Comments LGT has made

"I don't care who does the electing ...

"If all the people want is to have somebody arrested, I'll have you plunderers convicted. You will be allowed to escape, nobody will be hurt, and then Tilden will go to the White House and I to Albany as Governor." -- Boss Tweed!

http://msrb.wordpress.com/2008/11/06/quote-of-the-week-do ...On World leaders express hope that Obama will actively address climate change posted 1 year ago 3 Responses

"It is time for us children to grow up"

Randy - It makes me feel good echoing what you said, especially since I'd be 73 in a few weeks!

Mr Buffett whose net worth is $62 billion
produced 12.62 MMT of CO2 in 2007. [Not counting his interest and bias in maintaining the economic status quo!]

http://msrb.wordpress.com/2008/08/23/the-billionaires-con ...

Rumor has it that T Bone has a net worth of $3.0billion which means he produced about 3/62 of Mr Buffet's CO2 inventory in 2007.

Even if Mr Pickens made all of his money generating renewqbles, he would still be responsible for producing the same amount of CO2 so far as "the carbon dioxide emission for each dollar of GDP" remains the same.

It's time we grew up and looked at the dark side of our dollars and net worth!
On Sierra Club helps promote Pickens plan on debate night posted 1 year, 1 month ago 5 Responses

Is he actually

Inviting all those people to Calif, or establishing video links?

It seems like hundreds of thousands of professional globetrotters are flying 365/1 to just about every destination under the sun discussing how best to "battle" [nuke it?] climate change ...

http://rtsf.wordpress.com/2008/07/18/stop-flying-in-the-f ... On While McCain and Obama squabble ... posted 1 year, 2 months ago 13 Responses

Speaking of Clinton Glotative

"`No!': To superficial measures that barely scratch surface of terminal socioeconomic ills responsible for looming ecocide!"

http://feww.wordpress.com/2008/09/25/gore-the-revolutiona ...On Debate debate posted 1 year, 2 months ago 5 Responses

"It's All About Big Oil, Stupid!"

http://msrb.wordpress.com/2008/09/02/it-s-all-about-big-o ...On Palin's climate skepticism is irrelevant posted 1 year, 2 months ago 39 Responses

Censorship, again?

It's truly a sad day when an allegedly  "progressive" forum removes your comments, even the one about the polar bears!

Shame on YOU!On Polar bears against Palin posted 1 year, 2 months ago 7 Responses

Censorship?

Hello,

My previous comments about Mr Maccain's ability to "doublethink" and a short quote from 1984 have been removed from this post. Without any explanation as to why grist removed the comments and where the red lines are, it's difficult to write something that you like me to say.On Jon Stewart on the Dem drilling compromise posted 1 year, 2 months ago 5 Responses

Nothing too personal, but ...

"GOP Nomination of Sarah Palin: The Wrong Hit, Even By Reason of Insanity"

http://msrb.wordpress.com/2008/09/18/palin-the-lord-is-co ...On Asked about oil's fungibility, Palin says ... um, something posted 1 year, 2 months ago 5 Responses

correction: "Imagine" see earlier post

It's a limited imagination without an "e"

Rather like a two-pony election show, shortchanging the electorate.

And probably our last chance to vote for an independent candidate, someone who could make a difference!

1. "Time We Elected an Independent Candidate for President?"
http://rtsf.wordpress.com/2008/07/13/time-we-elected-an-i ...

2. "P2. Time We Elected an Independent Candidate for President?"
http://rtsf.wordpress.com/2008/07/25/p2-time-we-elected-a ...On Ralph Nader criticizes Obama and McCain for not standing strong against offshore drilling posted 1 year, 2 months ago 19 Responses

High time to call WS by its real name

The world's Largest Source of CO2 Pollution!

"How Much Carbon Dioxide Does Your Money Make?"
http://edro.wordpress.com/2008/08/05/carbon-footprint-for ...

"The Billionaires' contribution to CO2 pollution"
http://msrb.wordpress.com/2008/08/23/the-billionaires-con ...On The SEC chief fiddled while Wall Street exposed the public to billions in bailout funds posted 1 year, 2 months ago 2 Responses

"It's All About Big Oil stupid!"

"A big spender, Palin must have already entered Wall Street International Banking Syndicate's "Top Ten Most `Friendly' US Governors' Chart."  In June 2007,  Palin signed into law the largest operating budget in Alaska's history, more than $6.6 billion."

http://msrb.wordpress.com/2008/09/02/it-s-all-about-big-o ...On Charlie Rose chats with pre-VP-candidate Sarah Palin posted 1 year, 2 months ago 1 Response

But seriously

Lieberman should be deported to Europe. He will make one heck of a European Apocalypse riding team with France's Bernard Kouchner, Israel's Nicolas Sarkozy and Britain's David Miliband. On Former Democrat Joe Lieberman addresses RNC posted 1 year, 2 months ago 9 Responses

"Hilarious Polar Bear News!"

