Dark indeed, Barbara. But so much light everywhere too. Thanks for being here and for being engaged. We're all working to learn and understand as best we can.
I submitted a comment to the FCC regarding the proposal by Reflect Orbital. Submitting it was a challenge but the guidance provided by Dark Sky was excellent. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. I'd read about it before but had no idea the decision was imminent. OMG! FCC--just say NO! Do they not realize how devastating this would be for our nighttime ecosystem? Obviously not...sigh.... Let's just see how fast wen can destroy our home planet.
Thanks very much, Linda. I'm not confident they're listening to us, but it's better than saying nothing. The harms seem so obvious, but maybe only to those who are looking at it from the outside.
Another excellent essay, Jason. I have two comments:
1) Trump's attack on Iran, in my opinion, was almost entirely due to his desperate need to distract from the every-tightening Trump-Epstein file noose. The administration's inability to state any reasonable rationale for the attack is strong evidence for this, as is Trump's use of other distractions (Greenland, Panama canal, ICE depredations, etc.). He literally does not care how many people die, as long as all the evidence against him doesn't come out. All other reasons for the conflict, while they certainly have some bearing, are mere side notes.
2) As we rightly celebrate the unstoppable revolution in sustainable energy, especially in solar panels, we cannot do what we have always done and ignore the downstream consequences. As we flood the world with solar panels, some attention must be given to what is to be done with those panels when they have outlived their lifespan, lest we be left drowning in massive and growing piles of discarded panels. Some thought must be put into how they can be recycled and/or disposed of safely and responsibly.
That's all well said, Jim. Thanks. I now see the Epstein side of this as crucial to the timing, but the larger force behind it seems to be netanyahu and the ultra right who have been wanting this bombing campaign for decades. They've erased Gaza without consequence, and so this is their moment. But I'm just reading stuff, so who knows. You might check out Sarah kendzior here on substack.
As for recycling panels and batteries, absolutely. The market is taking shape, and the technology is coming along, from what I've seen. As soon as the economics of recycling old panels and batteries into new ones reach near-parity with mining for materials, it should take off.
It astounds me that, in this day and age, people in positions of power (including, frighteningly, military commanders) are anxious, even gleeful, to cause massive death and destruction because they think this will bring on the "end times" and the return on long-dead Jesus Christ, as supposedly foretold in the bible. In essence, they are more than happy to murder hundreds of thousands of people based on a fantasy, a myth, the ravings of a religious lunatic 2000 years ago. It's hard to wrap my head around that kind of depravity.
This is a FEAST of information that most Republicans & any advocates of the Second Coming / Rapture, etc. would probably avoid as HERESY. Keep it coming.
Good mix of gloom and light.
We are in dark times. Thanks for your post, so much for me to learn and understand.
Dark indeed, Barbara. But so much light everywhere too. Thanks for being here and for being engaged. We're all working to learn and understand as best we can.
I submitted a comment to the FCC regarding the proposal by Reflect Orbital. Submitting it was a challenge but the guidance provided by Dark Sky was excellent. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. I'd read about it before but had no idea the decision was imminent. OMG! FCC--just say NO! Do they not realize how devastating this would be for our nighttime ecosystem? Obviously not...sigh.... Let's just see how fast wen can destroy our home planet.
Thanks very much, Linda. I'm not confident they're listening to us, but it's better than saying nothing. The harms seem so obvious, but maybe only to those who are looking at it from the outside.
Another excellent essay, Jason. I have two comments:
1) Trump's attack on Iran, in my opinion, was almost entirely due to his desperate need to distract from the every-tightening Trump-Epstein file noose. The administration's inability to state any reasonable rationale for the attack is strong evidence for this, as is Trump's use of other distractions (Greenland, Panama canal, ICE depredations, etc.). He literally does not care how many people die, as long as all the evidence against him doesn't come out. All other reasons for the conflict, while they certainly have some bearing, are mere side notes.
2) As we rightly celebrate the unstoppable revolution in sustainable energy, especially in solar panels, we cannot do what we have always done and ignore the downstream consequences. As we flood the world with solar panels, some attention must be given to what is to be done with those panels when they have outlived their lifespan, lest we be left drowning in massive and growing piles of discarded panels. Some thought must be put into how they can be recycled and/or disposed of safely and responsibly.
That's all well said, Jim. Thanks. I now see the Epstein side of this as crucial to the timing, but the larger force behind it seems to be netanyahu and the ultra right who have been wanting this bombing campaign for decades. They've erased Gaza without consequence, and so this is their moment. But I'm just reading stuff, so who knows. You might check out Sarah kendzior here on substack.
As for recycling panels and batteries, absolutely. The market is taking shape, and the technology is coming along, from what I've seen. As soon as the economics of recycling old panels and batteries into new ones reach near-parity with mining for materials, it should take off.
It astounds me that, in this day and age, people in positions of power (including, frighteningly, military commanders) are anxious, even gleeful, to cause massive death and destruction because they think this will bring on the "end times" and the return on long-dead Jesus Christ, as supposedly foretold in the bible. In essence, they are more than happy to murder hundreds of thousands of people based on a fantasy, a myth, the ravings of a religious lunatic 2000 years ago. It's hard to wrap my head around that kind of depravity.
Thank you SO much for this. It offers hope and perspective.
Glad the writing found a home in you, Susan. Thank you.
This is a FEAST of information that most Republicans & any advocates of the Second Coming / Rapture, etc. would probably avoid as HERESY. Keep it coming.
Thank you, Daniel. Heresy is always useful for the faithful, one way or another...
Beautiful. Thank you, Jason.
Great to hear from you, Nicie. Thank you.