Here's the only reasonable choice at the ballot box

Below is an email I recently sent my son, his family, and a few others.  It's slightly edited---

Sorry to hear you're under a heat dome.  It's a tragedy that as things worsen, most people appear to still continue with the belief that our society can hang onto biz as usual in terms of our way of living.

Within 10 years, 120 degrees will not be uncommon.  It may be worse than that if we don't start treating the situation as a genuine emergency.  The world's best scientists know what needs to be done (a couple hundred of them were cited in the References section of my first book), & close to none of it is being done.

Everything must change...ASAP.  Such is politically unacceptable, so politicians engage in Greenwashing, and tout their actions...

which are almost totally inadequate.

The best thing every voter could do in the political realm would be to vote for the Green Party.  Because of rampant propaganda (and the control the Republicrats/Demopublicans have over ballot-access Laws AND debates), that won't happen.

         In terms of policies & a Party Platform, the Green Party is head & shoulders above both the Repubs AND the Dems.  That's particularly true in the areas of environmental protection, economics, and foreign policy.  Be sure to watch this clip... (it's short) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6pN6x6pGwA

Dr. Cornel West (a brilliant philosopher & class struggle activist) describes the Dem Party to a tee, back then & still true today.  The Dem Party is a corporatist disaster.

[It's looking like West will be the Green Party's nominee to run for Pres. next year.  His political philosophy is equal to, or maybe even better than, that of Bernie Sanders.  Plus, he understands neoliberalism better than most national politicians.] 

Hang in There

......................... 

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Here's precisely why...

 everything must change.  This is the most erudite presentation on the human predicament I've ever heard.  Topics include:  the current socio-eco-econ-ethical Crisis, politics, energy, ecology, metaphysics, spirituality, future possibilities, the USA, France, history, philosophy, solutions, and more.

The human condition (and that of our world) in a nutshell:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frK66sPntA4

Even if you have to watch it in 5 or 10-minute stages, don't miss it.  Even if you disagree with a portion of it, continue on.  Don't assume the remainder won't be valuable to you.  I'm about 99.99% sure that it will be.  [You might want to turn on the captions.]

......................

Be Well

Biden's response to the climate emergency is a tragic joke

 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/27/joe-biden-climate-emergency-peter-kalmus

Follow the science, Mr. President, and that doesn't mean only the medical science.  I'm sure you've heard of physics, climatology, and ecology.  Dr. Kalmus explains what they are telling you in the essay at the link above.  Pay attention!

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

PFAS all should be banned by Law

They're everywhere; and now, also in most all human blood.  The chemical industry claims some are safer than others, but where's the proof?  Below is a must-see clip, and below that are my notes.  [Sorry, no time to write them out in proper sentences.]

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jwwu5KchDcU&list=WL&index=71

per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances - a few thousand different ones - in Teflon, Scotchgard, fire retardant fabric, cosmetics, paper plates, fast food containers, ski wax, guitar strings, & many other products.  Liver damage, cancer, endocrine/hormone disruption, neurological damage, & more.  "Forever chemicals" which bioaccumulate.

DDT was banned in the USA.  So were CFCs and PCBs.  ALL PFAS should join that club.  Wake up, politicians.  Stop kow-towing to the chemical industry.

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Not only my opinion.  Take Care

Exactly what will it take for...

1.  Biden, DeSantis, Trump and all the other dogmatic, linear-thinking politicians around the globe to recognize we're in a climate emergency?  Biden should be declaring one.

https://www.democracynow.org/2023/7/28/headlines/un_leader_declares_new_era_of_global_boiling_amid_hottest_month_in_human_history

2.  mega companies such as Amazon to realize they need to hire more employees rather than laying off ones they now have on staff? That is to say, IF they really want to have a decent company, then that's what they should do.  Not just more warehouse workers, but more customer service reps as well.  Algorithms rarely can handle customer service adequately.  Of course, such hiring would mean slightly reducing the gazillionaire status of the owners.  Such is not worth consideration by said owners, I guess, eh?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Bezos#:~:text=With%20a%20net%20worth%20of,Bloomberg%20Billionaires%20Index%20and%20Forbes.

3.  politicians in countries with nuke weapons to realize how ignorant and/or stupid it is to have such weapons?

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article271584102.html

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-01-22-mn-25349-story.html

https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2022-04/news/biden-policy-allows-first-use-nuclear-weapons

I must confess, I don't know the definitive answers to those questions.  I only can guess.  One such guess:  unprecedented, massive disasters.

.....................

Be Well

The answers vary greatly:

How do "net zero" and "carbon offsetting"" work?  Are they effective relative to industrial operations?  That depends on who is answering.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62TubVzpiOw&t=1s

To achieve net zero, it often appears that too many companies are relying almost completely on carbon offsetting, with little-to-no emissions reduction.  Such a scenario means those companies can keep polluting for decades.  The question arises:  with the goal of more and more production (which is usually the case in economies pursuing infinite growth), can the offsets keep pace with the ever-increasing amounts of pollution?  No one knows, but ecologically speaking, there's a high degree of probability that the answer is NO.

Other questions:

Relative to natural carbon offsetting (e.g., planting and/or not harvesting trees), what is "Green colonialism"?

Have the proposed machines which will suck CO2 out of the atmosphere been tested at scale?  Will they run on renewable energy?

Net zero and carbon offsetting can be good things, but not if they're used as substitutes for emission reductions.  Reducing the amount of pollutants comes first, then if necessary, offsetting.  Plus, some sort of standards and oversight need to be developed.

Problems with carbon offsetting are presented in great detail here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61SWIYwCaSE&list=WL&index=71  (a must-see clip)

...........

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

The Good Side of Nixon, the Scourge of Neoliberalism, & Why Climate Change is so Political

 All in less than six minutes---

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8MOJAMbzKs&list=WL&index=68

Believe it or not, Richard Nixon was good for our environment.  After him, though, things started going downhill.  That's especially true with Reagan's brand of neoliberalism.  From then up to present-day, eco-regulations have been diluted or scrapped outright, while politicians continue to favor the fossil fuel industry, factory farming, and Big Biz in general.  Once in awhile, they throw a bone to the health of our habitat.

Largely through Edward Bernays style propaganda, environmental issues have become politicized to the Nth degree.  Too many voters have been indoctrinated to believe that environmental laws and regulations are "socialism", rather than protection for our health and the health of our common habitat.  Surely they don't believe various industries would - on their own initiative - never pollute our air, water, and land, eh?  Surely those voters don't believe emitting 36 billion tons of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere per year (worldwide) is good for our habitat, eh?  If they don't believe those things, then why do they keep voting for politicians who apparently do believe such?  Here's a big reason why:  propaganda from Mega Biz and the politicians in their back pockets.

So, step one in shifting to a sustainable existence on Earth:  stop drinking the Propaganda Kool-Aid supplied by The Establishment.  Those who are serving it up are ecologically ignorant beyond the pale.  They are technocrats with little-to-no knowledge of Nature, and apparently zero knowledge of how our existence depends upon the proper functioning of natural ecosystems.

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Not only my opinion.  Take Care