"Mooning The Unashamed Corporate Shills"
http://feww.wordpress.com/2008/08/06/hilarious-polar-bear ...
On McCain's veep pick talks energy, ANWR, and the improbability of being tapped for VP posted 1 year, 3 months ago 7 Responses

Speaking of Big Oil

Here's one about the emissions from oil refineries

http://feww.wordpress.com/2008/08/26/shameful-epa-another ...On Carl Pope on Big Oil politics posted 1 year, 3 months ago 1 Response

Pathological disconnect

Warren Buffet: "If the world were falling apart I'd still invest in companies"

http://msrb.wordpress.com/2008/05/25/if-the-world-were-fa ...

http://rtsf.wordpress.com/2008/05/25/buffett-the-poor/On Gates, Buffet to invest in massive climate change? posted 1 year, 3 months ago 8 Responses

Speaking of govt. labs

"Was Dr Adu-Bobie A Victim of Biological Warfare Experiments?"

http://feww.wordpress.com/2008/08/04/a-victim-of-biologic ...On Avian flu is on its way, and we are not prepared posted 1 year, 3 months ago 3 Responses

Them proud UNEP folks

UN and UNEP: The world would be a different place without them [AND don't let anyone tell you otherwise!]

http://feww.wordpress.com/2008/06/06/unep-issues-some-co2 ...

http://rtsf.wordpress.com/2008/07/18/stop-flying-in-the-f ...On Yao Ming to serve as UNEP 'environmental champion' posted 1 year, 3 months ago 1 Response

While you are at it ...

don't forget to calculate how much you are paying towards the "war."

Cost of war on Iraq: $3trillion [$3,000,000,000,000]
US population: roughly 300million [300,000,000]
Cost per head: $10,000

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008 ...
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/2/29/exclusive_the_three ...On The breakdown of Big Oil's record-breaking profits posted 1 year, 3 months ago 6 Responses

he is just ...

"Another Apple From the Rotten Barrel"
http://rtsf.wordpress.com/2008/07/30/another-apple-from-t ...

Time for a systemic change?

http://rtsf.wordpress.com/2008/07/13/time-we-elected-an-i ...

http://rtsf.wordpress.com/2008/07/25/p2-time-we-elected-a ...On Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens indicted over dodgy dealings with oil-services firm posted 1 year, 4 months ago 4 Responses

Blind "Monks" and the Economic Elephant!

http://msrb.wordpress.com/2008/07/01/blind-monks-examinin ...On Lester Brown unveils plan for 80 percent cuts by 2020 posted 1 year, 4 months ago 42 Responses

The indomitable

Jon Stewart at his best [as usual!]

Here's an interesting shot ...
http://feww.wordpress.com/2008/06/28/image-of-the-day-thr ...On Jon Stewart on EPA and email posted 1 year, 5 months ago 3 Responses

What's nature got to say about this?

... a modest portent of the chaos that could soon grow exponentially from the convergence of resource depletion, intractable inequality, and climate change.

"Nature's Defense Mechanisms"

http://edro.wordpress.com/2008/06/27/natures-defense-mech ...
On Living on the ice shelf posted 1 year, 5 months ago 6 Responses

General information on offshore rap*ng

Bering Sea Drilling Revisited!
http://feww.wordpress.com/2008/06/13/bering-sea-drilling- ...On McCain adviser on oil drilling in ecologically sensitive areas posted 1 year, 5 months ago 3 Responses

Politicians

Hmpf

You're serious, I take it. Right?

Politicians aren't appointed to the job for their ability to make decisions; they are there to rubber stamp the cabal's agenda!On Breaking news: Permafrost loss linked to Arctic sea ice loss posted 1 year, 5 months ago 10 Responses

Will move west, if it did!

"Will California turn to desert by 2011?"

http://feww.wordpress.com/2008/06/13/gov-schwarzenegger-p ...
http://feww.wordpress.com/2008/06/05/calif-turn-to-desert ...On Republican members of Congress do not believe in climate change or deem it a priority posted 1 year, 5 months ago 10 Responses

For a moment I thought you said

he administered UN Environmental program!

http://feww.wordpress.com/2008/06/06/unep-issues-some-co2 ...On Gus Speth chats about his new book and increasingly radical green views posted 1 year, 5 months ago 28 Responses

Combat climate change like combat in Iraq?

You would need $45 trillion [ballpark] easily!
On He rules their world posted 1 year, 5 months ago 1 Response

Pinheads in the upper house?

http://msrb.wordpress.com/2008/05/22/pinheads-in-the-hous ...On Senate decides to advance to debate on climate legislation posted 1 year, 5 months ago 4 Responses

wondered if

Is James Hansen a member of the UCS? On Hansen: Governors aren't getting it posted 1 year, 6 months ago 10 Responses

"money fetishism"

Lisa Heinzerling wrote:

But why must economics be the official language of U.S. regulatory policy?

For the same reason that our "money fetishism" is destroying the world. Not because we need to, but because everyone else is doing it, too!

There's a short essay on "Social Proof" and "Pluralistic Ignorance" at the following URL, which relates to the issues
http://msrb.wordpress.com/2008/04/30/whosoever-shall-call ... On Lisa Heinzerling responds to Richard Revesz on cost-benefit analysis posted 1 year, 6 months ago 38 Responses

magical thinking?

Insisting on unintelligent, destructive lifestyles is criminal thinking!On The delayers' paradox posted 1 year, 6 months ago 13 Responses

A matter of credibility!

@ Black Wallaby

As a mature individual [I hope] you ought to know that "information" coming out of the government controlled institutions in the UK [or Australia] is just as reliable as the data concocted by the special-interest-controlled institution in the United States.

What happens if the government-paid scientists don't toe the mark? Here's the most recent example: EPA official no match for Dow
http://feww.wordpress.com/2008/05/09/epa-official-resigns ...

