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Commentary About the Blue Marble

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Commentary About the Blue Marble

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The Future Is Scary

29 Wednesday Jan 2020

Posted by Commentary about the Blue Marble in U.S. Future, Uncategorized

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I wish I wasn’t addicted to learning everything I can about most subjects. I remember when I was naive and didn’t know what was going on in the world. Oh, for those days.

Today we are besieged by so many problems that we news junkies can see an end to society as we know it and possibly all of life.

Over population is a certainty without a disaster. Global warming is probably going to be extremely disruptive, causing extinctions of many species, possibly ours. Political concord is seemingly gone forever. A few years ago we were concerned about electro-magnetism in cell phones and power lines. Now we need to be concerned how much cancer the new high powered G-5 dish will cause. We have enormous islands of plastic wastes floating in our oceans and it won’t ever decompose. We have invented micro plastics which are being ingested in the creatures we eat and the water we drink. We finally had the air and water cleaned up and now the EPA is supposed to reduce the regulations. We are causing the loss of our songbirds and butterflies.

Of all the disasters I already knew of, I find we are now creating viruses to kill agricultural pests. GMO isn’t a real danger but when we create viruses, we don’t know what the final effects will be. Will the one designed to kill crop-killing caterpillars kill only that species or end up killing not just them but all butterflies and moths. GMO is a better idea.

What will the world be like in twenty or fifty years? Never has humanity faced such a disastrous future — not even during the Cuban Missile crisis. Technology is racing to a questionable future!

Good Idea Turns Bad

29 Wednesday Jan 2020

Posted by Commentary about the Blue Marble in Economy, Uncategorized

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One of the organizations I support is the Citizen’s Advisory Board (CUB). CUB’s Executive Director David Kolata, and some well-meaning legislators are pushing the Clean Energy Jobs Act of 2019. It was designed to get more people into electric cars and more importantly put Illinois into a dream of 100% renewable energy. Now that the state has figured a way to have electric cars pay a road tax. Electric cars now must pay for the roads they use.

The other pillar is a frankly stupid idea that CUB has and with no business being involved since it isn’t in their purview. A goal of 100% renewable is a dream that will not be possible for decades. The dream is power would be produced during the day and the excess stored in batteries for use at night. We do not remotely have the technology to store enough power for use at today’s nighttime use or even compensate for cloudy, windless days.

Electric cars are supposed to be recharged at night from the renewable source which means battery storage. A million or more cars trying to recharge at night plus all the other uses would probably mean enough batteries to go to the moon and back. Again it is a stupid idea.

What we need is to keep and even build more of is nuclear power plants. Nukes should be used as a base load supplier. Their output can be reduced during sunny, windy days and increased for night charging and bad producing days. We need to work out a way to keep the nukes. We have to have a real clean energy policy in Illinois. Lockout the lobbyists and listen to scientists and engineers that have actual knowledge and aren’t putting money in campaign pockets!

Billions Aren’t So Lucky

17 Friday Jan 2020

Posted by Commentary about the Blue Marble in Uncategorized, Water

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Here is an intensely relevant and thought provoking moral question. The World Food Organization person for Zimbabwe said they were now feeding two million people and expects to add at least another two million in a few weeks. The reasons for the need to feed those millions were originally political mismanagement. Now the reason is climate change causing prolonged droughts in Africa.

Multiple catastrophes will continue to increase the numbers of climate refugees and those will need to be fed. As these refugees move to better places they will be reproducing at the same time. As the world’s population increases there will be a need to feed millions more each year. At what point can the output from the viable farmland fail to provide enough food to feed us all? At what point do the haves decide the don’t-haves aren’t going to get anymore substance from the haves.

Almost one-third of the world’s population already has a problem with too little drinking water. The wealthy always have water. It’s the poor who die of thirst or fight for it. Civil wars and regional wars will happen. A good example is the water from the Colorado River is used up before it reaches Mexico causing those people and towns to find water elsewhere. Many of them move across the border to live.

The Syrian Civil War, Central Americans coming to our country, and Africans trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea are three examples of what is in our planet’s future. Joliet residents should be glad they are surrounded by surface water as its wells dry up. Billions aren’t that lucky.

ICC Decision

17 Friday Jan 2020

Posted by Commentary about the Blue Marble in Pipe Line Permit, Uncategorized

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The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) is being asked to approve an increase in the amount of Bakken oil and its chemical additives to be pumped through an existing pipeline. Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) owns the pipeline – I own a few feet – and the pumps which push the oil along. The ICC is being told the increase in pressure won’t add an additional risk for leaks. To increase the pressure more, pumps will be required and a few additional maintenance people will be hired plus some additional real estate taxes in pump areas.

