The Parable of the Ozone

Once upon a time researchers discovered a thinning of the ozone layer, especially in certain geographic areas and a link to chloroflourocarbons, most particularly a refrigerant named Freon(tm). While there were calls to do something, there was also much FUD, obstruction, obfuscation and deflection from both hired gun "scientists" and buffoons like the Limboid Gasbag. All the same, the political classes and other chatterers expressed grave concerns, and a determination that something should perhaps be done if and when we were able to be absolutely 101% certain of all of the science involved. Needless to say, nothing actually happened and said politicians most especially did nothing meaningful.

In the fullness of time, Dupont and other worthies developed a replacement refrigerant and propellent that did materially less harm to said ozone less rapidly. They forthwith claimed the mantle of heroes and left their shills, paid and unpaid, hanging out to dry by asserting that YES, the ozone hole was a thing, and YES, it was getting worse, and YES, Freon was part of the problem and most especially YES, they had a new replacement product that would solve everything. NOW, said the politicians, NOW, our owners and allies have a piece of the action, and hence NOW we can act and even act quasi forcefully and rapidly, for politicians, that is.

So, consider who, if anybody, has a piece of the action and you will always know which way the wind blows:

use of actual herbs and other vegetable matter v patented extracts

Things to ameliorate the climate emergency v business as usual

Universal Healthcare for US citizens. v big med, insurance and big pharma

Harmless metabolics, vitamins and such plus a healthy diet as preventatives and at least accessory treatments for a range of disorders and diseases v junk food plus packaged processed food, and supplemented by pharma

Research into damn near anything that isn't a weapon

Green New Deal

EFCA (is that even still an idea?)

Biden

You get the idea.

CAVEAT - not intended as investment advice

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Global Temperature in 2020

The six warmest years in the GISS record are the past six years, 2015-2020

About that 1.5C “Target”:

The 2020 global temperature was +1.3°C (~2.3°F) warmer than in the 1880-1920 base period; global temperature in that base period is a reasonable estimate of ‘pre-industrial’ temperature.

Growth rates of the greenhouse gases driving global warming are increasing, not declining.

Massive COVID related declines in our global CO2 output in 2020 notwithstanding, 2020 and 2016 were the two warmest years recorded. Can our predicament be any clearer? Can governmental inaction be more blatant?

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Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men for the nastiest of motives will somehow work for the benefit of all."
- John Maynard Keynes

janis b's picture

@ovals49

What a lot of potential and opportunity we’ve lost from the violation of the environment and humanity. What a thin layer of sustenance we have left.

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enhydra lutris's picture

@janis b

in much, if at all, so it's up to everybody else

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

enhydra lutris's picture

@ovals49

more money to be made destroying the world than fixing it.

be well and have a good one

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5 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

lotlizard's picture

it seems that, some years ago, there was a fork in the road when they (1) could have believed what some predictions were telling them and gone in a more Earth First! or Extinction Rebellion direction, or (2) could instead choose to become an appendage of the Democratic party, the “Church of Woke,” and the NGO-industrial complex.

They chose the latter.

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enhydra lutris's picture

@lotlizard

mostly something of an affiliate of the Dems who play nice and write letters and petitions. Definitely should've gone XR and didn't, which sux given that they were founded just across the Bay.

be well and have a good one

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3 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

lotlizard's picture

https://taz.de/Kinder-fragen-die-taz-antwortet/%215741512/

This is supposed to be an explanation for kids about how on earth Trump could ever have been elected president in 2016—in the taz daily newspaper, originally founded in 1978 as a Green/alternative-Left grassroots project. I belong to the now 18,000-member-strong co-op that owns and publishes it.

Nowadays, on many issues, it has a distinct American CIA-Atlanticist, mainstream-media slant. This article is a prime example.

At the beginning of November, we wanted to know from children what questions they are currently dealing with. Here we answer one every week. Marlen, 8, and Kilian, 11, wanted to know how Donald Trump was ever elected President of the United States.

Even today, many adults do not have a good answer to the question. Or better: not a clear one. Most likely, one can agree that there were several reasons for the election of Trump in November 2016.