Oxfam is not the only organization to report the rise of the climate-related disasters.

You'll find more examples below
Floods affect 500 million people per year, will worsen with warming [mongabay quoting UNEP]
http://news.mongabay.com/2007/0810-un.html

Here's a graph produced by Munich Re representing the number of disasters in the 1950-2000 period posted at
http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2002/issue4/0402p62.html ...

And an older document by UNDP:
http://www.undp.org/cpr/documents/climatechange_factfacts ...

Based on the incontrovertible evidence, and for the sake of your credibility (with me at least), I hope you'll reconsider your stance.
On Right wing doctors audio clips to distort Al Gore's comments about cyclone Nargis posted 1 year, 6 months ago 24 Responses

Story of the computer salesman from hell

On Dell's unscrupulous business practices ...

http://www.darsys.net/2005/08/why-dell-sucks-and-blows-do ...

"He charged extortionate sums for his upgrade
He didn't care much for fair trade."
...
"He was rude to his customers and didn't care about their needs
He liked to shove blades of grass up his ..."On Chastised by bloggers, Dell aims to cut down on waste posted 1 year, 6 months ago 1 Response

On a Global basis ...

Regardless of all the tops and bottom spins, the pseudoscientific misinformation and the government disinformation

The facts, the incontrovertible evidence, remain the same:

As of 2007 more than 500 weather-related disasters are affecting more than 250 million people each year.

According to a report by British "charity" Oxfam, weather-related disasters, caused by global warming, have quadrupled over the last twenty years reaching a record 500 per year.

http://msrb.wordpress.com/2007/11/27/500-weather-related- ...

This is my last word on this because other than the glaring evidence there's nothing more to add.

http://feww.wordpress.com/2008/01/04/the-500-a-barrel-pro ...On Right wing doctors audio clips to distort Al Gore's comments about cyclone Nargis posted 1 year, 6 months ago 24 Responses

Regardless of what Al Gored ...

might or might not have said ... or what CNN's Meteorologist Rocky Marciano claimed ...

The facts are, and I wrote on another thread,  
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/5/7/17111/15550

As of 2007 more than 500 weather-related disasters are affecting more than 250 million people each year.
http://msrb.wordpress.com/2007/11/27/500-weather-related- ...

According to a report by British "charity" Oxfam, weather-related disasters, caused by global warming, have quadrupled over the last twenty years reaching a record 500 per year.

http://feww.wordpress.com/2008/05/09/nargis-asias-2nd-mos ...

In the cyclone Nargis case, the tropical cyclone as a natural phenomenon, climate change as an accelerant (enhancer) and abject poverty as the ultimate decider (most of the Nargis destruction occurred in Myanmar's shanty towns) all played a role in claiming so many lives.
On Right wing doctors audio clips to distort Al Gore's comments about cyclone Nargis posted 1 year, 6 months ago 24 Responses

Hate to spoil the fun, but ...

6,673,367,368,553
May 9, 2008 at 21:34:10 EDT
http://math.berkeley.edu/~galen/popclk.html

May 9, 2008 at 21:36:17 EDT
6,680,570,570,123
http://www.opr.princeton.edu/popclock/

...On The number of the beast? posted 1 year, 6 months ago 14 Responses

Why can't our policymakers be like him?

Colbert uproarious wit and gusto are BRILLIANT!
On Colbert on gas prices and oil profits posted 1 year, 6 months ago 4 Responses

Erratum

@ Black W...

Correction (mine): So instead of "Gobble Gobble"-ing as you put it, lets see your data for the

Correction (yours)

Other sources:  Population of India and China:  ~ 2,450,000

I wish! Try 2,450,000,000 insteadOn How to get people to pay attention to peak oil posted 1 year, 6 months ago 45 Responses

Enough said about the delivery ...

What about the distorted message, rather the misinformation (disinformation?) it disseminates?

Peak Oil ! It is bigger than ... Global Warming

Based on what assumptions?

End of your way of life ...

Say, sorry "Mr President," but smart species adapt and evolve. Adapt or perish because the only constant factor in the life equation is "change!"

As a global war starts to destabilize oil distribution system ...

Wow! Global war has started and I am worried about how many trips I could make to Wal-Mart this week?

We are running out of oil very quickly ...

Well, make up your mind, girl. Which one is it, "Peak oil" or "we are running out of oil very quickly?"

Despite popular hope, coal natural gas tar sands and nuclear power won't be able to make up for a fraction of oil that we are losing ...

Oil comprises only about 38 percent of the world's total energy consumption. Please do more research next time, don't limit your data to postcarbon.orph and the oil drummers.

Come on, own up, Matthew (R. Simmons), I can see your fingerprints all over her.

Most of our clothing and furniture and resources come from overseas.

Isn't a good time we made, bought and sold locally? Apart from "clothing" and "furniture" what other resources are you talking about, girl?

What about food?

Well, what about it?

Our abundant supply of food comes from an average of 1,500 miles away ...

Ain't that obscene? Good time as any to localize? After all, we are the world's breadbasket!

If the current farming system stops using petroleum soon, up to two thirds of the world population may not make it. Four billion, billion people ... may not survive!

How did you figure that one out? What assumptions did you make to arrive at that figure?

This must be the most blatant item of disinformation in the entire message. The current industrial farming [agriculture] system is unsustainable EXACTLY because of the excessive use and reliance on petroleum (not due to the lack of petroleum, as she incorrectly/deceptively states).

