Misleading Witch Hunts

     There has been a lot of hot air blowing around Capitol Hill. (Yes, that's normal.) Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), head of the House Science Committee is demanding emails and other correspondence from scientists in the US because he, and many others like him, think there exists a vast liberal conspiracy to fool people into believing Climate Change is real. Of course, because of the scientific method, the evidence and data that has been compiled and shared in the scientific community, the results seem pretty clear. Climate Change is real and will continue to get worse as we burn more fossil fuels to power our world.

     Scientists are not taking Congressman Smith's witch hunt lying down. The evidence, their methodology and the peer review process protects against false findings and making things up. Say some scientist decides to fake his results? No problem. Other scientists will review any and all papers published and try to recreate the findings. This ensures that one person can't just make crap up. Peer review. It is a wonderful thing. Now why wouldn't the head of the House Science Committee ignore the very basis of scientific debate in his quest to find scientific truth? The heads of 7 scientific societies have stood up to Congressman Smith in response.

     The issue that we must face now is that many uneducated people and people who do not understand the scientific method (and how it bases findings on hard evidence and repeatable experiments) will see the refusal of these scientists and experts as them trying to hide something. Which is how many conservatives want this to look. It creates a false sense of debate, allowing people, who have no clue how to comprehend or explain how global warming is affecting Climate Change, to dismiss it. Many hide behind their religious faith, saying they believe that God wouldn't let this happen. Or that we can't possibly understand how the world and nature works. Which is their right. Faith and freedom of religion is ensured under the Constitution.

     But, to impose those beliefs and religious faith on others, telling others that their faith scientific inquiry and experimentation to explain the natural world violates their rights ensured under the Constitution. Believing in religious teachings and accepting them as gospel takes a leap of faith. Believing in science and how conclusions are drawn through the scientific method takes a different kind of faith, but it is one built on facts, tangible variables and measurable interactions.

     This fantastic article from The Atlantic, written by Paul Bloom, explains the difference between Why Scientific Faith Is Different From Religious Faith. This is such a delicate subject, especially nowadays. Does anyone really understand what the scientists are saying? How they came to believe in their findings? And if conservative law makers insist on uncovering a so-called global conspiracy to fool people into reducing waste, making clean energy and cleaning up the air and water, why are they not investigating or demanding emails and data from the Fossil Fuel industry and big corporations? Wouldn't these entities have valuable information that could make (or break) this so called witch hunt?

     People need to start asking these questions. One can not come to a reasonable and informed decisions by investigating one side of an issue. One has to examine all the evidence, read all the emails, look at all the conclusions. To do that, there is this thing called the scientific method. It works great! Perhaps the head of the House Committee on Science should look into that.

Happy Monday

     There has to be a point where the well-being of the people on the planet becomes more important that quarterly profits. I mean, come on!

Where Does Your Toothbrush Go?

     You brush your teeth? If you don't, you might want to buy a toothbrush. But what kind? There are so many to choose from. Colgate, Oral-B, Reach, Sonic Care. Much like the cereal isle at the supermarket, the choices afforded us just for a freaking toothbrush are mind boggling! Straight or angled head, sound waves or high-pressure water, soft bristles, medium, firm...I'm just trying to clean my teeth for christsake! Why does it have to be so complicated? Did you know that you are only supposed to use a toothbrush for a few weeks before it is recommended we buy a new one? The toothbrush companies say it can prevent bacteria from growing, or to prevent the bristles from wearing out or because the corporations that make toothbrushes need to increase profits for the fiscal year. When you consider the number of people brushing their teeth, multiplied by everyone getting a new toothbrush every month or so, year after year, well that's a lot of toothbrushes! What happens after you pitch them?

http://being-pall.com/category/travel/

They end up on the beach and in the ocean.

     I didn't think about where all those toothbrushes went. I think back on it and I know I went through  at least 4 toothbrushes a year over the past 30 years. My Dad, the king of Christmas stocking stuffing, always made sure we had a couple of spare toothbrushes every year. When the bristles started to fray, I just tossed it and grabbed a new one from under the sink. I never really thought about where my old one would end up. Back then, I thought when you recycled something, it, you know, got recycled! Unfortunately, that is not the case. The majority of plastic items we purchase every year are un-recyclable. That's right, they are made from plastic that is unable to be or is too expensive to be recycle. So they are tossed into landfills. Inevitably, some fall off the truck or ship or barge and make their way into rivers and streams and the ocean. There, they threaten sea life by absorbing toxic chemicals and leak those nasty things out in other places, or are ingested by animals, which can kill them. That's not good.

