Links
Miscellaneous
- The Barely Hidden Flaws in Jordan Peterson’s Scholarship, by Emily Pothast, Medium—Culture
"Peterson’s philosophy, while it may inspire motivation at the individual level, is a deadly engine of status quo maintenance and self-justification at the cultural level. It is an ideology that denies it is ideology, hissing insults and flinging lawsuits at those who challenge its god-like powers of complacency."
Collapse
- The end of industrial civilization, by Nils, Small Precautions
- In Defence of Inaction, by Dave Pollard, guest post on Damn the Matrix
- NASA Study Concludes When Civilization Will End, And It's Not Looking Good for Us, by Tom MacKay, Mic.com
- , by Nafeez Ahmed, The Guardian
- , by John Beddington CMG FRS, Government Office for Science (in the UK)
"It is predicted that by 2030 the world will need to produce around 50 per cent more food and energy, together with 30 per cent more fresh water, whilst mitigating and adapting to climate change. This threatens to create a ‘perfect storm’ of global events (Figure 7). The key questions for policy makers and scientists are these:- Can 9 billion people be fed equitably, healthily and sustainably?
- Can we cope with the future demands on water?
- Can we provide enough energy to supply the growing population coming out of poverty?
- Can we do all this whilst mitigating and adapting to climate change?"
Responding to Collapse,
- A Palliative Approach to the End of the World, by Eric Demore, Medium—Human Parts
- C5’s Incredibly Boring Food Storage, by C5, Dark Green Mountain Survival Research Centre
Boring, maybe. Practical, very. - C5 Gets His Final Apocalyptic Wood- P-II and 2/3, by C5, Dark Green Mountain Survival Research Centre
- C5 Says, If I Cant Dance, I Don’t Want To Be Part Of Your Apocalypse, by C5, Dark Green Mountain Survival Research Centre
- C5 Says, If You Don’t Like Bicycles, Just Try Walking To Town- Part I, by C5, Dark Green Mountain Survival Research Centre
Peak Oil
- The true feasibility of moving away from fossil fuels, by Gail Tverberg, OLur Finite World
- Oil Prices Rise as U.S. Allows Iran Waivers to Expire, by Nick Cunningham, The Fuse
- The biggest Saudi oil field is fading faster than anyone guessed, by Javier Blas, Bloomberg, MSN
Climate Change
- PBO: Most Canadians To Get More From Rebate Than They Pay In Carbon Tax, byMia Rabson, Canadian Press, Huffington Post
- Climate change deniers are increasingly angry and hostile, by Michael Barnard, Medium
"Cognitive dissonance at being forced off of position after position is leading to anger " - Why desperation could be the key to tackling climate change, by Cam Fenton, Open Democracy
Extinction Rebellion, student strikes and the Green New Deal show that desperation is starting to define climate politics. This could be a game changer. - We Can Limit Human-Induced Global Warming to 1.5℃, but It Will Be Painful, by Keith Shine, The Wire
"The report is sensitive to the fact that changes required to meet 1.5℃ must be consistent with the UN’s wider sustainable development goals. Limiting climate change will help meet goals associated with health, clean energy, cities and oceans. But there are potential negative impacts on others (poverty, hunger, water, energy access) “if not carefully managed."
And that's about the most you're going to find anywhere in the climate change discussion about the consequences of doing something about climate change. I would say we really need to face up to how very painful it is going to be, that the idea that we can maintain and even increase prosperity while solving climate change is bizarre. But realizing at the same time that if we do nothing, it will be even worse.
Hazard and Risk
- How Marketers Use Fear Of Chemicals For Profit: 3 Easy Steps, by Alison Bernstein and Kavin Senapathy, Forbes
- Risk Assessment Methodologies Part 1: Understanding de minimis risk, by A Chemist in Langley
- Risk Assessment Methodologies Part 2: Understanding “Acceptable Risk”, by A Chemist in Langley
- Risk Assessment Methodologies Part 3: the Risk Assessment Process, by A Chemist in Langley
- Risk Assessment Epilogue: Have a bad case of Anecdotes? Better call an Epidemiologist, by A Chemist in Langley
Agriculture
Before jumping to the erroneous conclusion that this section was paid for by Monsanto, stop for a moment and understand that organic agriculture/food is a multi-billion dollar per year industry that relies on fear to get people to buy its product. Millions of dollars are being spent to convince you that non-organic food is dangerous. In fact both conventionally grown and organic foods are equally safe. Sadly neither method of agriculture is even remotely substainable.