If the shortage of food were to prove the undoing of 4 billion ("billion") of the world population, it would be as a result of loss of topsoil,  erosion of agricultural land and water scarcity (drought). Four billion ("billion") people would not die as a result of expensive petroleum products!

Have posted this link before, but it's definitely worth another look!
http://edro.wordpress.com/2008/02/18/topsoil/

and a more recent one:
http://edro.wordpress.com/2008/05/02/can-humans-enter-the ...On How to get people to pay attention to peak oil posted 1 year, 6 months ago 45 Responses

Michael D Brown of London?

This Boris guy has a lot in common with Michael D Brown (the infamous Undersecretary of Emergency Preparedness and Response at the DHS [sic] otherwise know as the director of FEMA.

We'll no doubt see him in action (or not) pretty soon when London gets really wet!

What is that invisible force in Europe that can transforms unknown critters into public figures overnight?

First Tony Blair, then the Hungarian French President and now Boris. On What will London's new mayor, Boris Johnson, do for the environment? posted 1 year, 6 months ago 5 Responses

Quality Control

... has clearly taken a beating! On Preventing dirty coal plants is the most urgent climate policy posted 1 year, 6 months ago 7 Responses

Be sure to ...

6. Flight smarts (?)
NOT clock up more than 50,000 airmiles a year!On A History Channel production on climate is worthwhile posted 1 year, 7 months ago 6 Responses

IF . . .

there's a God, surely he would be working against Rocky Twyman [he might even strike him down] hiking the gas prices to save his assets, planet Earth and the life thereon, from demise by pollution.   On On God and gas posted 1 year, 7 months ago 29 Responses

Burning Earth

Important Notice ... WARNING!

[First Draft: February 25, 2005]

Unless the global energy consumption is reduced rapidly--by mid 2006--to levels below 60EJ/year (6E+19 joules/year), our studies show that the runaway positive feedback loops that are destroying Earth's ecosystems including ozone holes, global heating, extreme climatic events, toxic pollution, resources depletion, unethical conduct, war, and disease pandemics would reach the point of no return, overwhelm our life support systems and render most of our population centers uninhabitable by as early as 2015, possibly earlier.

Failure to rein back the global energy consumption to the levels below 60 exajoules by June 2006 would render the concept of sustainable management redundant (it seems highly unlikely that post industrial civilization would voluntarily sacrifice its perceived privileges and values in favor of sustaining life on Earth).

http://msrb.wordpress.com/stop-burning-earth/On A non-technical piece on climate science posted 1 year, 7 months ago 6 Responses

Pluralistic Ignorance

What you almost never hear about is the horrendous costs that will come if we don't tackle global warming

"social proof" is a deep-seated human urge to do the "right thing!"On The thing you really never hear posted 1 year, 7 months ago 10 Responses

This one takes the biscuit

Blairo Maggi, the governor of Mato Grosso state and Brazil's largest soy producer (aka, "King of Soy"):

With the worsening of the global food crisis, the time is coming when it will be inevitable to discuss whether we preserve the environment or produce more food. There is no way to produce more food without occupying more land and taking down more trees.

http://feww.wordpress.com/2008/04/24/famous-last-words/On Food vs. fuel edition posted 1 year, 7 months ago 29 Responses

2050?

Don't worry!On Atmospheric carbon dioxide, methane rise sharply in 2007 posted 1 year, 7 months ago 16 Responses

Untruth

So here is the basic solution. I have thrown in a couple extra wedges since I have no doubt that everybody will find something objectionable in at least two of these wedges. This is what the entire planet must achieve:

# One wedge of vehicle efficiency -- all cars getting 60 mpg, with no increase in miles traveled per vehicle.
# One of wind for power -- one million large (2 MW peak) wind turbines.
# One of wind for vehicles -- another 2000 GW wind. Most cars must be plug-in hybrids or pure electric vehicles.
[...]

We have arrived here - the verge of our species collapse - using a wrong roadmap, our system of economy. What you are suggesting is that if we change our vehicle, we can turn right around and drive to a safe future.On The 14 wedges needed to stabilize emissions posted 1 year, 7 months ago 28 Responses

the windbag money guy?

Hope them thin-film PVs can see through the clouds, 'cause the short-term forecast is for more unsettled weather including at least 20-30 percent more cloudy days ahead.

The moneybag wind guy [the windbag money guy?] T. Boone Pickens might have a point with his 10-billion dollar wind farm ...

http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/48058/ ...On For Nanosolar, the future is municipal solar power plants posted 1 year, 7 months ago 10 Responses

IF . . .

earth f*cking, corporate bootlicking sellouts

That's an interesting phrase! Would it be appropriate then to call the corporations whose boots are licked "earth f*cking, corporate boots," EFCB?

Here's a question for the Fortune Brainstorm GREEN <;-) with their mix of EFCB corporations and the EFCB-sellout NGO types:

... if the catastrophic changes that are engulfing us could somehow be mitigated, slowed down or stopped [sic]... if a new world could be created [sic], as if by an act of divine intervention [sic] offering a sizable number of communities the luxury of a future, would those communities then allow the same old global EFCB corporations [and their EFCB-sellout NGOs] reiterate the same old algorithms that are about to checkmate humanity? On Fortune Brainstorm Green posted 1 year, 7 months ago 4 Responses

Latest on Biofuel

Chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell:

Biofuels will not solve the world's energy problem

Qatar's oil minister [answering a question on skyrocketing food prices]:

I don't think we should blame oil, we should blame biofuels.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/feedarticle?id=7474498
On With food riots raging, let's open the books on the finances of Big Ag posted 1 year, 7 months ago 21 Responses

Size of the pie

There are several new building coming up in my community, but only a few are green certified.  Builders and developers are not driven to create green certified buildings.

