thirds of the victims were civilians...including CHILDREN.

4.  Not too long ago, Elon Musk claimed Earth could support 80 billion people.  Such thinking is completely devoid of ecological knowledge, and is both delusional and idiotic.

https://www.unilad.com/news/elon-musk-believes-earth-could-hold-80-billion-people-799394-20231031

5.  Most of the top Democrats in DC oppose the Far-Right Trump Crew in the USA, but back the Far-Right Extremist Netanyahu in Israel.  That's idiocy.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

There is no Planet B

It's nothing but fantasy to believe any significant number of us on Earth will be moving to Mars.  The people planning and working toward a human colony on Mars (or anywhere else) are NOT thinking about transporting eight billion people to another planet.  Such a task would be impossible, and completely so.

Most likely, what is being sought is to eventually establish a small colony of people with special skills.  Over time, those colonists would reproduce more humans; and that's how our species would leave Earth.  Even those people, though, would have a rough time.  They might not even survive.  Here's why---

1.  Although the temperature on Mars can get up to 70 degrees F, that rarely happens.  The average temperature on Mars is about minus 80 degrees F.  Most of the time, temperatures range from minus 14 degrees F to minus 120 degrees F.

2.  Large, regional dust storms on Mars often last for weeks.  The winds of such storms are up to seventy miles per hour.  Once in awhile, dust storms are not just regional.  Instead, they are planet-wide.  Try to imagine being in such a situation.

3.  Because of the above points - and much more - most of the time colonists would be inside some structure or another.  Yes, they probably would have some version of A.I.' s  "augmented reality" gizmo to aid in avoiding cabin fever; however, I suspect that only can take a person so far.  After that, no one knows what might happen to a person's mind.

4.  Whether indoors, or outdoors in a pressurized & oxygenized suit, there is no room for error.  Chances are, if you make only one mistake related to air pressure, oxygen, storms, etc., you're dead.

BOTTOM LINE---

I've seen comments online which go something like this:  if we totally wreck Earth, we'll just move to Mars or somewhere else in the solar system.  No, we won't.  For about 99.99999% of us, there is no Planet B.  ASAP, we must stop "wrecking" Mother Earth, and start rehabilitating Her.  If we are to survive and thrive, there's no other reasonable option.  We must (more and more) show our appreciation of the magnificent gift of Earth we've been given.  It's not too late to begin treating the natural world as sacred.

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Not only my opinion.  Take Care

Brief review of some of the idiocy being promulgated primarily by various politicians

Politics is basically a flawed profession.  Why?  It often enables too much corruption, lying, and deceit.  It plays to the dark side of individuals who seek power above all else.  Finally, it too often utilizes propaganda which benefits Oligarchs/Plutocrats at the expense of Main Street.  While it's true we (all around the world) do have some politicians who are honest and ethical, unfortunately it seems they are far and few between, or perhaps reticent to speak out against the characteristics described above.

By any measure of common sense, I would think the scenarios below - brought about by various "Leaders" - are idiotic---

A Few Examples

1.  The current Israeli Leadership still is bombing/attacking structures in Gaza where CHILDREN are being sheltered, thus killing or maiming some of those innocent children.  Israel apparently believes such action is justified because Hamas people supposedly are in the same schools, houses, refugee shelters, etc.  These war crimes are being aided by munitions from the USA.

2.  The Biden Administration and probably most Republicans seem to believe Israel is NOT committing war crimes.  I believe most of the world (including me) disagrees.  The reasons for such disagreement should be blatantly obvious.  Yes, Hamas also commits war crimes; however, that's not an ethical justification for doing the same.  There is no justification whatsoever for war crimes.

3.  ALL governments which produce and maintain (or host) nuclear weapons are dangerous idiots.  Past posts on this blog have explained why.  Here's only one of them:

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

Here's another:

The Ecological Ignorance of U.S. Presidents REDUX

4.  Due to adherence to the secular "religion" of neoliberalism (the Market will handle any problems), most humans on Earth now have PFAS (the "forever chemicals"), micro- and nano-plastics, and other toxic substances in their blood.  PFAS, in particular, have been linked to various health problems (including cancer) and the altering of reproductive hormones, as well as other hormones.  This all has been reported in scientific studies published in professional journals.

All the above is part of Ecological Overshoot, the main cause of our current Meta-Crisis.  Too many politicians everywhere seem to NOT be paying enough attention to this complex issue.  Those who are appear to be focused on only one of the symptoms of Overshoot:  Climate Change.  Other interconnected symptoms - biodiversity loss, soil degradation, toxic pollution, water availability problems, shrinking forests, overharvesting of fish, etc. - receive scant concern.

So, What Can Be Done?

A common sense response to the above-described human predicament would be to vote politicians out-of-office who promote the idiocy.  Exercise some due diligence and vote into office those people who at least favor the elimination of Eco-Overshoot.

