March 9th-10th 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of Operation Meetinghouse. A U.S. air raid in which the densely populated city of Tokyo was firebombed and around 100,000 people, the vast majority of them civilians, died extremely painful deaths similar to the ones of this young mother and her small child, both of whom might still be alive today if not for humanities failure to avoid this conflict via diplomacy guided and backed by a free press and freethinking citizens.
Category: News
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Trans-Pacific Partnership
Here’s why I’m standing up for better trade:
Because I do not want to see trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership passed with investor-state dispute settlement provisions which allow foreign corporations to sue signatory nations in international tribunals over the current and future health and environmental protection laws and regulations of these nations if they are deemed harmful to business. In other words I do not support trade agreements which put the financial interests of corporations before the health interests of people and the planet.
Moreover I do not want to see any trade agreements passed which haven’t been made fully transparent to not only the small group comprised mainly of multinational corporations who are participating in the drafting of this important agreement, but also to the public at large. Therefore I have voiced my opinion to my representative in Congress to deny the President his request for the authority to fast-track this agreement as it must be thoroughly discussed and debated in Congress before being put to a vote. This is why I’m standing up for better trade.
Tell the White House why you’re standing up for better trade.
Read more about the Trans-Pacific Partnership at the Sierra Club website.
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Three disturbing things I recently heard:
The first was in a podcast regarding offshore drilling near a mans home. He said it didn’t bother him and “I don’t think the government is in control of the environment, I think god is.”. In other words why bother regulating things that will have negative environmental impacts when in the end it’s the big man up in heaven that decides the fate of this planet.
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Nuclear Disarmament: Hypocrisy and Solutions
Besides the imminent threat of climate change and humanities lack of will to adequately address it, the reason why the Doomsday Clock has been moved forward in 2015 and the reason why it has stayed just minutes before midnight since its inception is because of the threat posed to humanity by nuclear weapons. (more…)
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2015 State of the Union Address
Regardless of whether you politically identify yourself as red, blue, green, or like myself as independent and aligned with principles rather than political parties, if you support action to address climate change and the deterioration of the biosphere in general then please contact your government representatives and let them know you want to see progress and positive results in addressing these important issues; and not politics as usual which often seems like a never-ending cycle of one politician or political party trying to make another look bad in preparation for the next election. Regardless of who you voted for in the last election and who you intend to vote for in the next one please don’t let entrenched positions and partisan blindness prevent you from taking a few steps back and getting a broader and clearer view of where we stand as a civilization and realizing what we need to be doing as a species starting with each of us as individuals.
White House U.S. Senate U.S. House of Representatives U.S. Governors
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Voice Your Opposition to the Keystone XL Oil Pipeline.
If you don’t want to see the US and the rest of the world go further down the dirty dead end road of extracting and burning fossil fuels, especially those refined from tar sands oil which is even more polluting and even harder to clean up than conventional oil, then voice your opposition to this pipeline. By opposing the construction of this pipeline we make it more likely that this sludge stays in the ground and show the world that the US and its citizens are serious about climate change and protecting the biosphere.
Your Senators Contact Information (call or email it only takes a minute and means a lot)
For more information about this pipeline check out the National Resource Defense Council’s website where you’ll find a concise 5 point article and a 3 minute video.
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One Tip for Better Blood Sugar Control: Stop Drinking Alcohol.
I’ve never had alcohol so I can’t share any personal experience but I can recommend a link: New Scientist: Our liver vacation: Is a dry January really worth it?
How an adult could have never consumed alcohol” You might be thinking if it’s true they must have grown up in some cult or on some alcohol-free compound. Well I can assure you that it is true and that I didn’t grow up in a cult or on a compound. Rather by observing others who drank alcohol I noticed they became dumb, clumsy, and often puked. Therefore as a person who has always wanted to be smart, agile, and doesn’t like puking I simply avoided alcohol all my life and intend to continue doing so. I’m all for people being free to do what they want to themselves provided they don’t burden society and/or the environment with the consequences however I still hope you take good care of yourself because you’ve only got one body and one life so it’s best to make the most of them.
