Repeating History

    I just read the article below during the morning coffee.

http://theweek.com/article/index/259041/to-understand-our-climate-future-look-to-the-past

    What struck me is how hard it is for the human race to learn from past mistakes. The human race has a propensity to repeating the same actions and expecting different results.  The past is littered with examples of this, which leads to the common observation that history repeats itself. If you don't believe me, crack open a history book.

    I discussed this during seminars for the Climate Reality Project. I have dissected the topic with environmentalists in my circles. I have had spirited debate about this in class and one on one with my  college professor. Why does it seem that humankind fails to learn from the past and try not to repeat past mistakes? Why is it so hard for us to look at how much of an impact we have had on the world around us and make a concerted effort to change? In the case of the climate, why are so many reluctant to curb our CO2 emissions that are slowly changing the very atmosphere that supports all life as we know it?

    55 million years ago, carbon dioxide and temperatures levels were much higher. Research strongly suggests that the two are related.  Earth was a much different place then, one that would have been tough for us to live in like we do today. Higher temperatures meant higher sea levels, exponential increases in pollen and airborne particles. A hotter or colder Earth would make our survival pretty tough. Crop failure, floods, droughts, and more severe weather events would increase the need for the vital resources that a stressed population is already fighting over today.  Less viable farmland, less available fresh water and higher High Temps would 55 million years ago would not be fun for humans. However, even with evidence that points to a warming atmosphere caused by the burning fossil fuels for energy, many do not seem to care what things would be like in 100 years. There is no urgency. I kept asking myself, "Why is that?"

    The reason is actually quite simple. Humans are wired for immediate threats. As our ancestors evolved on the savannah, and climbed down from the trees to roam the plains in search of food and mates, they had their eyes and ears opened for that immediate threat. They weren't thinking about next Thursday's potluck at the American Legion or when the iPhone 6 was due to hit the stores. They were looking for that lion in the tall grass preparing to pounce and devour them. Asking humans now, just a few thousands years removed from being hunter/gathers with stone tools and rudimentary language, to prepare for something that may or may not happen in 100 years or 1000 years doesn't really create a sense of urgency. Many think that it won't happen, or that we will invent some technology that will prevent the coming Global Climate Disaster. The most common thought is "I won't be around then, so what do I care?"

    Watching the situation play out in Ukraine and Europe makes me think back to the 1980's when i was a kid. Didn't this happen before? Russia versus the West was supposed to be done forever when the Berlin Wall was torn asunder, right? Then i think back to when my father was child in the 1940's, and realize that similar events played out then that led to World War II. Then I thought back to when my grandmother was a child in the 1900's, when the events that played out in Europe led to the First World War.

     That saying about history keeps flashing through my mind. The after effects of World War I keep reverberating through our lives one hundred years later. What will it be like when my grandkids are dealing with the world we have left for them? It makes me wonder what events from today will still be reverberating one hundred years from now.

The Coming Apocalypse on a Billboard

This morning, while surfing the World Wide Web, I kept looking at the calendar at the bottom of my screen. Was it April Fool's Day? It wasn't. It was April 2nd. So what I was reading was no joke, sadly.  Sometimes it amazes me how far we have come as a species in the past 500 years. Which makes reading about some of the things supposedly educated and sophisticated people say in today's world. 

Recently, Wyoming Governor Matt Mead vetoed a new state bill that would have taught science standards that include how to deal with and address Climate Change issues. The state's board of education chairman stated when asked about his stance on climate change: “I don't accept, personally, that it is a fact.” Ron Micheli said in the same article, “[The standards are] very prejudiced in my opinion against fossil-fuel development.” Because the fossil fuel industry always has our best interests at heart, right? Never mind the prejudice the fossil fuel industry has for anything that does not equal huge profits. 

 http://news.yahoo.com/science-oil-dont-mix-wyoming-becomes-first-state-180008259.html

Have you read about the Duke Energy fiasco in North Carolina? Duke Energy poured dangerous and highly toxic coal ash into open waters around many of its coal ash dumps, allowing coal ash waste to seep into ground water and expose unknowing citizens to a toxic and deadly waste material left over from the burning of coal. Duke Energy knew it was doing this, yet tried to hide the facts by bribing public and federal officials. All of this put the public at risk of contamination. When the story hit the news, Duke Energy swore it would stand up and take its licks; it would hold itself responsible for its blatant disregard for the public health, not to mention the violation of the Clean Water Act, a federal law. 
     Now, Duke Energy is insisting that the citizen activist groups, that are involved in holding Duke Energy accountable for its irresponsible actions, be removed from the case. After apologizing and saying that they would be held accountable, Duke Energy is doing the opposite; "they are lawyering up." Way to be accountable for breaking the law and poisoning the public. What a bunch of assholes!
http://news.yahoo.com/duke-energy-wants-citizens-group-ash-action-223506688.html

    Then there is this one, where just when you think the world is inching closer to that kumbaya moment, you realize its not even close. The Traditionalist Youth Network, a white nationalist group, filed a brief in the Michigan Same Sex Marriage case stating that "legalized gay marriage is 'an affront to the health, safety, morals, and public welfare' of Michiganders and could open the doors to legalizing pedophilia and zoophilia." Say what?! Pedophilia and zoophilia are not legal?! Isn't that attack on gays  also an affront to all of the heterosexual pedophiles and zoophiles out there? What about their rights? I find it ironic that these Nationalists are the same people that want the government out of their lives, while at the same time telling others how to live theirs. Someone call Alanis Morrisette so she can take note of what irony is.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/01/michigan-gay-marriage_n_5071346.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592

Finally, here is one from the Great State of Arkansas. A billboard in Harrison, Arkansas trumps the community as clean, safe and 98% white. Apparently, that's real important for the resale value of one's home. The ad also displays a link that promotes the local chapter of the KKK. Underneath that sign is one that says, "Anti-racist is a code word for anti-white." Did the Civil Rights movement happen? Or did someone just dream that? Sometimes I wonder. http://www.ky3.com/news/local/new-billboard-in-harrison-ark-carries-racist-undertone-says-race-relations-task-force/21048998_25260456

It seems like there is more and more negative, nationalist, racist, close-minded and intolerant behavior these days. Maybe I have a skewed view of the world, with my rose-colored glasses. But come on! Science isn't anti-God. Oil and Coal companies are spending millions to make people think global warming is a bunch of treehuggin-hooey so they can rake in the cash at our future's expense. Gays and Lesbians deserve the same rights as everyone else. Racism is so last century; its just not cool anymore. Just when I thought we were making progress, corporations like Duke Energy remind us that all that matters is the the bottom line.