Damage to both the ecosphere & democracy already being done by A.I. & the billionaires promoting it

https://steadystate.org/maybe-we-should-be-the-ones-doing-the-grokking-thoughts-on-m/?blm_aid=122634

CASSE's article at the link above is another of their MUST-READ pieces.  It's extremely well-written, interesting, smack-dab-on-the-mark, and relevant to everyone.  The author is Helene Langlamet.

Except for the short note to follow, I won't even attempt to summarize her provocative and accurate depiction of what's going on with information technology and AI today.

The information technology industry (let's call it Info-Tech) would like us to believe that it's going to save the world by using AI to solve problems.  Not only that, but it supposedly will do so with minimal damage to the environment...and no threat at all to democracy.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The damage and the threat already are beginning to happen.  Read the article.

We the People must convince politicians to regulate Info-Tech and AI applications ASAP.  If such does not happen, the danger to the ecosphere, democracy, and social justice is extremely high.  Read the article at the link above to see why.  It will take only five or so minutes of your time.  Please read it now.

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Not only my opinion.  Best Wishes to Everyone

"Climate Engineering: Doubling Down on Bad Habits"

https://steadystate.org/climate-engineering-doubling-down-on-bad-habits/

In general, it seems Technocrats are not aware of and are ruining human alignment with the continuity of the ecosphere.  Also, I suspect they are more or less innocently unaware of the elements of the ecosphere - the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere (aka, geosphere) - and how those elements are deeply and intricately interrelated.  They make up the Earth System, which is one giant ecosystem (with many sub-ecosystems).

It appears to me that their geoengineering plans (related to climate) are nothing more than efforts to avoid the reduction of carbon emissions.  The reasoning seems to be:  let's alter the amount of solar radiation reaching Earth and/or suck carbon out of the air, so we can keep burning fossil fuels into infinity.  Those scenarios are not well thought out.  See the spot-on article at the link above.

If these climate engineering plans ever get up to the required scale, negative unintended consequences are a distinct probability.  Efforts to control Nature are a Techno-fantasy.  While short-term success often is achieved, in almost all cases disaster or near-disaster eventually is the unintended result.  The Agricultural Green Revolution(s) of a bit over fifty years ago is a prime example.  [For details, see Chapter 2 in my second book, Choices & Change on the Path to a Sustainable Existence...", OR read the excerpt here - https://individualsovereignty.blogspot.com/2024/02/excerpt-from-choices-change-on-path-to.html .

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Quote: "...whether God-given, biologically endowed, or just taken for granted."

This masterfully written essay clearly shows aggregate humanity is on a most destructive path re nonhuman animals.  [ https://greattransition.org/gti-forum/solidarity-animals-crist ]  Despite that bad news, the author inspires to the Nth degree.  At least read the first three paragraphs.  Judith Crist is a wordsmith of the highest order.  Reading her article is well worth the time.

Crist goes on to unravel/unpack the paradox of our love of animals existing simultaneously with the structural violence we impose upon them.  Then, too, she brilliantly recounts the history and heritage of John Rodman's "Differential

Imperative" - how we, in order to soothe our conscience, assign inordinate value to the difference between us and other animals.  [I say "other animals" because we're part of the biological Animal Kingdom; obviously, we aren't plants or microorganisms:]

Next, Crist relays how indigenous societies have (in general) treated nonhuman animals with respect, compassion, and the dignity they deserve while using them for human purposes.  A much needed lesson for us all.

Finally, she explains how mistreatment and misuse of animals has spilled over to include human-to-human interaction, and our degradation of the ecosphere.  Someday we'll all learn:  "everything is connected to everything else" ~ Barry Commoner, 1971 (another masterful wordsmith).

