Tag: China

Elon Musk’s Bitcoin U-Turn

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Elon Musk’s Bitcoin U-Turn:

Nothing But PR & Energy Politics

By Sonnet Gomes

I was so content with my current tiny investment in Cryptocurrency, especially Bitcoin, till last night. When Elon Musk’s Bitcoin U-Turn simply throws me off the edge.

Musk’s Tweet on suspending vehicle purchase using Bitcoin not only struck a boult on me but also my itty-bitty crypto asset. No wonder I was enraged to see the price dropping, and my investment is fading away.

However, it took me a while to come to my senses (thanks to my wife for a late-night Coffee) and realize what is actually going on.

Musk’s Twitter Activity from Last Night

The entire Tweet, I am sure, will amaze almost anyone. Let’s look at a few lines of it first, and then I will dive deep into them.

  • “We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel” (O Boy, O Boy! we had no clue about it until the Tweet!)
  • “Cryptocurrency is a good idea on many levels, and we believe it has a promising future” (So Tesla and SpaceX are not dumping all its crypto assets because they are nothing but energy-guzzler carbon-emitting machines)
  • “Tesla will not be selling any Bitcoin, and we intend to use it for transactions as soon as mining transitions to more sustainable energy” (He actually loves Bitcoin and keeping all the digital assets for future use. Wondering what it’s that? Well, the next Bitcoin big selling)

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Environmental Benefits of COVID-19

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COVID-19 is the scariest health risk since the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic

Environmental Benefits of COVID-19

By Sonnet Gomes

State of War

Viruses and humanity have been in a “state-of-war” from the beginning of time. A variety of  infectious diseases have been responsible for every pandemic in world history. We only need to remember our high school history books coverage of the 1918-1919 Spanish Flu.  It is estimated that the Spanish Flu was responsible for more than 50,000,000 worldwide deaths. Behind all modern-day pandemics, the primary culprits have been viruses.

Coronaviruses are Well-Known

Coronaviruses are well-known to us. In fact, you probably are a unknowing host to millions of them at this very moment. Coronaviruses cause a variety of illnesses ranging from the common cold to severe and often deadly respiratory infections. This new strain, COVID-19, is short for coronavirus disease-2019.  This novel coronavirus is responsible for the current global outbreak. Although coronaviruses  are well-known this new strain has no cure or prevention. This fact has jeopardized millions of human beings worldwide, particularly the elderly or immune suppressed.

Origins of Outbreak

The outbreak started in November 2019 in the City of Wuhan, China. Wuhan is a city of over 11,000,000 people. A busy center of industry. The source of this novel strain is not known for certain, but a credible source has been identified. In China, there are many open markets where wild animals including rats and bats are butchered in proximity to vegetables, domestic meats and customers. The COVID-19 is thought to have started in one of these huge open markets. Bats are the primary transmission suspect. Wild animals, including bats have been regularly butchered and sold as meat in China. Bats are known carriers of multiple strains of coronaviruses.

Non-Symptomatic but Contagious

The COVID-19 is Zoonotic, meaning it can transfer from animal to man.  Similar to SARS, it can stay in the host body undetected for up to 14 days. The difference seems to be that with COVID-19 the person may be non-symptomatic but contagious. SARS, on the other hand,  is not communicable until patient develops symptoms. Both SARS and MERS were transmitted from the civet cat and camels, respectively. Thus, it is clear, the chain of infection often starts with a animal to man transfer. All wildlife trade in China, including bat meat, was banned in January 2020. This was a direct response to the coronavirus outbreak.

The Coronavirus Map Expands

As of this writing, around 81,000 people have been infected in China. Out of those patients, the death toll is more than 3,100. Yet, many thousands are recovering. Italy, Iran, and South Korea now face the grim reality of a COVID-19 outbreak. Every day, new countries are added to the coronavirus map. The United States is now part of the pandemic.  The World Health Organization has identified the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic.

