When he leaves

One thing is for sure. Donald J. Trump will leave the Office of President in one of four ways:

1)      He will resign and/or leave for health reasons

2)      He will be removed by impeachment or via the 25^th Amendment

3)      He will be voted out of office during the 2020 Election

4)      He will complete his first and second terms and vacate at that time

Those are in order of preference. I wish they were in order of likelihood as well, but no one knows for sure what will happen in the next minute, let alone the next year or years.

The second for sure thing is that our next president will have a mess to clean up. If there were a word stronger than mess, I would have used it. To qualify it, let’s just say that it’s of unprecedented proportions. The damage that’s being done to our economy (the stock market is tanking, and the rest of the economy is about to follow), our country’s integrity (look no further than the Trump lie count), our place in the world (we’ve managed to make enemies of our friends and aid our enemies), and our environment (the rest of the story) are incalculable.

Regarding the destruction, it is the devastation to the environment that will have the most lasting effect. It’s also been the area where Trump has been the most efficient; it will take the best legal efforts to undo everything. Unfortunately, the consequences will be something our children and their children will have to endure.

Air pollution, water pollution, and added carbon and other greenhouse gasses will cause untold deaths and damage for decades to come. This does not even take into account the missed opportunities for global leadership and jobs (YES, JOBS) in the new economy.

And it’s all on Trump and his supporters’ hands.

Doubling Down on Poison

Forget for the moment that President Donald Trump is a felon, a liar, a misogynist, a narcissist, and likely a traitor. Forget for the moment the damage he is doing to American justice, institutions, and credibility. In terms of lasting, long-term damage that has the greatest impact, look no further than his environmental policies.

Trump continues to poison the planet, and as usual, he’s doubling down on his toxic policies, most currently at the Katowice, Poland Climate Change Conference, also known as COP 24. Under Trump’s direction, the U.S. stood with Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Russia to block full endorsement of thecritical U.N. climate report by the world’s leading scientists, that found that the world has about a decade to cut carbon emissions by nearly half to avoid catastrophic warming.

Even that wasn’t enough. Trump’s U.S. delegation also tried to make the case that coal and other dirty fossil fuels are really desirable in order to not “sacrifice economic prosperity or energy security.” They were laughed at, mocked, and ridiculed, as would be expected at a conference dedicated to saving rather than spoiling the earth.

Meanwhile, human emissions continue to cause the planet to warm, oceans to rise, arctic and Antarctic ice to melt, temperatures to increase, and wildfires to burn. And Trump continues to fuel the fires. Shame on him and all that support him.

And today we learn that the Trump EPA Proposes Major Rollback Of Federal Water Protections. The rape of the environment continues.

The day Trump and his ilk leave office is a day the earth, and everyone on it, can breathe a sigh of relief.

Existential

ex·is·ten·tial
adjective
relating to existence.
PHILOSOPHY
concerned with existence, especially human existence as viewed in the theories of existentialism.

The philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian and social critic Noam Chomsky has said that climate change (as well as nuclear war) poses an existential threat. He’s not the only one. California Governor Jerry Brown said as much when he committed his state to set a goal of 100 percent renewable energy by 2045. And United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres recently called it that at the R20 Austrian World Summit.

Really? A threat to our very existence?

It depends on your definition of ‘our.’ (You probably thought I was going to relate it to the definition of ‘existence.’ Nope. The definition above lays that out as well as can be.) If by ‘our’ existence, you mean, all life on earth, including, but not limited to human beings, then I disagree.

The report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, is out. Its prognosis for the planet is not good: There may be as little as 12 years to act on climate change to reach this goal. With the current rise of 1 degree above pre-industrial levels, we are experiencing the terrible effects: melting ice caps, rising sea levels, damaging weather extremes to name a few. Another degree or less will make things much worse. “Climate-related risks to health, livelihoods, food security, water supply, human security, and economic growth are projected to increase with global warming of 1.5°C and increase further with 2°C,” according to the report. Vox summarizes, "2°C of warming is worse than 1.5°C, and 1.5°C is much worse than the 1°C we’re experiencing now."

What’s more, all this is happening even sooner than expected. The worst-case, if nothing at all is done, global temperatures could rise more than 4 degrees above pre-industrial levels by the year 2100. This would result in a ‘hothouse earth’ scenario.