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Pricing Carbon
Today I received an email from the White House regarding the 2015 State of the Union address asking me what I’d like to see accomplished during the Obama administration’s final 2 years in office. I encourage any US citizens reading this to visit the link for themselves, select an issue, and perhaps provide them with some suggestions. Here’s what I sent. Maybe it’ll give you some ideas, maybe you’ll resend it in support to make sure it gets read, or maybe you’ll improve upon it and send it as your own which you are more than welcome to do with anything on this site.
With elections out of the way, the economy on solid footing, and gas prices the lowest they’ve been in a long time I hope the Obama administration, as well as all other administrations and global citizens, will do much more over the next 2 years to address climate change, environmental degradation, and the daily loss of precious biodiversity starting with how he presents these interlinked issues in the 2015 State of the Union address. Addressing climate change, safeguarding the biosphere, and preserving biodiversity are challenges that must unite us as a nation and as a global community of nations.
In his speech I hope that the President helps people in the US and around the world better understand the current and potential consequences of a slight but rapid rise in the earth’s temperature and mentions that regardless of how much humans are responsible for the undeniable rise in global temperatures releasing more greenhouse gas into the atmosphere, whether it be from consuming energy or eating meat, will only make matters worse and not just for future generations but for us and especially for our children and grandchildren. So lets start doing things that help ensure humanity stays safe and stop doing things which set it up to be sorry like denying climate change is even an issue and obstructing the legislation needed to combat it.
Speaking of legislation one suggestion I’d like to voice my support for is, as part of a broader carbon tax scheme, setting base prices for fossil fuels, e.g., a gallon of gas. This will allow us to take advantage low oil and natural gas prices to raise revenue to address the health and environmental issues related to the extraction, transportation, and burning of fossil fuels while helping incentivize consumers to conserve and companies to innovate. Where to set the price and what to do with the revenue needs to be debated, however regardless of whether it’s used to invest in clean energy, public transportation, or refunded evenly on a per capita basis the important thing is to disincentivize the burning of fossil fuels.
The power the US has by way of it’s positive example is far greater than any power wielded by it’s military might so I hope in this century, despite the poor start, the US will fully utilize this power for its own good and the good of the world. The US implementing a bold carbon tax scheme is what the world needs right now especially as other nations prepare their own environmental commitments ahead of the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference whose outcome will in large part determine what kind of a planet we’ll be leaving to future generations so lets set a good example.
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To Climate Change Skeptics
Even if climate change wasn’t the critical issue it is wouldn’t it still be nice to shift to clean and renewable forms of energy and not have to deal with all the negative health and environmental implications, e.g., oil spills, air pollution, premature death, et cetera, associated with extracting, transporting, and burning fossil fuels sooner rather than later?
Please be a cautious freethinker and not a reckless contrarian especially when so much is at stake. I thank you for your attention and applaud you for your ability to change positions on this extremely important issue or to at least take precautions which help make humanity safe as opposed to continuing to do things which set it up to be sorry.
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Fuel Prices
Despite all the talk about “cheap” gas burning fossil fuels is as costly as ever. If anyone’s really looking to save money on gas they should consider car pooling, taking public transportation, riding a bike, or perhaps simply walking. Regardless please take the true costs of things into consideration before deciding whether or not to make a purchase. Thanks for living like you care.
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Two Phrases That Need Replacing
Languages belong to the people who speak them and since I’m typing this and you’re reading it that means us. Therefore rather than accepting the way things are said we should ask ourselves if there’s a better way to say them and if there is we should start using it. Here are two phrases that I think are harmful to society and would love to see fade from the English language. Preferably by way of world peace which would make them irrelevant but until then lets use different phrases.
“Killing his own people”
First off are they really his own people? Do people belong to unelected dictators, elected politicians, or anyone for that matter? Second why imply that it’s worse to kill people that are of the same or similar race and ethnicity or of the same nationality than it is to kill someone that is of a different race, ethnicity, or nationality? Instead of talking about dictators or governments that “kill their own people” I suggest we use phrases like “killing innocent people” or “killing civilians” instead.
“Boots on the ground”
First “collateral damage” as a euphemism for innocent victims of what is oftentimes criminally negligent manslaughter and now this. Military euphemisms are dangerous because they make war seem less repulsive than it really is therefore we should all oppose their use. Therefore I suggest we replace this term with “troops on the ground” or even “sons and daughters on the ground” in order to show what’s really at stake because boots can be replaced, people can’t.