- Mythbusting 101: Organic Farming > Conventional Agriculture, by Christie Wilcox, Scientific American
- Farming First: A Recipe to Feed a Crowded World, by Timothy A. Wise, Medium—Heated
- On Green Dread and Agricultural Technology, by Andrew C. Revkin ,The New York Times
- Farm Babe: Hey Natalie Portman, here’s why your term ‘factory farm’ is so offensive, by Michelle Miller, Farm Babe, AGDaily
- Farm Babe: Liquor store stands with farmers while refusing to stock ‘non-GMO’ Smirnoff vodka, by Michelle Miller, Farm Babe, AG Daily,
Practical Skills
- Net Making, by Johnny Debt, YouTube
- Net Making—another way to tie the knots, by Gunner17722, YouTube
Debunking Resources
These are of such importance that I've decide to leave them here on an ongoing basis.
- Debunking, Wikipedia
- Pseudoscience, Wikipedia
- List of topics characterized as pseudoscience, Wikipedia
- Rational Wiki
- Science Based Medecine
- Quackwatch
- Snopes, debunks or validates urban legends
- Bad Astronomy
- The Skeptics Society
Science Based Medicine
- The Scientific Truth About Toxins, by Kate Morgan, Medium Elemental
"Your body doesn’t need as much help removing them as you might think" - Fish And Chips Aren’t Giving You The Flu, by Gid M-K; Health Nerd, Medium
Lacking an Owner's Manual
The human body/mind/spirit doesn't come with an owner's manual, and we continually struggle to figure out how best to operate them.
- How Inuit Parents Teach Kids To Control Their Anger, by Michaeleen Doucleff and Jane Greenhalgh, NPR
- Stop Telling People They Need to Wake Up Earlier, by Birttany C., Medium—Self
Gender and Sexuality
- Why the church’s teachings on same-sex relationships are profoundly flawed, by Charles Fensham, Open Democracy
"On what basis do Christians believe they have a right to do things that harm others to the point of suicide?"
There is No God, and Thou Shall Have No Other Gods
I don't think I've made any secret of the fact that I am an atheist, but I may not have made it clear that I think any sort of worship is a bad thing and that believing in things is to be avoided whenever possible. Indeed, I do not believe in belief itself. That's what the "Thou shall have no other gods" is about—it's not enough to quit believing in whatever God or Gods you were raised to believe in, but also we must avoid other gods, including material wealth, power and fame.
- On Losing My Religion, by Rebekah Hayden, Medium—Spirituality
- Is God Really That Shallow?, by Donald Unger, Medium—Religion
- It’s Time to Start Calling Evangelicals What They Are: The American Taliban, by J. C. Weatherby, Church and State
Refugees and Migration
Puerto Rico, Venezuela
- Living Off the Grid and Safe From Hurricanes in Puerto Rico, by,
"In this jungle community, self-sustaining homes are built from trash and can withstand the deadliest storms."
Poverty, Homeless People, Minimum Wage, UBI, Health Care, Housing
- One in 200 people now homeless in Britain as crisis deepens, by Matthew Robinson, CNN
- Homeless activists outside Notre Dame demand ‘a roof too’, Associated Press
Autonomous Vehicles and Artificial Intelligence
- The Tesla bombshell almost nobody is talking about, by Hans van de Bruggen, Medium—Self Driving Cars
Strikes me as extremely improbable.
Humour
- Who’s Going to Tell Trump?, by Calvin Trillin, The Nation
- Conspiracy-Theory Conspiracy Theories, by John Klossner, The New Yorker
- Controversial uncle speaks at Easter dinner, by Alex Huntley, The Beaverton
Books
Fiction
- Red Bones, by Ann Cleeves
Book 3 in the Shetland mystery series - Blue Lightning, by Ann Cleeves
Book 4 in the Shetland mystery series - Thin Air, by Richard Morgan
Morgan's new science fiction novel, the first one in a long time, set inthe same universe as Black Man. - Join, by Steve Toutonghi
Non-Fiction
- Team Human, by Douglas Rushkoff
I very much on side with what Rushkoff is suggesting in this book, but I am afraid he uses a lot of outright woo to support it. A pity, since his position can easily be supported without any woo at all. I suspect this is a case of virtue signaling—saying certain things because your audience expects to hear them. - The Mismeasure of Man, by Stephen Jay Gould
I almost didn't read this book, based on what Murray and Herrenstein had to say about it in the Bell Curve. But like so much of what is in the Bell Curve, their comments on The Mismeasure of Man were just plain wrong. Gould's book was definitely worth reading.
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