Even if this happens, I believe life will still go on. We humans will still manage to survive as a species. At least a few of us. And for those, not so well.

On the other hand, if you mean that ‘our’ means,  our way of life, then I think you’re spot on. Even in the best case scenario, things are grim, and all people will suffer. But either way, some of us will probably survive.

It’s only a matter of degree.

Here’s the thing though. The UN report tells us that there's still a chance. We can right this ship; we only need to start now. This is what you can do:

1) Vote
2) Vote for candidates who believe climate change is occurring
3) Vote for candidates who believe climate change is caused by human activity
4) Vote for candidates who are willing to take action to reverse human-caused climate change

Please, make no exceptions. We must act now. Not tomorrow. Our existence depends on it.

It’s even more than a matter of degree.

Righteous Indignation and Our Better Angels

Have you ever been so angry that you fantasized about killing someone? Don’t answer; this is just a thought experiment. But it may surprise you to learn that in a study of college students, a majority of had indeed had such feelings. Since few of us actually carry such a thing out, what does it say about us that we can think about it, but not do it?

What does this say about human nature and our propensity for violent behavior? Some measure of violence is built into our DNA. And yet the ability to cooperate and to love are there as well. I prefer to think that most people land on the good side of the good to bad behavior scale. Am I being realistic?

I recently read two books by social psychologist Steven Pinker: The Better Angels of our Nature, Why Violence Has Declined, and  Enlightenment Now. In the former book, the author makes the strong case that violence in human society has declined over time. The incidence of war, homicide, assault of all kinds all trend in a positive direction, no matter the timeframe. The reasons are varied and complex, but the most prominent explanation is that we human beings prefer not to die. Further, we are willing to cooperate to make prevention happen. In the latter one, we learn that in spite of everything, life is getting better over time, due to the increasing enlightenment of humanity.

Why is this information in my blog about the environment? Because there is absolutely nothing that I am more indignant about than the environment. I have absolutely no tolerance for anyone who wants to pollute or make it easier for others to do so. I consider such behavior morally repugnant. But it is probably a good thing to take a step back and think about my own righteous indignation.

Life is getting better! Contrast this concept with any news you see, and also with prevailing attitudes of most observers. That violence is increasing and our way of life is deteriorating is a central tenant of both the right and the left philosophies. These books prove them wrong!

Yet human nature isn't entirely sugarcoated. It’s not all rainbows and unicorns. We’re still violent, self-serving animals. The point is that we can learn to control our not-so-good urges by making such behavior unacceptable.

If you have indeed been angry enough to hurt or kill someone, have you thought about why you are so angry? Was it vengeance? Revenge for a real or perceived wrong is one of the most common reasons for violence. Could it be fear? Anger and violence is often a result of fear and the concept that someone should be hurt before they hurt us. Or, could it be Righteous Indignation?

I will discuss righteous indignation further, but first, let me tell you about how my wife murdered a dog. My wife is a kind and peaceful soul, and she is not in the habit of killing or hurting people or animals. But once upon a time, we lived in a remote area in southern Ohio, close to one neighboring house, but no others. We were friendly with our neighbors, but they had a mean dog. This dog killed our cat, bit me, and once came into our yard, charging our daughters, ages 2 and 3, who were playing there. I was able to stop him by getting between our girls and the dog, but that was the last straw. What if I hadn’t been so close by? The two of us were indignant about the dog and its owner.

One day, when no one was home next door, Debbie made a nice beef and rat poison stew and brought it over to feed to Tippy. Tippy loved it and lapped it all up.

At first, it was the worst of all possible outcomes. The neighbor took Tippy to a vet and got his stomach pumped and an IV. He recovered, and our neighbor, who wasn’t rich, was left with the bill. She did ask how we thought Tippy may have gotten hold of rat poison.

But there was a turn of events. Weeks later, our neighbor let Tippy out on a cold day. He took one step, then keeled over with a heart attack. I believe that the rat poison had weakened his heart and caused it. I can’t say that we were saddened. In fact, I’ve never been so proud of my wife than I was at that time.

