NO, THE PLANET IS NOT IMPERILED

“a time to start shifting our imperiled planet onto a sustainable path
“

"Our planet is in peril and we need to be bold,"

“I don’t think people wake up in the morning, whether they’re in the agricultural business or the energy sector, and say, ‘Well what can I do today to kill the planet?’”

I know, I know, I’m a literalist, but statements like those above that I pulled from the internet bug me. According to journalists, bloggers, presidential candidates and many others our planet is imperiled, being destroyed by climate change. No, it is not. 

Planet Earth will continue to be Planet Earth until some cataclysmic event billions of years from now turns it to cosmic particles. What is imperiled is human society, in the various forms it takes around the globe today. (Note that I am focused on humans, and acknowledge that many plant and animal species are also at peril.)  Human-induced climate change has been continuing apace, as predicted by the scientific community, and the effects are clearly visible today, in both subtle and catastrophic ways. Already thousands/millions of people are being displaced by drought, rising sea level, altered weather patterns and other changed climate realities. These societal disruptions will get worse, not better, in the decades ahead. 

Humanity will persist, at least for the foreseeable future (it is a fact of evolution that the animals we call “human” or Homo sapiens will not exist in the future on Planet Earth). Human societies as they exist today are very disimilar from societies of the past, and those of the future will also not resemble those of today. The human species is very adaptable, and societies will change as the climate changes, adapting to new environmental conditions. What comes to mind are the many variations of a dystopian world in science fiction, and these do not seem so far-fetched to us today. 

Those humans who are in positions of societal power or influence and who deny climate change, whether because they simply don’t believe it, they profit from it, or denial gives them political power, are the greatest danger today. The results of their inaction, or negative actions promotes the negative effects of climate change on society, and has contributed to the rightward, authoritarian shift in politics seen around the world today. The Trump phenomenon cannot be divorced from ignoring or denying climate change. 

The global society of humans on Planet Earth has made choices resulting in the climate situation of today. As a world community we could pull together and drastically change the way we use and live on the planet in order to slow the effects of a changing climate. People, organizations and nations are engaged in these efforts; however, progress is slow or in the wrong direction. There is hope, but the odds are far from favorable.

Perhaps the speech writers and spinners in our society have decided that “the planet is in peril” is a message that gains more traction than “human societies are in peril.” In my mind, however, that message hides the fact that all of us, as members of society, need to consider and decide the kinds of societies we want for ourselves and future generations. We have little control over future social and political conditions, but we do have a measure of control over the changing climate. 

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JUST ANOTHER DAY OF GUNS

This story is not unusual in America. Things like this happen every day in every city. Often, one or more people get hurt or killed; this time there was only one minor injury. But just because this is a typical and daily occurance, it still is not OK. And this was close to home.

A few days ago, near a middle school in our neighborhood, a man was seen carrying a hatchet, yelling, and taking off his clothes. The police were called, the school was put on lock down. The cops arrived to find that the guy had a large knife in addition to the hatchet, and was acting in ways indicating that he was on some kind of substance. The cops ordered him to drop the weapons, he did, and then he charged at them. The cops struggled with the man, and one of the officers was stabbed in the hand with a small knofe the man had concealed. He was subdued and hauled off to a medical facility for evaluation, and eventually to jail. The injured cop will be OK. 

The 34-year old man was booked on charges including: Assault 2, Assaulting a Public Safety Officer, Attempted Assault on a Public Safety Officer, Resisting Arrest, Criminal Mischief 1, and Disorderly Conduct 2. Within a couple of days, the police determined that there were restraining orders on this individual, and obtained a warrent to search his home. Here is what they found:

• an AR15 semiautomatic rifle, 
• a shotgun, 
• a semi-automatic handgun, 
• a .38 revolver, 
• ammunition and tactical gear.

The police added additional charges of Unlawful Possession of a Firearm (4 counts) and Violation of a Restraining Order (4 counts). 

This guy’s apartment is one mile from our house. It is on SE Division Street, a very busy commercial and residential street that has seen tremendous development of new apartment buildings, shops, restaurants, ice cream parlors, etc. - in other words, a lot of people. One can only imagine the scene if this guy had gone off the edge, grabbed his arsenal and went on a rampage on Division Street. Fortunately, this didn’t happen.

As I said at the beginning, another typical gun day in America. What the hell is wrong in our society that anyone can possess these kinds of weapons? Background checks can help, but obviously don’t work well; this guy has a history of firearms possession. There was no tragedy this time. Kids were not hurt/killed. But as we know - yes, we all know - tragedies involving guns occur every day in America, and no matter how horrific the outcomes, no matter how many are killed, our elected officials just don’t seem to give a rat’s ass about it. 

Thank you, Portland Police Bureau, for your good work. 

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IF I HAD TO TESTIFY TO CONGRESS, WOULD I HAVE TO LIE?

We watched the entire Michael Cohen Congressional committee hearing. Yeah, I know, nice to have that kind of time. There is one thing that has nagged at me for many years, and this came up again for me right at the beginning.

“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you god?” There it was, the swearing in. This is the conundrum.

I have imagined myself in this situation many times. I was once hired as an expert witness in an environmental court case; fortunately, I was never called to the court and dodged the conundrum. 

If I were to be sworn in, and the “Do you swear...?” Question put to me, my answer would have to be “No!”  If I answered “Yes,” I would be committing perjury, because “yes” would be a lie. I am an atheist; I cannot “swear to god” because there is no such thing as god to swear an oath to. I wonder how this response would be handled. 

Maybe the Congress and the courts have a god-less swearing in for folks like me. That would be good. But this all begs a different question: what ever happened to separation of church and state established by our Constitution? I actually know the answer to this question, it has been usurped by over-zealous Christians who lobbied Congress to add these kinds of god statements to various things, including our Pledge of Allegiance (“one nation under God” was not in the original pledge), our money (“in God we trust” was not originally on our money), and so on. 

(audible sigh) It is what it is. Nothing I can do about. And no, I am not a soldier in the War on Christmas!!

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