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Animal Cruelty Linked to Human Rights

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Animal Cruelty Linked to Human Rights 

By Michael Leonard Douglas

Animal cruelty a world-wide issue

The goal should be a balance in the ecosystem for all living things to thrive.  There is no justification for the barbaric cruelty that takes place daily on every continent. It does not matter whether a human is involved or an animal.  Animal-human right’s activists advocate for treating all animals humanely. Can you imagine the outrage if human beings were held in cages and tortured regularly or were hunted down by wealthy adventurers seeking nothing more than a photo-op with a corpse, or a trophy for their wall?  It is time that humanity finds the resolve to develop a plan that promotes co-existence with the rest of the animal kingdom. Where balance of land and resources put an end to animal cruelty.

Basic needs

Scientifically, human beings are animals. Therefore, when we talk about human rights, there is no real conflict with animal rights. Those most basic rights (needs) for all creatures are to live freely, have access to food and water, a comfortable shelter/habitat; and lastly, security from unwarranted threat and mistreatment. Animal cruelty is denial of any of these basic needs. When any one of these basic rights is infringed upon repeatedly the entire ecosystem is thrown out of balance.

View from the top

Since human beings are at the top of the chain and dominate every activity on the planet it is difficult to convince the global human population that we are equals with lesser animals. The term, “animal rights” was coined to give a voice to the millions of animals that face cruelty and slaughter every single day. There is no animal that is more intelligent than the human species and no species better able to launch and give voice to an appeal against animal cruelty than that carried on by its own species.

Links to animal cruelty and  family abuse

The link between animal cruelty and human rights is clear when we are willing to look at the evidence. Domestic abuse is not usually just an attack on one household member. The abusers target animals too. Most domestic animals that are mistreated are part of a paradigm of abuse. A study by the Animal Welfare Institute confirmed there is a connection between animal abuse, child abuse and domestic abuse.

Statistics are eye-opening

The Animal Welfare Institute study measured a strong connection between animal cruelty, child abuse, and non-ending domestic violence. According to their study, up to 72% of abused women reported a similar, if not brutal, abuse of their pets by their spouse or partner. The study shows that not only were the animals abused, but often killed in the process. In a similar study conducted nationwide, a staggering 84% of the people who reported domestic abuse also claimed that their pets were abused or brutally injured.

Animal Welfare Institute

Statistically there is a direct link between domestic violence and animal cruelty. The connection of these women (occasionally men) to their pets was found to be so strong that up to 49% of those reporting abuses chose to stay in the environment to protect their pets. These are shocking numbers and should be of great social concern. But is knowledge enough to turn social concern into social policy that safeguards both animal and human rights? A question not answered by the study was, is the cruelty toward the animals a characteristic trait of the abuser, or is it related to the human target of abuse and their relationship with the abused animal?

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EV: The Obvious Future

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EV: Electric Vehicles The Obvious Future

By D. S. Mitchell

*”Adoption of a new technology like EV’s (electric vehicles) may seem slow or look like it’s never going to happen, until it passes a threshold… and then it just takes off.” Reda Cherif for the International Monetary Fund

Slashing EPA Annual Budget by Over 30%

When Trump won the 2016 presidential election I knew the attack on the environment would move forward like a bulldozer in a butterfly garden. In Trump’s first year in office he pulled the United States out of the landmark Paris climate deal, paving the way for the continued reckless burning of fossil fuels. The Paris Climate Accord is non-binding on signers, but focuses on a global effort to hold the Earth’s temperature rise to fewer than two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures. The consequences of failing to limit greenhouses gases and thereby their destructive effects is a future most of us do not want to imagine.

High Jacking the Mission of the EPA

In March of 2018, Trump proposed slashing the EPA annual budget by over 30%.  Since 2017 the EPA has lost more than 700 employees, including 200 scientists. Meanwhile the disgraced and the now thank God departed, Scott Pruitt, wasted Agency money on a 24 hour security detail, expensive air travel, and sound proof booths for his office. Rather than protect the environment and work with the world to limit green house gas production this administration wants to subsidize coal, and ramp up oil exploration in previously protected wilderness areas and vulnerable off-shore sites.

EV Promises Reduced Air Pollution

Despite the bad news on so many U.S. environmental fronts there is good news in the automobile industry. Automobile manufacturer’s world-wide are committing to the EV.  They see the handwriting on the wall.  The governments of Europe, China, and India are committed to reducing air pollution. Part of that vision will be enabled by electric vehicles. The mass acceptance of the EV will consequently cut the production of fossil fuels and their consumption. Perhaps that is the reason coal, and gas producers are in such a hurry to mine and pump fuel reserves while they still have an opportunity. Because they, more than any other industry, recognizes the world is changing.

