Dark-thirty Monday here on California’s north coast — most likely fog again, but yesterday there was sunshine at ‘sun‘ up, now less than 30 minutes away, so maybe a decent chance for brightness this morning instead of a dull gray.
The NWS says supposedly we could get some ‘drizzle‘ until about noon, but doubt it unless the above-mentioned fog makes the play.
Weather and climate are linked — weather more today, climate a certain longevity as in months/years, and if that climate changes, of course, the weather follows suit.
This week, a whole shitload of people in “willful ignorance” of a now-obvious situation are in for a head-banging as Pope Francis’ so-called papal encyclical on climate change — making it a “moral” issue.
Duh! A ‘moral‘ concern since day one…
(Illustration: Salvador Dali’s, ‘Exploding Raphaelesque Head,’ found here).
In the fore-run to the UN conference on climate change this December in Paris — 190 countries hope to reach agreements to keep further warming of the planet to less than 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit — the pope’s rare encyclical, or teaching letter, will reportedly proclaim humanity’s need to get our shit together to handle climate change.
Although coming from probably the most-obscene, moral-bankrupt and unethical institution in at least the last 2,000 years, the Catholic climate retort still carries weight and majesty from everybody — and has been accompanied by even a video trailer announcing the event (Slate, a glowing review), set for release this Thursday.
Even atheist scientists laud the pope.
You would think that personal observation, scientific research, and now the freakin’ pope could allow some people to see the reality of climate change, but no…
So last week, in apparent counter to the pope, James Inhofe of Oklahoma, head asshole of the Senate environment and public works committee, the climate change handler and a shitload of other like folks gathered at the Heartland Institute in DC, a hub for climate deniers, to rally against the coming of reality and truth.
From the Guardian:
The senator, in the company of friends and fellow disbelievers, handed out a page of 12 talking points for those confronted by evidence of climate change.
He urged Heartland activists to go out and fight against what he called “the myth of global warming”.
He stood by his claim that climate change was a hoax, he told reporters later, even though it is not.
The pope could do little to change his mind, he said – although the Catholic leader’s position on climate science certainly seemed to be a sensitive point for Inhofe.
“Everyone is going to ride the pope now. Isn’t that wonderful,” he said.
“The pope ought to stay with his job, and we’ll stay with ours.”
A few moments later, Inhofe said: “I am not going to talk about the pope. Let him run his shop, and we’ll run ours.”
Yet, being the purest of assholes:
Back at the hotel full of deniers, Inhofe – after essentially telling the pope to butt out of his business – could not resist trespassing on that of the Vatican.
Calling on those at the Heartland Institute to fan out and fight the Environmental Protection Agency rules for carbon pollution on power plants, due to be finalised this summer, and other environmental measures, he said: “If we do it as a team you will be doing the lord’s work, and he will eventually bless you for it. Amen.”
In the minimum and in time, those clowns would be charged with crimes against humanity.
Yet, it’s just not with the environment — like that horrible financial GOP-blowback-disaster in Kansas, and state Sen. Laura Kelly, a Democrat: ‘“A lot of my colleagues and the governor just wear these ideological blinders and refuse to see and deal with reality.”‘
Read a good article at Pacific-Standard magazine on climate-change denial, and US public school education agendas, driven by “community standards.”
And another good piece, this one a long read, can be found at The Chronicle Review by Lee McIntyre, research fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University, and author of, “Respecting Truth: Willful Ignorance in the Internet Age.”
McIntyre uses Socrates, Plato, modern philosophers, historians, and others of academicia and science, to paint a picture of how humanity has lost respect for the truth — the real culprit, false knowledge. And not just from the dumb-asses, either.
Key nugget:
As egregious as that sort of thing is, it is not the kind of ignorance that should most concern us.
There is simple ignorance and there is willful ignorance, which is simple ignorance coupled with the decision to remain ignorant.
Normally that occurs when someone has a firm commitment to an ideology that proclaims it has all the answers — even if it counters empirical matters that have been well covered by scientific investigation.
More than mere scientific illiteracy, this sort of obstinacy reflects a dangerous contempt for the methods that customarily lead to recognition of the truth.
And once we are on that road, it is a short hop to disrespecting truth.
Read the whole piece — interesting shit.
Although the 2 degrees Celsius goal is really, really commendable, there’s not much real sense it can be accomplished, a sight near 3-4 degrees Celsius, maybe, and maybe avert the way-worse of climate change, but not all together. Humanity’s history for the next few years will be shitty, and then worse, before any kind of straightening.