I consider the story an example of killing in self-defense. You might also consider it a case of righteous indignation used constructively (at least for our own family). We felt absolutely in the right to protect ourselves. We humans generally feel that violence is justified in such cases, whether you agree in this instance or not. Other forms of violence are not so justifiable.

Righteous Indignation is retribution, anger, and/or contempt combined with a feeling that it is one is right to feel that way. It is anger without guilt. It may be based on religion, race or ethnicity, or political viewpoint. Those who feel righteous do believe that their anger, hatred or even violence is justified. But others, some of whom may not agree with their ideology or religion, may disagree.

David Brin is a Ph.D. Physicist and popular Science Fiction writer. He famously challenged academic and other research psychologists to study the addicting effects of righteous indignation. There are several points to be made here:
1) The author freely admits that the topic is outside his primary area of expertise. In fact, that’s why it’s an open letter.
2) He believes that, despite the reduction in overall violence, Righteous Indignation is a growing problem. He believes that social media exacerbates it.
3) He believes that our brains react to righteous indignation exactly like they react to addictive drugs.

In fact, there has been some measure of research on that last point. When we experience righteousness and when we take addicting drugs, the same centers of our brain light up. It feels good to be right! Brin argues that our incidence of righteousness is on the increase. If you are with six people who feel one way about something, and there are six others who take the opposite stance, chances are that you will talk amongst yourselves to reinforce your own beliefs. Of course, the others will do the same. Social media creates an echo chamber where we hear more and more of the reinforcing messages and less of those that we disagree with.

There have been times in our history when righteous indignation was necessary. How would our Greatest Generation have won World War II without the certainty that they were right? That it was a matter of good versus evil, and we were on the side of good. On the other hand, consider that perhaps Nazis felt righteous in exterminating human beings because of race and religion.

What is the downside of all this? Intolerance, lack of understanding of others and even ourselves, and possibly even violence, war or genocide. Not everyone can be on the good side every time. I think it’s best to at least understand what is happening when we do take a side.

It’s fine to have a point of view. It’s not so fine to not understand that, or to let it win against our better angels.

Rise for Climate

Rise for Climate is a global event that occurred on September 8, 2018, where hundreds of thousands rallied and marched in hundreds of cities around the world.  The purpose was to demand that local leaders commit to building a fossil free world that puts people and justice before profits. The event is in advance of next week’s Global Climate Action Summit, where cities, states, businesses and civil society from around the world gather in California to affirm their commitment to a fossil-free society.

I am proud to say that Debbie and I took part. Whereas last year we marched on Washington as part of the People’s Climate March, this time we stayed local. The Cleveland chapter of the Sierra Club along with several other local organizations put together a unique ‘Environmental Justice Tour’ of the city.

There is no environmental justice without social justice. People's Climate Movement event will be Saturday September 8th and will be hosted by the Cleveland People's Climate Movement. This event will run from 10am to 2pm. This year we will be focusing on environmental justice in Cleveland. We will be taking a tour bus around the city to see the triumphs and shortcomings of Cleveland's current environmental state as well as speaking about the effects this has on resident's health. The tour will include stops such as the site of the Icebreaker Wind Project, East Cleveland Dump site, Chateau De Hough Wine Vineyard, Brooklyn Solar Farm, Rid-All Community Farm & CMHA Lakeview Terrace. After the tour, lunch will be provided and we will facilitate a community dialogue on climate change/clean energy. This is a free event open to the public. Please come learn with us on how we can convert Cleveland to a 100% sustainable city!

Compared with the hundreds of thousands at last year’s march, this event was small. Still, it was illuminating to naïve folks like us two. We live our comfortable lives in the suburbs, hardly even thinking about health and environmental concerns that our neighbors to the north have to deal with on a regular basis.

We began with a press conference at MetroHealth Park, where speakers included MetroHealth doctors who informed us of environmental effects on the health and well-being of Cleveland city residents. We also heard from members of various organizations, such as the Sierra Club, and their efforts to convince Cleveland to commit to becoming a 100% sustainable city.

