Things That Scare Me, Part 4

Meteor Blades points out several writers have compiled evidence that there will likely be an uptick in right-wing violence if Democrats control government after the 2008 elections. The trends that lead to this violence exist in our society now and is mostly ignored by the media. Historically, whenever Democrats control government, right-wing violence increases.

Also: Govexec.com reports that former officials and national security experts are warning of a crisis in national security come the 2009 transition in administrations. The concern is because the Bush administration has so heavily stacked DHS with political appointees that they “run the first-and second-tier layers across almost all of the Department of Homeland Security’s units.”

Global warming is accelerating three times more quickly than feared. (via Americablog)

Things That Scare Me, Part 3

From Think Progress, we learn the effect of moronic leaders like Australia’s John Howard:

Australia has warned that it will have to switch off the water supply to the continent's food bowl unless heavy rains break an epic drought - heralding what could be the first climate change-driven disaster to strike a developed nation.

The Murray-Darling basin in south-eastern Australia yields 40 per cent of the country's agricultural produce. But the two rivers that feed the region are so pitifully low that there will soon be only enough water for drinking supplies. Australia is in the grip of its worst drought on record, the victim of changing weather patterns attributed to global warming and a government that is only just starting to wake up to the severity of the position.

… many people are asking why crippling water shortages in the world's driest inhabited continent are only now being addressed with any sense of urgency.

Things That Scare Me, Part 2

From the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, entitled “Bitter Dryness Seen In Region’s Future”:

Arthur DeGaetano, a Cornell professor and head of the Northeast Regional Climate Center, said that climate change is already inevitable, but humans could adapt to those changes if greenhouse-gas emissions are reduced now. However, if we continue in our trend of fossil fuel dependency and global industrialization without mandated limits, he said, we could be headed for catastrophe.

“These changes impact many aspects of life in New York, ranging from the frequency of flooding to agricultural production,” he said. “It is time to consider steps to both adapt to these inevitable changes and lower the emissions of greenhouses gases.”

Save The Earth!

I’m doing my part to save the earth. I just purchased two of the new, re-usable Wegmans bags, to replace the plastic bags they use. I’m quite happy with these re-usable bags, as they hold more groceries than the old flimsy plastic bags, and they are re-usable! So I may (almost) never again use a plastic bag, which are non-biodegradable and the manufacture of each one uses scarce, non-renewable resources. I agree with Stlo7 at RochesterTurning, a company can be environmentally friendly and still make profits.

Things That Scare Me

Honey bees are disappearing world-wide. The cause is unknown, although some suspect genetically modified crops. Bees pollinate most of the world’s known food crops, including $14 billion in seeds and crops in the United States.

The world will some day run out of oil. The United States has doing very little to prepare (unlike other countries). We can’s even agree on conservation measures to help prolong the supply of oil that exists.

Update (4/6/07): The Ug99 virus that can destroy all wheat crops over a wide area, now causing serious problems in Kenya and Ethiopia.

UN Panel issues bleakest warning yet on Global Warming.