Adding salt sparingly to the mix, as it were, is always a good idea, of course, but the real problem is the size of the pie!

I may have posted the link to 'Story of Stuff' earlier, but it's well worth the repeat:

http://feww.wordpress.com/videos/
http://www.storyofstuff.com/ On A story in pictures posted 1 year, 7 months ago 11 Responses

Don't be surprised ...

"[Don't be surprised, though, if the auto industry experts suggested that all car rooftops should be silvered, and that it'd be a great service to the planet to buy more cars!]"

http://feww.wordpress.com/2007/10/15/only-zero-emissions- ...On Reflective paint and glaze can reduce the need for A/C in your car posted 1 year, 7 months ago 12 Responses

Disgraceful, isn't it?

4.5 billion airline passengers???!!!

(worldwide) That obviously isn't sustainable, and it will be a major cultural trauma ... My family took a train from Chicago to Virginia and back recently, a 24 hour ride ... 8 to 10 hours would be fairly reasonable

The last time I flew to Europe, it took me a total of about 23 hours [from NYC] to reach my destination. The actual flight duration was about 9 hours!

It really makes no sense to rob the proverbial [energy] Peter to pay Paul. The core of the problem is the unsustainable political economy, of which unsustainable movement of people and goods are key components. On Let's rebuild our national rail network instead of repealing the gas tax posted 1 year, 7 months ago 31 Responses

YES!

"It's a crime against humanity that food should be diverted to biofuels."

I second the motion!

---------
Unrelated -
some 12 or so intermediaries including
pagead2.googlesyndication.com
c7.zedo.com
afy11.com ?
...
...
are slowing down the Grist page uploads. Anyone else experiencing similar problems?
On Notable quotable posted 1 year, 7 months ago 6 Responses

A well-informed comment

Easterbunny, VWP!

Degradation of productive land is also caused by

Soil erosion, salination, deforestation, overexploitation for fuelwood, overgrazing, nutrient depletion, large scale agricultural activities, industrialization and desertification.

Loss of topsoil to levels below the critical level is a major cause of poor yields

Measuring an average of about 6.6 inches (16.76 centimeters) deep, topsoil is the upper layer of earth's crust. Topsoil comprises of a mix of humus, mineral and composted materials giving rise to most of the soil's biological activity and supplying nutrients to plants and therefore to animals. After air and water, topsoil is Earth's most vital resource.

http://edro.wordpress.com/2008/02/18/topsoil/On Are you spending more money on food? posted 1 year, 7 months ago 8 Responses

Imagine all the people living lifestyle

Imagine Earth's ecosystems thithering on the brink of disintegration because of too much human activity which necessitates huge energy consumption including energy of any color denominations such as "green"...

Imagine trying to go beyond the limits of growth ...

Imagine logic is a fallacy and fallacy is the "truth" ...

Imagine you are not imagining any of the above ...

http://msrb.wordpress.com/2008/04/04/index-of-human-impac ...On Notable quotable posted 1 year, 7 months ago 9 Responses

South of the border ...

It is miracle babies singing/praying in the womb! Elsewhere, the "Apparitions of the Blessed Holy Virgin Mary"
http://www.zeitun-eg.org/zeitoun1.htm

Apparently, the Pope beatifies you for seeing those ...

"The first apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary would be in 40 AD when she appeared to St James the Greater. St James had traveled to Spain to convert those he encountered and became discouraged. During this time, Mary the mother God appeared to him and presented him with a small wooden statue of herself and a column of Jasper wood. The city was Zaragoza, Aragon Spain. The Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar was built in Mary's honor as a result."

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Where_is_the_first_apparition_o ...On Skeptic stage dad to impressionable teen daughter: 'MOTIVATION!' posted 1 year, 7 months ago 31 Responses

It is 2^64 -1

dear caniscandida, the 2^64 = 18,446,744,073,709, 551,616 is a mathematical statement.

The total harvest size is a derivative of that statement. The total is actually 2^64 - 1 which is one short of the above, i.e., SUM T[64] or ∑i=0 and i=63, which is 18,446,744,073,709,551,615.

Ps. excel and similar spreadsheets have a 'round-off error' and approximate to 18,446,744,073,709,600,000 which is a fair approximation!
On Concentrated solar thermal power: a core climate solution posted 1 year, 7 months ago 16 Responses

The best technology

The best technology to protect the earth is commonsense. Well, for starters, AAR!

Pumping "green" energy into the exponential growth economy is tantamount to administering intravenous injections of organic growth hormones to treat a malignant brain tumor in a terminally ill cancer victim.