The speeches were followed by a bus tour of some sites in Cleveland where the environment is front and center in its effects on people’s lives. The stops included:

The Lake Erie shoreline near Gordon Park: We heard the latest information about the Icebreaker Wind Project. If approved, eight large wind turbines will be installed several miles offshore, in the lake. It would be the first such freshwater site in the Americas and could lead to more and larger such projects. Although only one further approval is needed for the permit, there is still opposition. Two Bratenahl residents, financed by none other than Robert Murray, president of Murray Energy, the country’s largest privately held coal company are fighting the project to the end.

Chateau De Hough Wine Vineyard and Harry Boomer Garden: It was interesting to see a successful winery in an inner city neighborhood. Just around the corner is a peaceful flower garden.

East Cleveland Dumpsite: This was shocking to us. East Cleveland city officials sold land to a developer who promised to recycle materials in an environmentally clean manner. Instead, it became a toxic waste dump site where trash became piled up dozens of feet high. Residents were exposed to noxious fumes all hours of day and night. The combustible refuse eventually caught fire, placing local people in even more immediate danger. After several years of effort as well as harassment and provocation from the owners and truck drivers, the residents managed to prevail and convince the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to do its job and have the site cleaned. It was the first we’d heard of the entire incident.

The whole day left me, and I think Debbie, feeling like we must work harder to secure an environmentally clean future for our children and grandchildren. I promise to do more.

Call to Action

You say you care about the environment. You like clean air and water, and you don't attach a 'but' to that statement. You want to do your part to make this planet a better, not worse place to live. Mostly, you want to know what you can do that will be of the most help. This comes down to, what could you do, and what should you do. Your thoughts may vary, but in case you’re interested, here are mine.

You should reduce, reuse, and recycle. Yes, we’ve all heard this before, but it’s one of the most basic environmental actions. Especially, take note of the order of those verbs. It’s most important to simply use less. Use less food (side benefit: you’ll lose weight); use less packaging (buy things without it, and skip the bags); use less energy (walk more, and turn down – or up in summer – your thermostat); use less stuff in general (do you really need to buy even more clothing?). Reuse containers as well as clothing and anything else you can think of. And if you absolutely must buy that bottle of water or that can of soda, at least recycle the containers.

You could spread the word. Tell others how you feel. Better still: attend a march or some other form of protest aimed at protecting the planet. My wife and I have been doing this, and we at least feel like we’re making a difference.

You should teach your children well. They have to inherit this mess; they may as well know what we’ve done, what we may be trying to do, and what needs to be done. They’ll be stuck with whatever comes next. Most importantly, children need to be raised to have a healthy respect for knowledge, facts, and science. Yes, they should be critical and question everything, but more importantly, they need to learn the basic facts about how the universe works.

Most importantly, you should vote. Vote for those who will pass and uphold laws that protect our planet. Those who say they like clean air and water, but who also want to remove regulations, are not friends of the environment. Those who say the science isn’t ‘complete’ or that they are otherwise skeptical about climate science, do not have our earth’s (or even it’s people’s) best interest in mind. Vote for the other guy or gal, the one who truly cares, instead.

You and Me, and Everyone We Know

“Some people deny climate change, but there are no ocean plastic deniers. The problem’s in plain sight.” ~ Susan Goldberg

“Where could it be coming from? ... It must be third-world countries dumping trash into the ocean.” ~ a co-worker, answering his own question regarding the Texas-sized floating bed of plastic in the Pacific Ocean

I tried to explain to my co-worker friend that every time he obtains a plastic bag, buys food in a plastic container, buys water or soda in a plastic bottle, or uses a plastic straw, there is some chance that the resulting trash will wind up someplace other than a recycle bin for proper disposal. This chance exists regardless of how much or how little we first-worlders try to do the right thing. But of course it’s then a matter of degree; we still need to at least try to recycle. Using less is still far better, no matter what. That straw may find itself on a street, in a sewer, down a stream, in a river, and eventually in the ocean.

Unfortunately, he was not listening. He was too intent on placing the blame elsewhere.

Is any of the blame attributable to the third world? Sure. How much? Who knows. But there are two things to keep in mind: a) they (the third world) learned it from us, and b) they (the third world) largely pollute and waste because of us.

Ultimately, it’s on us to do the right thing: use less, and recycle. And vote for people who will do the right thing as well. 

You and me and everyone we know.

Check out this National Geographic article on the subject.

