Archive for September 30, 2019

A Religious Left

Sep 30th

Posted by sky in Climate Change

A religious left

https://www.npr.org/2019/01/24/684435743/provoked-by-trump-the-religious-left-is-finding-its-voice

 

 

“Activists on the left should welcome the emergence of a religious core in their ranks because when political activity is morally inspired, it becomes more passionate — as conservatives already understand. Liberals are famous for being cerebral. A religious left may bring more energy to the progressive movement.”

“Democrats got a jolt of that passion at their last national convention with an appearance by the Rev. William Barber, an African-American preacher from North Carolina who started the “Moral Monday” movement in that state.

“Jesus, a brown-skinned Palestinian Jew, called us to preach good news to the poor, the broken, the bruised, and all those who are made to feel unaccepted!” Barber thundered, bringing the delegates to their feet.

Describing himself as “an evangelical Biblicist,” Barber said the nation is need of “moral defibrillators” to work on its weak heart.

“We must shock this nation with the power of love. We must shock this nation with power of mercy. We must shock this nation and fight for justice for all!” Barber said, in the most rousing speech of the convention.”

 

I have no problem with concern for the poor, the broken, the bruised etc.  However, to ignore the health of the Earth, to ignore an emphasis on “other than humans” is to invite extinction. We truly have a “climate crisis.” CO2 in the troposphere is increasing at an increasing rate.  The increase is non-linear and unpredictable.  A tipping point has been reached.

Definition of tipping point: the critical point in a situation, process, or system beyond which a significant and often unstoppable effect or change takes place. The process at work here, and that imperils us, is un-predictable and poorly understood positive feedback.  We must remember that with a CO2 reading of 414.7 ppm, in May, from the Mauna Loa Research Station on the big island of Hawaii, we have reached levels never before experienced by humans. Notice the caveat “often.”   We don’t understand the Earth behaviour triggered by a “runaway” increase of CO2.  We must consider that the “often” is probably a “certainly.”

 

 

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Brexit Systematic Risk and a Warning

Sep 30th

Posted by sky in Brexit

Brexit: Systematic Risk and a Warning

By David Korowicz, originally published by Geneva Global Initiative

  • September 26, 2019

 

https://www.resilience.org/stories/2019-09-26/brexit-systemtic-risk-and-a-warning/

 

“It was only after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union that people began to seriously consider how it might be achieved. Some had assumed it would be trivial. For them, even waiting out the two-year official notice period prior to departure was an indulgence that displayed an unpatriotic lack of resolve.

Most were not so sanguine.

 

But on all sides, there was a general unawareness of just how complex and risk-laden the departure would be. This only gradually came into view.

 

Months after the run-down had been triggered it was discovered that:

(1) over 759 treaties would have to be renegotiated.

(2) There was growing alarm that the intricate web of Just-In-Time logistics that enable industry, supermarkets and medical care could be profoundly disrupted, especially if the UK left without a deal.

(3) Each week new concerns came to the fore, for example, how do you slaughter millions of livestock and dispose of the carcases if the market for them evaporates?

(4) When the scale of the potential disruption became clearer, military contingency planners were drafted into various government departments to help direct the response.”

 

 

 

 

“It has been a disorientating and depressing experience for many to experience the rise in anger and polarization of recent years. But the reality of our lives, irrespective of wealth or position, is that we are thoroughly interdependent with each other, the socio-economic networks that bind us, and the planet and its living system that holds us all. When we tear at the fabric of our relationships, we undermine the welfare of all, and our capacities to face the dire challenges ahead.”