Given the power of Edward Bernays style Propaganda and how dogmatic most voters seem to be, the above response doesn't appear to be likely.  But here's the thing:  NO ONE can predict the future with 100% accuracy every time.  In other words, we should not quit promoting common sense just because the implementation of it seems unlikely.  History shows that many proposed scenarios which were deemed to be "hopeless" eventually took root and came to fruition.  Such is especially true in the political arena.  Without "hope" for a better future, we're just marking time.

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Not only my opinion.  Happy Trails

KUDOS to Joe Biden, and What's Next

A Few Quick Notes

I had the feeling he badly wanted "The Last Hurrah"; however, he made the decision to do what's best for the country instead.  Sincere congrats to you, Mr. President.

I have not been in favor of Biden in any elected position for years, and certainly not Trump either.  The reasons Trump is a no-go should be obvious to anyone.  Even though apparently they're not obvious to some people, they will not be repeated at this time.  For about eight years, I've gone over them in detail on this blog.

The reasoning regarding Biden is partly due to the following:

    a)  his Gaza policy is unforgivable;

    b)  his foreign policy in general seems to be based on the concept of the "American Empire", the USA policing the world;

    c)  his economic policy (like that of just about every other politician in DC) is an ecological disaster; and,

    d)  his health seems to not be up to the demands of the Presidency.

The main reason, though, I'm not for Biden is this:  he (like most other national politicians) apparently still believes infinite economic growth will have no serious consequences on a finite planet.  Plus, it looks as though he (and many others) fails to recognize that Going Green while continuing to pursue infinite, exponential Growth is an oxymoron.  He's in a big club regarding those items.

Nevertheless, I salute President Biden for gracefully bowing out of the 2024 election.  It's best for him, his Party, and the country.

Bottom Line

Ecological Overshoot is the primary cause of our ongoing Meta-Crisis, and such overshoot is enabled by our current, neoliberal, mainstream economic system.  Unfortunately, perhaps 90-99% of our national politicians support such a system.  It's like a secular religion to them, and they refuse to consider other options.  They appear to be ecologically illiterate, energy blind, and minerals blind as well.  This means whoever replaces Biden as the Democratic Party candidate most likely will not challenge the current economic system, will not see the significance of Ecological Overshoot, and will be blind to the energy and minerals problems we'll be facing probably within ten years or so.

If we are to survive and thrive as a species not just which energy we use for fuel must change, but everything must change--- our economics, our lifestyles, our relation to Nature, our ethics, our relation to other people, and our worldview in general.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Cowboys in Russia, Food, Water, & Geopolitics

The relatively short clip below (from PBS) should be a wake-up call for The Establishment in the USA and elsewhere.  It details much of the content of a new documentary, titled "The Grab".  The new doc delves into how some world Leaders are scrambling - in the shadows - to secure adequate future food and water resources for their people.  One reviewer called the film "an international thriller".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppwlFwcL4iY&list=WL&index=70

Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, Wall Street Hedge Funds, and others are all involved in land (and water) "grabs", and in a fairly surreptitious manner.  Many of these resource acquisitions are occurring in North America and Africa.  The people doing the "grabbing" recognize that the Meta-Crisis is shrinking the availability of crucial resources, particularly water and food. 

We're not talking only about the Eco-Crisis here and the fact that arable, tillable, productive farmland is shrinking and soil is being degraded worldwide.  [Such is true even in well-off countries.]  In addition, groundwater aquifers on productive land are being depleted at unprecedented rates.  It's also multiple-continent supply chain problems, the worldwide financial fragility, social inequity, energy blindness, geopolitical rivalries, sanctions, war, and more which are creating the Food Crisis and the Water Crisis.

In the USA, much of the time it appears that the Powers-That-Be are mostly unconcerned about these matters.  For example, our elected officials seem to have this view:  The Market will handle any upcoming problems.  Human ingenuity will save the day.  As a result, our country has no national water policy and not even any sort of national water strategy.  China, Russia, and some other countries all do.

Natural resources everywhere are in trouble.  Ideology won't save them from disaster, but Science can.  What stands in the way?  Primarily it's myopic politics and politicians who are not comprehensive thinkers.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

p.s.  Watch the video.  Cowboys in Russia, indeed.

"Rattling The Establishment's Cage: ..."

 For those who may not like (for whatever reason) shopping on Amazon, my latest book is also now available in eBook format here---

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rattling-the-establishments-cage-scott-c-haley/1145990820;jsessionid=1A939C1289BDBED3AEC564DE17317C1F.prodny_store01-atgap03?ean=2940179599685

and here---

https://books.apple.com/us/book/rattling-the-establishment-s-cage-short-essays-notes/id6535647494

It's also on other venues, such as Everand, Kobo, Tolino, Smashwords, and about six others as well.  On Amazon and Barnes & Noble, you're able to read sample pages.  I haven't had time to check on the other sites, so can't say if they have samples or not.

"The Establishment" is probably a permanent fixture in most societies around the world, and has done some good things.  Too often, though, it misleads or outright lies to us regarding significant issues.  These are things of which we need to be aware if we are to have sustainable and meaningful lives.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Informed, & Happy Trails

p.s.  The cover image below is one of my Abstract Expressionist paintings.