Category: Governance

US civic freedoms now “Obstructed”

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Civicus, and a coalition of global civil society organizations has downgraded the United States’ civic health rating from “narrowed” to “obstructed”. Our nation was formed as a vehicle for bestowing freedoms – of speech, of the press, of peaceful assembly, and more. The downgrading is a response to government actions as recent as “since July, 2025.”

How does that affect each of us, personally? As my personal interest is in improving the sustainability of our lifestyle, suspension of environmental regulations and discontinuance of federal programs aimed at supporting things such as clean wind and solar energy, emission-free electric cars has our country moving in the exact opposite direction as most nations are taking and as we all need to live in order to enjoy healthy lives.… Keep reading

Cutting Back on LNG

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Here’s a report about our government finally cutting back on fossil fuel use.

While the intent is to transition from fossil fuel use to renewable sources for generating power, it tuns out that liquid natural gas – which emits less carbon dioxide than fossil fuels – is 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide, molecule per molecule, at trapping heat. I’ll add comments afterwards.

 

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Joe Biden just did the

rarest thing in US politics:

he stood up to the

oil  industry

 

The Biden administration suspended new permits for natural gas terminals.… Keep reading

Heat & Drought

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By now, most of us are aware of global warming and the weather problems that it has created. One of the most severe problems that the combination of heat and drought create is loss of crops.  In history, we’ve had previous civilizations that have thrived, then lost their ability to provide food for their population … and vanished.  Now and then, archeologists uncover some of these abandoned cities and are often marveled by the sophistication of their understanding of astronomy, mathematics, etc. … Keep reading

Gutting Net Metering

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I think we forget that utility companies are private, for-profit organizations that are given permission to have a monopoly if they’re willing be overseen by a utility commission charged with ensuring benefit for the public.  When we, as individuals, generate our own power, it reduces the income enjoyed by the electric utilities.  So, they’ll pay lip service to sustainability with a few wind machines or a small solar farm … which they photograph and publicize so they’ll look like they really care about sustainability … but, bottom line, profit is still their goal.… Keep reading

Charlie Chaplin & Sustainability

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I recently happened to see “The Great Dictator,” a brilliant film Charlie Chaplin created in 1940. His ending speech really sat me back, and seemed as relevant now as it was then.  So … here’s a variation of my usual blog.  I’ll post excerpts from his speech, then two articles about current events that exemplify the excerpts.  If you wish to see the segment from the film … https://www.charliechaplin.com/en/articles/29-the-final-speech-from-the-great-dictator-

Afterwards, I’ll add comments about how that might apply to each of us, in terms of greater sustainability.… Keep reading