A Few Things Ill Considered

A layman's take on the science of Global Warming featuring a guide on How to Talk to a Climate Sceptic.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

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Illconsidered on Science Blogs

Just a quick update to my farewell post to note that the new RSS feed is working now and A Few Things Ill Considered is properly integrated in the Science Blogs site.

I have a few posts up already, nothing too substantial yet, and the first installment of "A Week of Global Warming News" from HET is in place.

See you all over there!

Labels:

posted by coby @ 9/27/2007 02:46:00 PM  

5 Comments:

  • At November 17, 2007 10:53 PM, Blogger TonyGuitar said…

    Is global warming an Exxon diversion?

    Debate is a diversion. Exxon,Chevron et all, love it.

    Time for practical clean-up actions. News tip…

    Canadian government refuses to grant domestic sales licenses to both Zenn [Quebec] and Dynasty [B.C.] EV manufacturers.

    The Zenn vehicle is an award winner in other countries.

    CBC video news clip.. [Mansbridge]

    http:TonyGuitar.blogspot.com

    ======================

    Bio-fuels have some merit …

    Canada has two stations serving more than one grade of bio fuel…[Whoop-de-do].[/sarc]

    A UN approved campaign to retro-fit thousands of coal-gen plants with various clean technology would make vastly more improvement.

    North America is 96% dependent on one single vehicle fuel .. OIL. [Brazil =75% Bio-fuel.] [Which is the banana republic now?]

    A swing to battery, compressed air and clean coal-gen would really reduce pollution. [Paris taxis and Tata motors India= cars on compressed air.]

    …would lower the value of oil.

    …would lower tensions in the M.E.

    …would reduce health hazard smog in cities.

    …would lead to a kiosk road tax collection system

    …would enrage Exxon, Chevron and GM, backers of both Dems and Reps; Libs and Conservatives, not to mention the wrath of Alberta and Texas.

    …would lead to unemployment and tax losses during transition.

    …would be the correct an honorable thing to do. = TG

    PS No intention to be annoying, yet it*s possible, so here instead of on your new site.

     

  • At December 31, 2007 12:11 PM, Blogger Friendly Ghost said…

    My fellow Indians & fellow world-citizens,


    In the closing hours of 2007, I wish you a very Happy New Year. I sincerely pray that all of us find contentment and fulfilment in life… but there is a great deal of rethinking as to the nature of that contentment and fulfillment.

    1) Let me tell you up front that I'm actively praying, in thought and action, that all our earnings and expenditures go into decline mode... and let mine be foremost in leading this trend. I do not wish PROSPERITY on any of us. Contentment, yes, but not prosperity, not richness... because each person's richness beggars hundreds of creatures, unknown to him.

    2) I wish and pray that in the year to come, we shall learn to cease the endless quest of fulfilment through ever-higher incomes and conspicuous consumption, competition with our neighbours, colleagues etc. On a personal level and other levels -- social, professional, industry, national and global -- we shall seek NOT TO OUTDO each other, and also not to outdo our own past economic performances. Let us get off this treadmill for three reasons: (i) It is poisoning our planet to death, and causing a wave of mass extinction (ii) It is personally meaningless, unfulfilling, unrewarding and deeply immoral (iii) Another quest patiently awaits us: an infinitely more fulfilling inward-leading quest, an ancient, ageless quest of Magellanic dimensions.

    3) I pray that our economic growth ceases and indeed, declines. I pray that this happens irrespective of what the citizens or governments of USA, Pakistan or other countries do or think with their economies. I hope that this happens with a minimum of suffering all around... but as suffering is an inevitable part of this scenario of necessary decline, I pray that my family and I are among the foremost and not the hindmost in swallowing this bitter pill and smiling through our tears.

    4) At some level, I find myself hoping that our NEEDS, principally food and security, are met. However, there is a problem here: while need for food can be met rather cheaply, there is no end to our need for 'security'; it is a bottomless pit. My current savings, insurance, retirement annuities etc, may be sufficient to ensure that if I stop earning with immediate effect, my family has enough to get by for another decade or so until one of my two children to start earning a living to support our family. This is far more security than any animal would enjoy, more than EVEN ONE of my millions of ancestors may have ever enjoyed. So let my family, and yours, learn to be content with far lower levels of security; this I pray.

    5) The nature of our economy and our civilization keeps us all on a perpetually moving treadmill. If we stop, we do so at risk of severe injury! Yet, in order to stop this infernal device that is poisonous to our planet, we must earnestly believe that there is indeed a life outside this treadmill. I pray for faith that is as monumental and more unshakeable than this infernal machine.

    6) A word of caution: mere charity and altruism is not enough. Our love of the world must go beyond charity and philanthropy; it must manifest as something infinitely more meaningful than mere 'purse seva'. Our economies EXPLOIT our altruism as another need, and this includes our concern for a world ravaged by global warming. We are often given the impression that by some acts of charity or philanthropy, we can 'support' the greening of our planet. We are offered the comfort of thinking that if we are prepared to 'pay a tax for our sins' – such as a carbon tax, buying carbon credits, or paying to plant trees to 'offset' our carbon footprint -- we can continue to consume more, produce more, pursue economic growth etc. At the heart of such claims, one discerns a deep-seated cynicism and the same devices that make our economies perpetually grow. These charities and these economic devices milk us as surely as corporates manufacturing various goodies; in the end, they lull us to sleep, motivate us to grow some more, and consume the earth some more.

    7) Please, I beg you, do not allow your conscience to be lulled back to sleep. Please refuse the comfort of a bed that is lined with the corpses of your fellow creatures on earth and your own descendents, both unborn and already born. Please refuse the blood-tainted pleasures of consumerism and the opium of economic-growthism. In 2008, please awaken fully and stay alert. Please be aware, and step from awareness into action.

    8) What lies ahead in 2008 and the years afterwards is a steep, stony, mountain. It is not pleasant, it is not pretty, it is not fun by any stretch of imagination. But I beg you, my fellow Indians, my fellow citizens of this tiny planet… please accept this bitter pill with grace.

    9) In 2008, please do the right thing by voluntarily accepting lower standards of living, cutting up your credit cards, paying up your consumer loans and refusing to all inducements to take loans. Please buy less, spend less, and despite all discomforts, use public transport instead of your private cars.

    Please be visibly more frugal, austere, simple... and motivate others to the same. Please love others enough to refuse to compete with them. The time has come to stop being career-minded, business-minded, commercial-minded, consumer-minded. It is time to give back to this world without expectations. It is time to let go of the collective stranglehold that we have on this planet.



    My friends, let us spend more time rediscovering the pleasures of just being with our friends, families, dogs, cats, plants, trees. Hug and kiss them more, serve them with greater humility. Be more loving and caring to strangers and casual acquaintances. And yes, let us learn to lavish on our own inner selves the love and attention that we have hitherto been giving our material possessions, our bank accounts and our portfolio of stocks. Please disinvest in the what is gross, and invest in your sublime self.

    Please understand the spirit in which I offer these somewhat bitter-sounding greetings, and accept them in good grace.

    With all my love
    Krish
    http://friendlyghost.rediffiland.com
    http://globalwarming.rediffiland.com

     

  • At May 13, 2008 5:01 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I love this blog, thanks for sharing.

     

  • At May 16, 2008 10:15 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    This blog has been indexed by http://www.therankdirectory.com

    Thank you.

     

  • At May 22, 2008 11:24 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    thanks just for being.

     

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