Lest anyone doubts that, here's a shortlist of  other problems that solar energy cannot solve:

    * Irreversible loss of natural and agricultural land, forests and wildlife
    * Permanent loss of woodland, savannah and costal areas
    * Dying oceans, lakes, rivers and other water bodies
    * Critical loss of topsoil
    * Increased urban and built up areas, deserts and wasteland
    * Wholesale species extinction
    * Collapsing fisheries
    * Drying wells and aquifers
    * Loss of crop genetic diversity
    * Decline in the ability of atmosphere to cleanse itself
    * wars and increased military spending
    * Growing consumerism, tourism, industrialism, commodification, money fetishism, child labor, slavery, human (sex) trafficking
    * Accumulation of toxic pollution in the environment
    * Growing poverty
    * Collapse of natural pest regulation systems
    * Deforestation and desertification
    * Global collapse of pollinators
    * Habitat destruction
    * Food and water crisis
    * Failing ecosystems
 

We died off because ...

Sickeningly Sad  amazingdrx

Is our future history already written?  We died off because humans couldn't "get the math" of exponential change?

"Yes!" That's the answer they gave me! For most of us, AAR, the future history is already written.

We died off not due to of our inability to "get the math" changed, but because, and I totally agree with most of what my blogger friends say, somewhere along the way we mutated into "energy dinosaurs."

Haven't yet managed starting up my own blog, but will visit yours http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
On One month's worth of data laughable as proof of global cooling posted 1 year, 7 months ago 13 Responses

Old news for some of us . . .

J-Romm wrote:

This leading NASA scientist was himself stunned by the "temperature derivative"

this is old news for some of us ...

http://feww.wordpress.com/2007/10/15/only-zero-emissions- ...

The best [and the only intelligent] course of action on global and national levels would be an immediate "powerdown" to the "safe" energy consumption levels of about 60EJ, while allocating most of the resources to creating low-energy communities that provide food, shelter, education and safety for as many people as possible.

Whichever way you spin it . . .

... and whatever color you paint it, you can't make an exponential growth economy sustainable!

In case anyone missed this:
http://msrb.wordpress.com/2008/04/11/whats-wrong-with-thi ...On Adam Werbach calls for a new movement of a billion consumers posted 1 year, 7 months ago 73 Responses

What's this "green job" you speak of?

Is the "Green Jobs for America" Campaign fatally flawed?
http://msrb.wordpress.com/2008/04/11/whats-wrong-with-thi ...On Do you want a green job? posted 1 year, 7 months ago 1 Response

key determinants

Tom, good work. And I just browsed through your earlier article the case for organic builds.

In addition to the problems you have highlighted,

... need loads of mined and fossil-fuel synthesized fertilizers, pesticides by the tons, patent-protected genetically modified seeds, heroic irrigation projects, gargantuan, petroleum-fueled "combine" machines, etc.

other problems are also plaguing industrial agriculture including soil degradation and loss of topsoil. Many of us believe that these two factors, together with drought, are among key determinants of when our civilization would ultimately collapse.  

http://edro.wordpress.com/2008/02/18/topsoil/
On Global food riots edition posted 1 year, 7 months ago 7 Responses

Hope it isn't for the lack of oxygen!

`Brown,' god forbid, `black,' or `yellow' are out, of course, for obvious reasons! Pink, or red? Nah! Purple and San Fran don't mix well either for psychedelic reasons. So that leaves err... the [Royal] blue!  

what's wrong with calling this by its real name? Permaculture and voluntary simplicity among other names come to mind ...

Care for something a tad more sophisticated like "Homo cosmo-ecologicus," which some friends have come up with?

http://edro.wordpress.com/the-economy/
 On Adam Werbach follows up 'Death of Environmentalism' with 'Birth of Blue' posted 1 year, 7 months ago 46 Responses

Corn for fuel, NOT for food

... the requirement for renewable fuels, such as ethanol and biogasoline, will grow from 9 billion gallons in 2008 to 36 billion gallons in 2022.

Looking at this from a different perspective, it's high time someone broke out the news about ethanol to the unreasonable people in Egypt, Tahiti, El Salvador ... who demand corn for food!

http://msrb.wordpress.com/2008/04/09/food-riots-grip-egyp ...
On Climate Security Act could be worse than the 2007 energy bill posted 1 year, 7 months ago 8 Responses

An ideal form of government . . .

What was it Voltaire said about democracy being an ideal form of government? On Massey wins W. Va. Supreme Court case; not doing so well in public relations posted 1 year, 7 months ago 8 Responses

An Alien Planet or Two?

Presumably, the "International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAAST)" has earmarked an alien planet or two for importing (teleporting) topsoil to earth!

Alternatively, they could opt for <sarcasm>harmless GM crops that grow on asphalt pavement!?</sarcasm>

http://edro.wordpress.com/topsoil/On 'IPCC for agriculture' has little teeth, but great timbre posted 1 year, 7 months ago 3 Responses

Same Root

War, racism . . .

global warming, global poverty, and ecosystem destruction

. . . share the same psychopathology!

http://rtsf.wordpress.com/2008/04/03/youre-not-white/On MLKJr.'s words about Vietnam apply to Iraq and the environment posted 1 year, 7 months ago 1 Response

Befor reading "The Olduvai Theory"

Read the criticism [and save time . . .]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olduvai_theoryOn Wow posted 1 year, 7 months ago 19 Responses

ff$%#@*&^!

Sounds like someone's batting for the nuke power, again! On File under: Sherlock, No sh*t posted 1 year, 7 months ago 3 Responses

standard of living in China

the standard of living in China has skyrocketed as it modernizes.  We should applaud the economic growth in formerly impoverished Asia.

How very true! The sacrifice is well worth the end result. The clean air, healthy soil and freshwater can always wait, as someone in the Wired Magazine once suggested, the Chinese should concentrate on making money first and fixing the environment later!