Horse and Buggy Days

There is a growing understanding that gas and diesel-powered vehicles will soon join the horse and buggy, and the dial telephone. New studies support a rapid acceleration process and a gathering  momentum of  the coming EV tsunami. Surprising as it may seem The International Monetary Fund and Georgetown University predicts that more than 90% of all passenger vehicles in the U.S., Canada, Europe and other wealthy industrialized countries will be EV by 2040. Some studies are even more bullish than the IMF projections. In fact, there are predictions that by 2030, ninety percent of all U.S. vehicles will be EV. That is a mere 12 years away.

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Rough Trade

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Dark Jester

T. K. McNeil

The Trump trunk of disgusting pronouncements is so full that it is damn near impossible to pull out any  one thing President Trump has said in the first 630 plus days of his term that could lead to his undoing. There is just so much to choose from! Although politics is famously unpredictable, his chestnut about how “trade wars are good and easy to win” just might be the spark that incinerates his presidency. Trade wars and tariffs have brought down other administrations.

Puffing And Blustering To Make MAGA

In addition to being laughably incorrect by any logical standard-countries who hate each other (France and Germany for instance) regularly enter into flawed but necessary trade agreements, precisely because trade wars are universally recognized as the greater of the two evils.  On the face of it Trump’s election campaign was about the re-invigoration of the American economy, but truly it was a campaign to convince US voters the world image of the United States was in tatters.  MAGA is all about the Trump voter self-image.The MAGA hat was like Popeye’s can of spinach, it puffed up the wearer’s ego just like spinach puffed up Popeye’s muscles.

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Trump Gives Middle Finger Salute To Coastal States

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Trump Gives Middle Finger Salute To Coastal States

D. S. Mitchell

Over the last year we have seen a number of environmental rollbacks and out right attacks on protected lands by the Trump administration. Despite these tactical offenses I was not prepared for the shocking move that Ryan Zinke has proposed that would open the West Coast to petroleum exploration. I wrote about it last week, but the potential effect has sent me into a full blown rage.

The Zinke proposal can be best viewed as a middle finger salute to the people of all coast states, many of who voted for Hillary Clinton. I live in Oregon, one of the Pacific coast states that could be effected by the oil-leasing plan. The immediate consequences are likely to be few, at least off the Oregon and Washington coasts. The actions of the administration will most likely have the issue tied up in political wrangling and lawsuits for years.

The prospects of exploration and exploitation of oil in our offshore waters has prompted the governors of Oregon, Washington and California to mount an unified front of opposition to the concept of any offshore drilling or exploration. These state executives need our support and encouragement as do all the governors of all the states on the Atlantic coast that are also attempting to block this irresponsible and dangerous proposal.

Time and again we have seen horrific costs of oil development and oil transportation, just think of  the Exxon Valdez disaster to the BP blowout in the Gulf of Mexico. The giant global companies that run the oil and gas industry and the undermanned agencies that police the industry, have already shown themselves incapable of guaranteeing there will never be another incident for which they are unwilling to accept responsibility. An “accident” along the Pacific coast or the Atlantic coast would have the potential to kill crucial industries including tourism, fishing, and crabbing.

On January 6th, 2018 an Iranian oil tanker carrying nearly 1 million barrels of light crude oil headed to South Korea collided with a freighter carrying grain from the United States. At least 30 crewmen and passengers are missing and presumed dead. The tanker has been burning for more than a week sending cones of black smoke 1000’s of meters into the sky and igniting the surrounding water surface has just sunk. The results of this disaster will take millions of dollars in clean up and will devastate the environment and wildlife in the area for years to come. My point is that these accidents happen on a regular basis and we have no means to protect ourselves, or the environment.

Last week the governors of Oregon, Washington, and California issued a joint statement condemning the proposal, “the administration has chosen to forget the utter devastation of past offshore oil spills to wildlife and to the fishing, recreation and tourism industries in our states.  They’ve chosen to ignore the science that tell us our climate is changing and we must reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. But we won’t forget history or ignore science. For more that 30 years, our shared coastline has been protected from further federal drilling and we’ll do whatever it takes to stop this reckless, shortsighted action.”