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Not only my opinion.  Take Care

Planetary Boundaries, Holocene Epoch, 1.5 Degrees Celsius, Carbon Pulse, Ecosphere, and Energy Transition

Johan Rockstrom is a brilliant PhD ecologist who, along with his colleagues, has spent fifteen years developing the concept of  "planetary boundaries".  There are nine of these boundaries, and they delineate the safe space on Earth which enables modern-day humans to live and thrive.  We have overshot six of those nine boundaries.

 https://www.youtube.com/watchv=k0aYeQrLEn0&list=WL&index=67

In the short video at the link above, Dr. Rockstrom shows what has transpired since we left the last Ice Age about 12,000 years ago.  That was the beginning of the current geologic time period, the Holocene Epoch.  All of recorded human history has been in the Holocene.  As a distinct species, we've been on Earth approximately 200,000 years; but until about 10,000 years ago, we were strictly hunter-gatherers.  That all changed with the advent of annual grain agriculture.  With the ability to store surplus grain, we could labor at tasks other than hunting and gathering food.  Eventually, division of labor led to the Industrial Revolution.

The next monumental change was the discovery and development of fossil energy.  The harnessing of the "carbon pulse" has led to great advancement, and great disaster.  Thus we have the predicament of today:  ecological overshoot by humans.

In the clip above, Rockstrom ties all the elements in my title of this post together in a clear and concise manner.  He masterfully explains what's going on re the Crisis, what needs to be done, and why the Powers-That-Be are on the wrong track when it comes to solutions.  This subject is complicated, and you may have to watch the video twice to fully grasp its significance.  Or, maybe only once.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Ecologist William E. Rees on: overshoot, carbon dioxide, cities, and human thinking

 In this short clip, Prof. Rees is interviewed by another comprehensive thinker, Prof. Nate Hagens (The Great Simplification, also on YouTube).  This is an excerpt from a longer talk.  If you wish to increase your ecological knowledge, don't miss this---

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1vX03h7w9c&list=WL&index=67

It seems to me that too many of our public & private Powers-That-Be are stuck in reductionist (as opposed to holistic) thinking.  As a result, as a species we're not yet approaching the mitigation of the Eco-Crisis in any comprehensive manner.  Here are a few specifics---

1.  Why is there no U.S. Dept. of Sustainability, or same in any other country?

2.  Which of the Powers-That-Be is addressing the soil crisis, or the acidification of the ocean, or the massive pollution of the ecosphere by micro-plastics, or pollution by endocrine-disrupting chemicals, or biodiversity loss (there is a bit of progress with this one), or how all these and more are linked?

3.  Which of the Powers truly understands the need for economic  development which is sustainable, as opposed to mindless economic growth which perpetually produces more mountains of rubbish (thus overwhelming Earth's waste-neutralizing capacity)?

4.  How many of the Powers really grasp this concept:  if we don't address the human overpopulation problem, Nature will - via massive starvation, famine, disease, and untimely death?

5.  How many of the Powers understand that technological advances are one of the main reasons we are now in a socio-eco-econ-ethical Crisis of the Ages?  Why?  Because those Tech advances were almost blindly implemented, with little thought to possible unintended consequences, and even less thought to monitoring & regulating their implementation.  A prime example is the petrochemical industry.  It has brought us great convenience, and monumental damage to health and ecosystems.  It's folly to believe that Technology alone now will save us.

Holism v. Reductionism---

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_kbt7h1YRw&list=WL&index=63

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Complexity Connections are why Powers-That-Be cannot seem to grasp the urgency of Earth's Global Crisis

If you're anything like me, for years occasionally you've pondered over the following questions.  With all the problems we've caused in the ecosphere, and the severity of same increasing at a fairly rapid rate, why do governments keep pushing each other to the brink?  Why do they keep going to war, which exacerbates ecological damage and ruins lives?  Why don't they wake up and realize global cooperation is required if we are to survive and thrive as aggregate humanity?  Why do they keep tinkering around the edges of the socio-eco-econ-ethical Crisis?  [I do realize there are many governments around the world to which the above does not apply*** , but it seems to me the overwhelming majority are guilty as charged.]

*** Norway comes to mind, and there are several others.  Overall, the U.S. Government is not in that ecologically literate club, and never has been.

I imagine there are several possible answers to the above questions; however, I believe the following has to be in the top three.  They simply don't understand the complexity and fragility of the ecosphere.  They just don't get it.  They grew up in a world of relative abundance in natural resources, and a population less than half of today's world population.  They seem to be stuck in the Past.

In addition, most politicians and their advisors cling to the idea of perpetually unlimited economic growth.  They believe any damage from such will be mitigated or eliminated by Technology.  So, full steam ahead!