A lot of the election campaign was already happening on the Internet back then—and that's where the Russians got involved, assuming that they would have an easier game with someone like Trump who had no political experience. Russian programmers wrote programs that pretended to be Americans on Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube and found Trump's messages good. That made the approval for him look bigger.

In addition, a lot of fictional messages in support of Trump's messages were circulated online. American investigators later also accused Russian intelligence agents of stealing emails from Trump's opponent Hillary Clinton and her party during the election campaign that did not make Clinton look good.

The rest of the article does go on to explain some of the reasons Hillary was unpopular and many people in bad economic straits didn’t support her. But leading with the Russiagate lie is, to me, really unforgivable for what purports to be a Green-left alternative voice. $100,000 worth of Facebook ads = “Russian programmers wrote programs”? I find it really disgusting.

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@lotlizard
Human “success”, particularly through the Industrial Age, seems strangely out of kilter with the larger web of life, as if we can simply do as we please without regard to the well being of the whole. Everything we see or find is taken as if it is meant for our benefit or pleasure. We know no restraint in our consumption and have enough intelligence to be very good at what we do, but very little understanding of the consequences of our selfish and rapacious appetites. As Bill Hicks declared:

“I'm tired of this back-slappin' "isn't humanity neat" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes.”

I asked the Magic Eight Ball:
Are we smart enough to adapt to the changes our endless orgy of consumption has created? Yes.
Are we smart enough to recognize the need to change our ways? My reply is no.
Are we smart enough to embrace a sustainable lifestyle? Ask again later.
Are we smart enough to abandon our profit driven economic policy? Ask again later.
Are we smart enough to recognize that smart is not enough? Concentrate and ask again.

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8 users have voted.

Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men for the nastiest of motives will somehow work for the benefit of all."
- John Maynard Keynes

enhydra lutris's picture

@ovals49

Except for the pool room connection you could go with an icosahedronal die, 'cause that's how it's made. A free floating icosahedron in a fluid of some sort, the standard sides are:

● It is certain.
● It is decidedly so.
● Without a doubt.
● Yes – definitely.
● You may rely on it.

● As I see it, yes.
● Most likely.
● Outlook good.
● Yes.
● Signs point to yes.

● Reply hazy, try again.
● Ask again later.
● Better not tell you now.
● Cannot predict now.
● Concentrate and ask again.

● Don't count on it.
● My reply is no.
● My sources say no.
● Outlook not so good.
● Very doubtful.

You could assign them sequential numbers and roll a gamer's die, but that would take the Magic out of it. OTOH, if you did that, you could change a few of them. I just opened my terminal and did a "rand -M 20" and got 3, which would be "without a doubt". Beats coin flipping for sure.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

enhydra lutris's picture

@lotlizard

American Investigators accused and not the more hardcore lies as to factuality that the US press spewed and still spews.

be well and have a good one

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3 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

The Liberal Moonbat's picture

@lotlizard Do NOT call yourself/what you mean to say is supposed to represent you "alt-Left".

We are REAL Left - are we not?

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In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

lotlizard's picture

@The Liberal Moonbat  
of alternative / undogmatische Linke there.

Although correct in a German historical context — for example, the Greens in Hamburg for years ran as the Green-Alternative List — it’s (1) misleading when carried over without explanation into an American context and (2) dated now.

It made sense in the 1970s and 1980s. The German grassroots, “new” Left needed to present itself as the undogmatic alternative to the old, “dogmatic” Left represented by apologists for the Soviet and East German systems — known as der real existierende Sozialismus, “the socialism existing in reality,” in contrast to supposedly airy-fairy idealist notions of socialism lacking sound theoretical Marxist-Leninist underpinnings (cough) . . . .

Nowadays the word “alternative” could be confused with either the AfD or Alternative for Germany, the German right-wing populist party, or the disparaging use of the terms “alt-Right“ and “alt-Left” in American politics?

Oh, just call it the Ctrl-Alt-Delete Left then, if whatcha wanna do is reboot the whole system.

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enhydra lutris's picture

@lotlizard

Those kinds of disasters, or actually, the recoveries, are real "come-to-Jesus" moments.

So, boss, do we really need these last 3 fields?

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --