Chris Martenson wrote a pretty good piece today.
“Perhaps it was my own blind spot(s) that prevented me from really appreciating just how powerful human denial really is. But here we are, 40 years after the Club of Rome and 7 years after the Great Financial Accident of 2008, collectively pretending that neither was a sign warning of the dangers we face — as a global society — if we continue our unsustainable policies and practices that assume perpetual growth.”
Gail Tverberg continues to be a calm refreshing breeze of insight in an ocean of noise.
http://ourfiniteworld.com/2015/05/26/cuba-figuring-out-pieces-of-the-puzzle-full-text/
A video on the philosopher Albert Camus found and introduced by Gail Zawacki that provides some excellent perspective and inspiration.
“I find solace in learning more about Camus because for me his ideas ring true not only to what is known in the sciences – from evolution to geology and climate – but his conjectures also fit perfectly with all I have personally learned in my sixty years revolving around the sun.
His observations – such that humans are “irredeemably corrupt and violent” – still leave room for great joy and love, even within the spectre of inevitable death, and the meaningless indifference of the universe to our demise. His work firmly places puny human concerns into context of the fanatic demands of organized religions (both ancient and modern), and even, more recently, desperate woowoo dogma, with the same craven desires for spirit, divinity, soul and consciousness. As the narrater in the video says, “Once you properly realize that life is absurd you’re on the verge of despair perhaps…but also compelled to live life more intensely”.”
http://witsendnj.blogspot.ca/2015/05/he-refuses-to-lie.html
Here is an excellent musical meditation on the impact of ozone on trees by Gail Zawacki.
“Ozone is invisible but highly toxic air pollution. As the background level increases, trees that absorb it are poisoned and become more susceptible to insects, disease and fungus. Epidemic attacks are causing forests to decline around the world. More info at WarOnTrees.blogspot.com”
“I am old enough to remember learning about plate tectonics in college, when students were still cautioned that it was a controversial proposition. I was incredulous that something so brilliantly, obviously true could still be considered unproven. However, there have been many theories that were treated as heretical when first unveiled – gravity, evolution, the origin of ulcers, and the dangers of tobacco smoking all come to mind. It is my hope that someday soon, the notion – that spewing poisons known to be toxic to vegetation into the atmosphere at ever increasing rates must and has achieved a threshold that is intolerable to trees – will become crystal clear as well. It is in that spirit that I made the film. Please follow the links, and leave any questions in the comments, or email me at witsendnj@yahoo.com.”
Here is Steve Keen, the world’s best economist, linking the economy with thermodynamics.
98% of the economists in the world are too stupid to understand this stuff.
As a consequence all of the economic models that our world leaders use to make decisions ignore the most important variables: energy, waste, and debt.
And we blindly race towards the cliff…
I just finished reading this superb essay by Gail Zawacki.
Ground level ozone, and its impact on trees, may be the most important ecological problem no one has heard of, myself included. It is particularly worrisome because planting trees, in addition to shrinking our lifestyles, may be the only effective means of making climate change less bad.
http://witsendnj.blogspot.ca/2014/07/a-fine-frenzy-universal-dance-of.html
Gail has also written a book on the demise of trees that you can download for free here:
http://witsendnj.blogspot.ca/p/pillage-plunder-pollute-llc.html
Transport yourself back 10, 20, 30 or however many years you can remember, and imagine a future debate about raising rates 0.25% after they had been at zero for 6 years. You’d think it was impossible and completely insane.
And have you noticed there is never any genuine curiosity about why interest rates have been at zero for 6 years and what the implications of this might be?
The idiot lights on our dashboard are flashing bright red, all of them, and no one even discusses what they mean, let alone what we should do in response.
This three part series titled “Adventures in Flatland” by Dave Cohen is a must read for anyone seeking to understand our predicament.
http://www.declineoftheempire.com/…/adventures-in-flatland.…
http://www.declineoftheempire.com/…/adventures-in-flatland-…
A nice summary of what is going on by George Mobus.
http://questioneverything.typepad.com/question_everything/2015/05/civilization-collapse-30.html
There has always been an odd tenor to discussions among climate scientists, policy wonks, and politicians, a passive-aggressive quality, and I think it can be traced to the fact that everyone involved has to dance around the obvious truth, at risk of losing their status and influence.
The obvious truth about global warming is this: barring miracles, humanity is in for some awful shit.
un-Denial 