When the dust from previously fertile land in China reaches the US, However, you begin to wonder if the problem is much worse than . . .

A fourth of the country is now desert. More than three-fourths of its forests have disappeared. Each year, uncontrollable underground fires, sometimes triggered by lightning or mining accidents, consume 200 million tons of coal, contributing massively to global warming. A miasma of lead, mercury, sulfur dioxide, and other elements of coal-burning and car exhaust hovers over most Chinese cities.

Let's get serious . . .

Keep the polar bears where they belong; send the energy dinosaurs to the moon - better still to Mars!On New campaign plans to relocate polar bears to Antarctica posted 1 year, 8 months ago 27 Responses

Surely "The Hand of God"

Taken too far, the supernatural belief that God is on your side and that He (She?) shares your worldview leads to joyous events like highly-educated engineers flying jet planes into NYC skyscrapers full of innocent people.

http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/handofallah.php
On Young theologian discusses denomination's recent declaration posted 1 year, 8 months ago 18 Responses

Not a penny of leaves the country!

... sending all that money out of the country and the economy would be in much better shape.

About 20 percent of "that money" goes to buying arms [to keep the economy afloat], the other 80 percent goes to WS [to "run" the economy.]
 On Americans favor conservation and see economically sound opportunities in protection posted 1 year, 8 months ago 3 Responses

Know Exactly Where You Are Heading! [?]

Local and Global!

Without a complete change of direction in human activities, the economy and lifestyles ...

http://feww.wordpress.com/2008/03/28/giga-trends/
On Think globally by thinking locally posted 1 year, 8 months ago 6 Responses

Spare a penny for NEW economy

If Doc Hansen is reading the comments on this page, please spare a penny for a NEW economy.

The following excerpts are from colleagues' blogs:

There's a fundamental systemic problem. It's called exponential growth economy and it's degrading, polluting, tearing apart destroying and otherwise killing off everything in its domain. In the absence of a `radical' change to the economic system our world is rapidly falling apart.

Here's a sample of what we are up against concerning CO2e GHG in high altitude:

Worldwide Airport Traffic Summary [YE December 2007]
Passengers : 4,479,822,865 (Up 6.4% YoY)
Air Freight (Mt) : 80,342,643 (Up 2.5% YoY)
Aircraft Movements : 68,636,424 (Up 2.4% YoY)

http://edro.wordpress.com/2008/03/23/how-many-are-up-ther ...

Without a 'radically' different economy there's ZERO possibility of effecting any change even by 2050!

For some peculiar reason 2050 has become the magic buzzword, while the world's topsoil inventory is falling below the critical 6-inch level in about 4 years, at which time a sharp decline in production would decimate terrestrial food crops.    On NASA's Hansen responds to NYT's Revkin posted 1 year, 8 months ago 8 Responses

Everything thtat can go wrong . . .

When economics becomes a science and an economics professor becomes a "climate change reviewer," you know instinctively everything that can go wrong, will go wrong because they have good reasons to!

Sign Murray Darling Basin Petition
Link posted at:
http://feww.wordpress.com/2008/03/21/murray-darling-river ...On Australia's pivotal Garnaut climate report to back 100 percent permit auctions posted 1 year, 8 months ago 5 Responses

Killing coalminers for their own good (!)

Let them drink beer!

Jo Coors (before his death in 2003)?On Oh hell yes posted 1 year, 9 months ago 8 Responses

Water or Biofuel?

It takes 9,000 liters of water to produce one liter of biodiesel.

http://edro.wordpress.com/2008/02/05/drying-aquifers-sink ...On Can a 'renewable fuel' rely on mining a finite resource? posted 1 year, 9 months ago 19 Responses

Mining Sets Off Earthquake in Germany

An earthquake caused by coal mining shook the Saarland region of Germany on the French border Saturday.

http://feww.wordpress.com/2008/02/24/mining-sets-off-eart ...On A tragedy in Utah and everywhere else, too posted 1 year, 9 months ago 5 Responses

Enough biofuel to cook a planet?

It is possible to reduce by up to 80 percent all traveling and transport [and create cleaner, healthier, sustainable lifestyles,] at little or no cost to the standards of comfort and prosperity, with the minimum of intelligent planning. Even more saving could be achieved with large-scale policy transformations.  

So what's the problem?

Inordinate prevalence of psychopathology caused by exponential growth economy: money fetishism, industrialism, militarism, atomic lifestyles, consumerism, throwaway culture, dysfunctional societies ...

Before it's barely "warm"...

Before reaching those "extremes" of temperature, a whole shebang of collapse mechanisms will kick in!

http://edro.wordpress.com/collapsing-cities/On National Geographic's 'Six Degrees Could Change The World' posted 1 year, 9 months ago 3 Responses

any time the whole game is threatened...

Sen. Obama is a great candidate, and yes he does hit a chord with humans. Under ordinary circumstances, I'd have... The problem? His sponsors! What was it that Mike Ruppert said about the two Parties?

"It's just like the mafia, you can call the Democrats the Genoveses and the Republicans the Gambinos. They all treat it like it's one big craps game, and while they might shoot each other once in a while, any time the whole game is threatened they circle the wagons to protect it." -- Michael Ruppert in "America: Freedom to Fascism"

[When a friend quoted Ruppert on codepink forum she almost had her Achilles tendon ripped out by their rottweilers!]
On Dipdive posted 1 year, 10 months ago 19 Responses

Hunter-Russell syndrome?