I worked in the oil fields in my first work life so my experience is leaks occur as the line is first activated and with age. Whatever product is put through a pipeline will erode some of it away. Any place where the flow is diverted wears faster so any bend underground or at pumps is at a greater risk. Increasing flow means faster and greater wear with age. Also, my experience is just because it didn’t leak at one pressure doesn’t mean it won’t leak at a higher one.

ETP says its sensors will detect a leak and shut down the pumps immediately. I believe that is correct on a huge leak or a rupture but I doubt it will on fifty gallons each day. That’s why a visual inspection of the route is done periodically. A more usual way is some landowner making an irate call. ETP would then send someone out to look at the soggy mess. This might take two or several hours depending on the location before the call to shut the pumps off and closing valves.

Repair of the line would begin as soon as possible and ideally clean-up would immediately take place without permanent damage to the environment. My experience tells me if I believe that, my next purchase should be swamp land. I think the ICC should tell ETP NO!

Iran versus Iraq

08 Wednesday Jan 2020

Posted by Commentary about the Blue Marble in Iran, Uncategorized

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Far too many people think Iran would be a pushover like Iraq in the two wars we had with Saddam. They share a common border and a common religion sect controlling the current governments. Both are large oil producers but Iran has other businesses.

The difference between the two is stability. Iraq has little stability and Iran may have problems with their elected people but not with their religious elite. When we invaded Iraq, Saddam was a maniacal, paranoid Sunni leader who had kept control of the 66% of the country who were Shia.

In 1980 Saddam attacked Iran with our help. The war lasted 8 years costing his military several thousand troops. Iran lost about a million people. Saddam sued for peace after the last battle where his dug-in army ran out of artillery, mortar shells and ammunition after human waves by kids walking through the minefields. Behind the kids were militias followed by regular army, followed by elite guards units. They mowed them down and blew them apart but they kept coming. That is what their religion requires them to do to reach heaven.

Iran is 94% Shia and 5 % Sunni and does not have the weak military Saddam attacked. Iran has advanced high-speed silkworm missiles which might be able to overwhelm our Navy in the little Persian Gulf. They have purchased and upgraded their advanced air defense system with modern anti-aircraft guns and missiles.

Iran has 83 million people in the country and tens of thousands outside the country willing to die to defend their religious leader and country. Thanks to Trump’s bullying and prodding, few if any country will join us because they see him starting the conflict. If we are kicked out of Iraq, we lose a land base and Iran may gain additional supplies, financing, and troops.

Iran will not be a pushover or a short war.

Pessimistic for the Future

08 Wednesday Jan 2020

Posted by Commentary about the Blue Marble in New Year, Uncategorized

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The New Year is supposed to be a time for optimism but the only optimistic thing I can hope for is for people to get out of their silos, open their eyes, and work together on solving problems facing humanity. People in office only want to stay in office so they only do things that will keep them in office. Changing that will require courage.

Here is a list of problems that need solving. The world’s population is nearing eight billion and will be over ten billion by 2050. We are currently adding a billion each decade but the time in between each billion is growing shorter so eighteen billion is probable by 2100 unless we have a massive destructive war, world epidemic, or we suddenly decide one child or no children is required.

Think about how much trash we bury or dump in the oceans each day. Much of it will be there forever because it doesn’t break down. Think of all the chemicals we make which are dumped into the environment. A few decades ago we fixed things and now we just throw them away and buy new, creating more mountains of waste.

Think about how we narrowly avoided a complete financial meltdown twelve years ago when debt was found worthless. Now the world including America is drowning in debt. Soon nobody will buy any debt private, corporate or national debt.

America’s new nationalism policies are in line with many other countries. Some are supposedly allies and others are enemies. Nationalism has spawned hundreds of wars. World Wars I and II, Korea, Viet Nam, and the first Iraq are just the few we were involved in.

I can’t see any real hope of stopping global warming and its effects.

No, I don’t see anything to be optimistic about.

The Wall

13 Friday Dec 2019

Posted by Commentary about the Blue Marble in Uncategorized, Wall

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When I was young I learned of the Little Dutch Boy that plugged a hole in the dike with his thumb. T thought the dike must have been some thin vertical devise to plug, not the wide levies they actually are. I use this old image as a metaphor for Trump’s wall on our southern border. He says it will stop the flood of people crossing the border which he has called crooks, rapists, drug mules, and other names.

In reality it isn’t effective as the boy’s thumb because a customs pick-up has to carry a welding machine to patch the holes cut in his impenetrable wall. It takes less than 10 minutes to cut the hole and at least a hour to weld a patch over the hole. I’m not athletic so I thought a 20 foot ladder would be required to get over. Someone with a phone camera caught two guys climbing it almost as fast as I would on a ladder. They flipped over and went back down on the other side.