     Over 8 million metric tons of plastic end up in the oceans each year. That is the equivalent to 8 garbage bags per 1 foot of coastline. And to think, I contributed to this mess! Thank God there are people out there like the Sea Shepherd Marine Debris Team, who go out and clean up whats out on our beaches. Its a tall task which will take a LONG time to clean up. But in order to stop this plastic pollution, we need to change our behavior when it comes to something as simple as brushing our teeth.

https://www.facebook.com/SSAUBeachCleanUps

      My wife found a website here in Germany where one can buy a fully compostable toothbrush. It comes in a completely compostable package. When these babies wear out, you can burn it in your fireplace, or throw it in the compost, or if you have a chipper-shrewder, you can mulch that baby. Totally natural, made of bamboo and just as good as those colorful plastic fancy things. Bamboo is such a fast growing plant, that it is a much more sustainable material than other wood items. And unlike plastic, they easily can be recycled or allowed to decompose naturally. You can also re-purpose them in many creative ways.

Brush With Bamboo in the USA.
Hydrophil in Europe.

     Here are the websites to purchase the bamboo compostable toothbrushes. Take a look. If you never thought about where your toothbrushes have been ending up, now you know. You can switch without changing your daily routine or sacrificing quality dental care. You can help clean up the planet and keep your beautiful smile.

Reprieve

   The summer was not kind to Climate Guy 73. During the past year, I saw monthly increases in site visits, culminating in the all-time high of 12,436 in April. Ever since, the numbers have dropped so fast you would think you were looking at the temperature graph of the stratosphere for the past 40 years. (Look it up. That was my best science joke ever.)  I figured that people were just probably outside more, it being late Spring and then Summer.  Now, the green of Summer is giving way to the brilliant colors of Autumn as we speak. There is so much to do and see and experience in the world, why waste it sitting  inside on a computer? That has got to be the reason my loyal readers stopped coming by. (I'm sure it would have nothing to do with my erratic blogging, week long absences, or precipitous decline in the quality of my writing. Hey, you have a baby while living in a foreign country, all the while taking german classes to learn a new language.)

     The break was cathartic in a lot of ways, in all honesty. In this business, you can have your throat handed to you in the snap-hiss of a lightsaber. I have been read the riot act by many who think I am too radical, too "Left", that say I taint my message with "environmental alarmism" which damages my credibility. After awhile, I'll be honest, it can get to a person. There is a dread deep down, when it comes to the future of the planet, that this all maybe for naught. Am I making a difference? Are people reading? Am I doing enough?

    Then I look at my son: five months of smile and drool. The kid is easy going and sweet, the center of my universe. One smile from that toothless wonder and I realize that "Fuck yes it is all worth it!" People have to understand that we are damaging our rivers and oceans, leveling our forests, and killing millions of species every year. I owe it to my son to raise that red flag so it does NOT go unnoticed before it is too late, if it isn't too late already. I owe it to everyone's kids to do that! Even if I only get one person every few weeks to stop in and say, "Wow, that guy was funny! And I'm going to look into this Climate Reality Project, or the Anne Arundel County Watershed Stewards, or the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. " That's real all that matters.

     So I amble on. Reading new articles and watching new interviews everyday. Dropping into online communities and sharing what I know and have learned, while trying to learn more. Starting the conversation and reaching out to fill in the gaps for those who want to know more. Of course, this means lots of people rolling their eyes and shaking their heads when they don't like what I have to say. I have been told on more than 734 occasions (not that I'm counting) that I am wrong about the Climate, that Climate Change isn't real. Those people that say this to me ignore the science, the facts, the evidence. I even had a few people tell me that since they KNEW they were right, they didn't HAVE to prove it. It was up to ME to prove them wrong. What?! These are the people that take part in a scientific discussion and ignore the parameters set forth by science to state one's case. Instead, they just dismiss me as a brainwashed liberal who wants to trick people into buying clean renewable energy and plant more trees. They say I am a tree-hugger, a hippie, an Alarmist.

     Look, if you don't believe that Climate Change is real, that it is happening right now and will continue to happen in the future, and that we are the cause...this is not the blog for you. Especially now, with me back from a few weeks break and ready to type! I am trying to open the eyes of people on this planet so they can see how they are affecting the world today with their actions, and how they can affect the future by altering our present course. Some out there call me an Alarmist. I don't agree. Why? Well, it's not Alarmist if it's true, right?