Even restrained exploratory activities associated with identifying oil deposits have the potential of harming rockfish habitat, interfering with whale migrations and feeding, and increasing vessel traffic and noise in areas essential to endangered species from endangered birds, salmon to Orcas.

The opponents of offshore oil and gas exploration in Pacific Northwest and Alaskan waters have been vilified as obstructionists and the overly concerned, painting an image that we place more importance on sea otters and kelp than energy independence and national security.  None of us dispute that for now at least, we continue to need fossil fuels to power our cars and heat our homes. However, currently there is no shortage of oil that could possibly justify placing the coasts of America at risk for another devastating oil spill. Gas prices are stable. Taking in to consideration inflation, gas prices are equal to what they were 100 years ago and prices are less than a mere decade ago.

Opening the American coastlines to fossil fuel exploration is about nothing other than greed and politics, not about need for energy. We need to stop this move by the administration dead in it’s tracks. Let’s give a resounding “no” to this latest environmental assault.

Calamity Politics is a progressive online news magazine bringing the activities of Washington DC into perspective. Join me for comment and opinion. Join the Resistance. We are Indivisible.

Dar

More Of Trump’s Plan To Eviscerate The EPA

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More On Trump’s Plan To Eviscerate The Epa

D. S. Mitchell

Trump promised during the campaign there would only be “little tidbits” left of the EPA when he was done with the agency. He has, now as president used every device available to make that campaign promise a reality.  Among some of his actions has been to take steps to revoke the Clean Power Plan and delay implementation of mercury and air toxics standards.  Additionally, there is the 2018 budget.  Trump’s proposed budget slashes EPA funding by 31%, effectively crippling the department.

 

1.) CLIMATE RESEARCH: EPA’s Science Advisory Board budget would be slashed by 84%, due to sweeping cuts to scientific programs.  People will be more vulnerable to, and less ready for extreme weather events. Lack of data will hinder the ability of other agencies to monitor Green House Gas emissions and forecast floods and hurricanes.

2.) STATE AIR QUALITY PROGRAMS: Significant funding for local monitoring comes from the EPA.  It allows health officials to warn of “Code Red” days when the air is dangerous for people with asthma. Trump budget would cut funding by one-third. An estimated 125 million Americans live in communities with unhealthy levels of air pollution. Local governments will be charged with maintaining air quality but may lack the money to do it.

3.) CRIMINAL AND CIVIL ENFORCEMENT: Trump argues that states should oversee their own state’s environmental laws.  The president wants to cut EPA’s enforcement office by 40%. Trump’s budget would cut the grants that allow states to conduct that enforcement by 45%. Fees, fines and penalties will no longer be assessed or collected.

4.) SUPERFUND CLEANUP: There are more than 1300 toxic Superfund waste sites and 450,000 brownfield hazardous sites across the United States.  President Trump’s budget cuts would reduce the Superfund cleanup program by nearly $200,000,000.  Towns like Amesbury, MA that depend on federal funding to keep their citizens safe from groundwater contamination that will suffer from projected cutbacks.  De-funding the EPA also threatens redevelopment and restoration in many communities across the country.

5.) REGIONAL WATER QUALITY: Trump’s projected cuts would eliminate $400,000,000 for programs to clean up America’s greatest yet most threatened bodies of water–the Great Lakes, Chesapeake Bay and Puget Sound.  It is expected that critical estuaries and the fishing industry that depends on them–like Chesapeake Bay crabs and oysters will be seriously harmed.

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Heated Words Intensify North Korea Situation

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Heated Words Intensify North Korea Situation

D. S. Mitchell

At his Bedminster N.J. golf club, on a scheduled “working vacation” Trump was questioned by reporters. Trump seemed willing to talk and answered questions freely in an unscheduled “press conference.”  Trump’s first and last solo press conference was on February 16, 2017.

Facing growing nuclear threat from North Korea the president was quick to warn the Kim Jong-Un regime against any further provocations, “North Korea best not make any more threats to the U.S.  They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen before.”

His inflammatory words rattled the international community.   Trump’s words came after the Washington Post released a story detailing the assertion of at least one U.S. intelligence agency that North Korea has successfully miniaturized a nuclear warhead that can be attached to missiles, expanding the range and power of the North Korean military.

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