Who is paying for it? Definitely NOT the Mexicans! Over a year ago the media started showing the deplorable housing conditions on military bases. Congress was aware of these conditions when they designated billions to tear down the housing and build new for our troops and their families.

Why do I bring up that housing situation? The money to build the wall is the money Trump said he was going to use to build his wall. The constitution says redirecting specified money is illegal without Congress’ consent. Where he is going to get the additional funds over those in the budget, I don’t know but it better not be from the military housing. We can’t use dependant’s thumbs to plug the hole!

Another Bad Year

21 Monday Oct 2019

Posted by Commentary about the Blue Marble in Chicago Bears, Uncategorized

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There are a lot of things I am optimistic about, but the Bears having a winning year with Mitch Trubisky as the quarterback isn’t one of them. With all the quarterbacks that were drafted after him. Why did they pick him? He had only started thirteen games with mediocre performance, why him? Imagine the Bears with the twelfth pick, Mahomes, now playing for the Kansas City Chiefs. They would be a real shoo-in for the super bowl.

Why does the Bear defense fall apart in the third and fourth quarters? How about the offense doesn’t stay on the field long enough for them to rest? The opposition’s offense runs over them while the Bear defense is gasping for breath.

What is in the heads of the general manager and his minions? They should start finding someone to help them draft a skilled quarterback. The Bears haven’t had a franchise quality quarterback in decades. Jim McMahon was just a little better than the rest.

Why is it players seem to do better with other clubs than they do in Chicago clubs? When they get a great player they trade them away! Maybe it is because they think we will always be a fan, no matter how bad they are playing.

New Swamp Gets Bigger and Deeper

11 Friday Oct 2019

Posted by Commentary about the Blue Marble in President Trump, Uncategorized

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There should be another major political axiom for anybody especially those in politics. The one most people remembers is “it’s the cover-up that gets you.” I suggest another should be “Don’t kick the fireant’s hill when you will get bit.”

Today we learned that the Ukraine corruption scandal doesn’t involve Joe Biden’s son but now involves former Governor Rick Perry, a Trump contributor, and many of their rich friends. Now the media is going to dig into every single thing he has been involved with during the last three years. It reminds me of Gary Hart, Democratic presidential contender, who was asked if rumors of infidelity were true. Hart said no and they could follow him if they wanted. They did and got pictures of him with a woman sitting on his lap aboard a cabin cruiser named “Monkey Business.” He had kicked the anthill.

The emoluments clause prohibits a President from using his office to make money. This President makes money from having people stay in his hotels and golf courses. After being elected, his Mar-A-Lago property sold out of memberships at a price several times higher than advertised the previous year. It was barely profitable before. His Scotland course is losing money so he stays there every chance he gets along with his security, staffers, and press. He had Pence and staff stayed there last month instead of at the conference hotel. In August he had a military detachment that was in Europe for a NATO meeting stay there for a few days on the government tab. He’s more likely to meet with a business leader or foreign government person if they stay in his Washington D.C. Hotel. Many of those foreign “friends” have bought entire floors to curry favor. That’s what concerned the founding fathers.

Either emoluments or coercion of foreign governments for political reasons are enough to put Pence in the Oval Office if twenty Republicans will follow their oath of office!

Draught Causes Migration and War

11 Friday Oct 2019

Posted by Commentary about the Blue Marble in Climate Change, Uncategorized

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Throughout history droughts and wars have caused people to leave their homes and move. A long-term drought caused the Syrian farmers to move to the cities for work and help. They got nothing from their government. This heightened the existing unrest causing civil war to explode. The fighting started the movement and when it started to go bad for the rebels more people left.

The Great Drought here saw tens of thousands Americans leaving their farms and small towns to move to California and other places. Our government reacted by starting programs to reduce erosion, build reservoirs, support farm product prices, and other programs. Much of the affected land is fallow today.

As climate continues to change, Americans will start to move again. Farm insurance is becoming critical for many farms to continue to operate. The oceans are rising and many costal cities are flooding with king (higher than daily) tides causing changes in zoning and building codes to hold off the total evacuation of cities. Radical weather events will become the norm. As droughts become more common people will be relocating to areas with more stable surface supplies. Wells keep going deeper as cities and towns drain down aquifers, taking thousands of years to replace, if ever.

The American southern border is being assailed by thousands of families from the ravages of crime and long-term drought. Their only hope of life is to leave their generational homes and flee north for safety and work. As the climate changes and the population in countries most affected increases, migration from one country to another will become continent-to-continent.

Conditions will only get worse, much worse.

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