Let's Try It

It has come to light that the reason President Trump reduced the size of Bears Ears National Monument was to make it possible for his cronies to drill for oil on these lands. This comes as a huge surprise to some.

When we elected Donald Trump, we collectively made a choice to move our government from one where ethics were paramount to one in which the opposite is true. Corruption is the word of the day now, and any ethics or morality that our country had has gone by the wayside.

Our previous president and even the ones prior to that did everything in their power to ensure that not only they, but everyone in their administrations adhered to the highest ethical behavior. When one is as corrupt as our current president, the environment suffers as much as personal integrity.

The connection is straightforward. If you have no morals, then what could possibly be wrong with giving federal lands to private parties who wish to exploit them for personal gain? Who cares about the planet when there's money to be made?

I think we collectively looked at the ethical behavior of past presidents and decided that we ought to try something different. Enough ethics. Let's try some corruption, we said. I and most others are sorry that we did, and I think that all the rest of us will be as well when the sun is just a bright spot in the nighttime.

It's a Trap Take 2

In 2016, I posted a little diddy called, It’s a Trap. This post will be from a slightly different perspective. I gave a Toastmasters speech on the subject a couple of weeks ago. This time, I have more pictures!!

With all of the hysteria, all of the fear, all of the phony science, could it be that man-made global warming is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people? James Inhofe, Republican Senator from Oklahoma.

Sen. Inhofe on the Senate floor, demonstrating with a snowball that global warming is a hoax

The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive. Donald J Trump, President.

Our President, who believes that it's the Chinese who created the hoax

It’s a Trap! Admiral Akbar, squid-like Star Wars character (he wasn’t technically discussing climate change, but I do like the way he said it).

Admiral Akbar of the Rebel Alliance

Since these important people believe climate change is a hoax, I thought I should do some research; check the facts. 

First of all, what are we talking about here? By definition, a hoax is something intended to deceive or defraud. I like conspiracy theories every bit as much as hoaxes. There is very little difference between a hoax and a conspiracy theory. By my definition, if you believe it, it’s a hoax. If someone else believes it, but you don’t or are not sure, it’s a conspiracy theory. The word, conspiracy also implies that several people colluded to deceive.

There are three principles of conspiracy theories: nothing happens by accident, nothing is as it seems, and everything is connected. They are unfalsifiable, and therefore a matter of faith rather than proof. A few of the most prominent ones are the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Apollo moon landings, and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Some others include vaccinations and a suppressed cure for cancer.

You may or may not believe these or any other conspiracy theories, but in the case of global warming, also known as climate change, it has to be a hoax. Why am I so sure about this? Our President said so!

It makes no difference that Senator Inhofe and President Trump have numerous friends in the fossil fuel industry, and that they receive large donations from them. That is not a factor. It also makes no difference that 97 percent of climate scientists agree that the climate is changing due to human activity. What do scientists really know anyway?

Those who believe that global warming is a hoax are known as climate science deniers. They have waged a campaign to undermine the public trust in climate science, hindering efforts to prevent further climate change and adapt to a warming planet. They have used the same tactics as the tobacco industry to spread doubt about climate science.

Climate science denial is funded by the fossil fuel industry, including oil and coal companies and trade organizations. Their ultimate goal is to drastically reduce regulation of the fossil fuel industry, making the government friendlier towards them. I say, good for them! If the government isn’t here to help large companies profitably pollute air, land, and water, what good is it?

President Trump once again proved his genius when he withdrew the United States from the Paris climate accord last June. Every other nation on Planet Earth is wrong, and our President is absolutely right. How do we know this? He said so. So does Fox News, Breitbart News, and the National Review.

Did you know that there is a Flat Earth Society? They are science deniers too. Last year both Kyrie Irving and Shaquille O’Neil each affirmed their belief that the world is flat. (They later claimed to be joking about the whole thing, but we know better.) Now we must decide: is it the “scientists” who claim the earth is round that are perpetuating the hoax, or is it the people who believe the planet is flat? I think it’s the former. These are the same people who claim that burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and causes climate change. Ha ha.

Logo of the Flat Earth Society

I am convinced that global warming is a hoax. I even have a possible motive. The “scientists” are trying to trick us into polluting less and making the earth a cleaner and better place for our children. Don’t listen to them. It’s a trap.