Four years ago I was enrolled in one of my required courses at ASU for my MS in Biomimicry degree. We had a final class project in which we could do just about anything. I chose to make a film. I was reminded of this when I saw this recent article How the Biosphere 2 experiment changed our understanding of the Earth on the BBC website. I used footage that was taken from that experiment in my film to show the folly of man’s hubris in relying upon technology to replace Nature’s life support systems. 
How Net Zero Killed 1.5
“The Paris Agreement is dead. The celebrated target marked in ink in 2016 has been killed by the focus on technocratic solutions over systemic change. Now, rather than address the frightening reality spawned by delusion and incompetence, we’re heading even faster towards two degrees—and that being the new acceptable target. Earth system scientist James Dyke explains that we cannot allow this new target to be set, which the fossil fuel industry is pushing for. ” – from the introduction
‘Net zero’ is arguably the biggest and most widespread ruse ever perpetrated worldwide by a capitalist cabal. It continues even now…unabated.
The Tipping Points of Climate Change — and Where We Stand
Luis Lopezllera Mendes Presente!
My dear friend and mentor Luis Lopezllera passed from this life the end of October. Luis was the kindest, gentlest, most positive person I believe I have ever met. We met in Mexico City in 1986 in the aftermath of the Mexico City earthquake through the Partners of the Americas when San Francisco was ‘partnered’ with Mexico City. On that first trip to Mexico, Luis introduced me to the urban slums where masses of poor people were living in makeshift housing on dirt floors. We then worked together on and off over the next few years focusing on my bringing microcomputers and internet access to the NGO community in Mexico and throughout the region.
Luis was a great man, a true realist, a stellar human being. There are very few people you meet in life who are truly humble, largely behind the scenes, doing transformative work. Luis was one of them. Luis had a vision of a better world and he worked tirelessly to achieve it. Through his organization, Promocion del Desarrollo Popular, he had great effect upon many people and movements. If you search on his name, you will get an idea of the scope and reach of his life and work. Example.
Luis you are already now and for a long time to come will be sorely missed. You are present in our hearts and minds.
COP26 “Greenwashing Festival” Ended – Now What?
Our world has become too politicized and economized. Everyone’s an expert. Thankfully there are scientists who remain undaunted by our pathetic state of affairs and are doing the hard work of providing sound guidance as to what must be done at this time. The time has come where the people must force their governments to do what’s necessary to save earth systems that support life. That translates into disaster declarations globally and instituting emergency actions across the board as cited in this report.
Future historians will look back at our species and these times as being not only parasitic (killing our host), but infinitely (and fatally) distracted by our amusements. That in our cleverness, we separated ourselves so completely from nature that we were incapable of responding to the warning signs that were all around us telling us that we were literally killing the earth’s life support systems.
The Mystery Behind a Photo of a Logged Old-Growth Tree
Cutting an ancestral tree like this should be a crime, not only in British Columbia, but worldwide. We know that old growth forests sequester more carbon than young forests. These ancient giants dwarf our cleverness and can be relied upon to maintain the Earth’s carbon cycle, if only we would let them.
The Unchained Goddess 1958 – Bell Science Hour (Discusses Weather / Climate Change)
As this film clip proves, as early as 1958 scientists speculated on the impact upon climate of human activities altering the earth’s atmosphere. Do you think the oil companies knew about this risk? Of course they did. Not only did they hide the fact, they undertook a campaign of obfuscation to mislead and confuse consumers.
‘Vegan spider silk’ provides sustainable alternative to single-use plastics
It is high time that benign substitutes for petroleum-based plastics be researched and developed. We’re poisoning the living earth, especially the oceans, and ourselves, with plastics pollution. Green chemistry and biomimicry hold great promise for homo sapiens most vexing challenges. Now if we can shift the funding from nuclear weapons modernization to life giving R&D producing products like this, we can leave our descendants a livable Earth. #materials #plastics #biomimicry #spiders #silk #petroleum #pollutionprevention #innovation #ecology #greenchemistry
Ending the Greenwashing
On this Earth Day I am posting a link to an online event that was recorded on April 17th as in my opinion it speaks to what this day is supposed to be all about. While some people may have differences with the event sponsoring organization, when it comes to the other than human natural world, I admire their truth telling, as disturbing as it is, and that is why I am sharing it here.