To illustrate the interactions and connections they're missing - concepts which must be understood if we are to avoid the collapse of organized human existence - today I created the following diagram.  [The title is Complexity Connections.]  It harkens back to Barry Commoner's First Law of Ecology in 1971:  Everything is connected to everything else.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Mountains of Rubbish...and They're Called "Products"

 Too many manufacturers continue to churn out mountains of rubbish.  They refer to such rubbish as their products.  The clothing, toy, and high-tech industries are especially egregious in this regard. Most household goods (including appliances) are not far behind.  To make things worse, too many consumers continue to buy the junk.  I suppose that's partly due to the fact that quality, durable goods are more & more difficult to find these days.  However, I suspect the main reason is the cheap price of junk.  Consumers seem to believe they're getting a genuine bargain.  Advertising half-truths and outright lies also are to blame.

https://steadystate.org/ending-planned-obsolescence-a-nonpartisan-movement-for-steady-staters-to-support/

"Comfort junk" is much like "comfort food".  It looks good and seems satisfying, but such does not necessarily mean that it's good for you.  For one thing, it doesn't last.  You have to replace it about five to ten times more often than you normally would if it were durable.  And yet, we keep buying it.  Thus, too much waste keeps being dumped into the ecosphere.  We're already way over the amount Nature can assimilate, and it just keeps getting worse.

BOYCOTT junk.  If that involves a change in lifestyle, so be it. Our biophysical, natural support system cannot take ever-increasing amounts of waste without serious consequences to us and all life. SUPPORT laws & regulations (which are starting to spring forth) that combat planned obsolescence.  See the article at the link above.  This is a nonpartisan issue through & through.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Climate Change & other eco-disasters are SYMPTOMS of ""THE meta-problem of humanity - ecological overshoot"

Prof. William E. Rees is one of the best comprehensive thinkers now on our planet.  In the short talk at the link below, he explains why the Establishment generally is on the wrong path regarding solutions to the ongoing Eco-Crisis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3nCFwhV-9E&list=WL&index=91

For the most part, our public and private policy makers are dealing with symptoms of the Crisis, while more or less ignoring the meta-problem of eco-overshoot.  We humans are gobbling up resources faster than Earth can regenerate them.  In addition, we're filling up waste sinks (bodies of water, the atmosphere, etc.) with pollutants faster than Earth can assimilate & neutralize them.  Finally, our "solutions" to the Crisis are almost all in the framework of perpetual growth with more & more consumption.  This won't work; Rees brilliantly explains why not in the concise clip above.  [The first person you see merely is introducing the good Professor.]

If you truly wish to understand the path we need to be on, this video is a must-see.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

The canary in the coal mine...

 is silently screeching...just before it's gone---

https://www.democracynow.org/2022/11/8/headlines/report_ice_levels_collapsing_at_levels_unthinkable_just_a_decade_ago 

Please spread the note below far & wide--- 

In about 10 years or so (maybe less, maybe more), none of the current crazy politics will matter.  WHY?  Humans will be spending most of their time trying to survive the multi-faceted Eco-Crisis.  Multiple millions of people will be migrating, trying to find a livable habitat.  Even those not migrating will be suffering as never before.  Because of trophic cascades and feedback loops in the ecosphere (already started), as well as no truly significant mitigating actions by humans at the required scale , it will be an unprecedented catastrophe.  

People finally will pull their heads out of the sand & wake up, but it will be too late.  OR, they won't wake up & instead remain in the dark while blaming the Repubs...or the Dems.  Such is the degree of ecological ignorance in the USA today.  The dark side of tribalism (along with the Plutocracy) wins, & the prize is an unmitigated disaster.

Finally, it isn't only climate that's an existential threat to humanity.  There's the water crisis, the soil crisis, the disease crisis, the food crisis, the ethical crisis, the biodiversity crisis, and several others.  They're all systemic and deeply interconnected.  So, what can be done that isn't being done?

Once again, here's my contribution to solutions---

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-beginning-of-the-path-to-human-extinction-and-how-to-get-off-it-scott-haley/1141364431?ean=2940160947181

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Not only my opinion.  Take Care