For Hunter-Russell syndrome, aka Minamata disease, see links at:

http://feww.wordpress.com/2007/10/14/the-aquaculture/On Notable quotable posted 1 year, 10 months ago 1 Response

Mormon View

What's the prevailing Mormon view on family size?

1. No. of spouses (wives)
   
2. No. of children

Oh Mothers, Tell Your Children...

World's Most Powerful Nuclear Power Plant Under Construction at Olkiluoto, Finland
[2 years behind schedule; US$1billion over budget!]
On Nukes don't replace oil posted 1 year, 10 months ago 39 Responses

A Colleague wrote:

"When will the sum total of the new energy produced by google change from being 'additional'  on top of the existing production on the supply side to 'replacement' of the existing production on the demand side? In other words, how soon would google be able to make one or more of the existing coal-powered plants REDUNDANT with its 'clean' energy?"

"In a world awash with pollution and waste caused by the overproduction of energy and overconsumption, how much more energy can the planet handle? Perhaps the 'google twins' ought to pay a visit to Naples, Italy (by boat preferably) for a close encounter of the best kind!"

Naples: The Triangle of Death

Kill the World to Save the World!
On Google invests in solar thermal company eSolar posted 1 year, 10 months ago 17 Responses

Welcome to the "real" world LGT!

On Schwarzenegger: posted 1 year, 10 months ago 5 Responses

Flying Dinosaurs?

So far from being credible icons of extinction and failure, dinosaurs belonged to some of the most successful and long-lived lineages

Until they permanently overshot their carrying capacity, or failed to adapt ... among other possibilities.

By contrast, human beings pretty much appeared last week

Earth is evolving exponentially. Different times, different time scales!

Not only that, but birds are truly classified as advanced and diversified theropod dinosaurs, a true dinosaur lineage which did not die out at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary.  They are plainly an amazingly successful bunch of animals.

Call birds flying dinosaurs?

And therefore, it may be said that those who dine on chicken, or on their eggs, and then express contempt for dinosaurs, are adding insult to injury -- hardly befitting the conduct of a lady or a gentleman.

Is this an intelligent argument, or a launch pad for argumentum ad hominem?On Notable quotable posted 1 year, 10 months ago 21 Responses

Greensumption

Here's a must watch video before answering the questions: Greensumption
http://feww.wordpress.com/videos/On How are you greening your suburban life? posted 1 year, 10 months ago 16 Responses

To fly boldly where no aussie has...

"Australian scientists landed on an ice runway in Antarctica on Friday, officially opening a new air link between Australia and the white continent."

"An Airbus A319 became the first passenger aircraft to land on the four kilometre-long Wilkins Runway [500-meter thick glacial ice!]"

"It's a remarkable engineering feat these people have achieved," Australian Environment Minister Peter Garrett said of the new runway after landing in midnight sunshine at minus 16 degrees Celsius conditions.

"It's a logistical triumph and connects the last two continents to be linked by air," he added."

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=143& ...
On Antarctic shrinking much faster than expected posted 1 year, 10 months ago 6 Responses

Without a radical change in our system of economy?

Great! Brilliant! Fantastic!

However, without a radical change in our system of economy we haven't a snowball's chance on a globally warmed Earth!

Global warming is only one of the problems, the others being the failing ecosystems.

See:  The $500-a-barrel professors!
http://feww.wordpress.com/

and: Failing Ecosystems  http://edro.wordpress.com/failing-ecosystems/

also: Collapsing Cities
http://edro.wordpress.com/collapsing-cities/
On Eban Goodstein invites you to join in the largest climate teach-in ever posted 1 year, 10 months ago 36 Responses

Flap your wings to save the world

"2012 is the year of change in the Mayan calendar."

What coincidence! :)

According to at least two dynamic models the worst case scenario could unfold by as early as 2012, when...

http://edro.wordpress.com/butterfly-effect/

Future, in its fullest definition, is no longer an option, at least AFA humanity is concerned. At the current rate and mix of events, future is an ever-shrinking apparition of what "future" could have been!

CO2PPM

Here's a short, but interesting discussion about the CO2 concentration in  the atmosphere. In December 2006, my colleague briefly commented on "The Stern report, Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change"
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naspir/message/2379

The biographer of Noam Chomsky, of all people (!), replied:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naspir/message/2380
And...
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naspir/message/2381
On What is the safe upper limit for atmospheric CO2? posted 1 year, 11 months ago 24 Responses

No surprise even...

Hi Andrew

Don't be discouraged, if it turned out that a few of the experts actually had some credentials because...

[quote]
Ed Crane of Cato Institute wrote, "The history of mankind is a history of the subjugation and exploitation of a great majority of people by an elite few by what has been appropriately termed the `ruling class'. The ruling class has many manifestations. It can take the form of a religious orthodoxy, a monarchy, a dictatorship of the proletariat, outright fascism, or, in the case of the United States, corporate statism. In each instance the ruling class [more precisely, the cabal] relies on academics, scholars and `experts' to legitimize and provide moral authority for its hegemony over the masses."
[unquote]

Source:
http://msrb.wordpress.com/2007/10/13/the-death-of-homo-sa ...
http://msrb.wordpress.com/2007/10/22/domination-by-disinf ...
On Today: Thomas Ring posted 1 year, 11 months ago 66 Responses