Author: The Hopeful Realist

Analyst of the human illusions about our place in the Earth System. Soon to be published: Holding It Together: Social Control in a New Era of Great Transformation. My eBook, HOPEFUL REALISM: A Climate Manifesto, is available on Amazon; free download via Kindle Unlimited. https://smile.amazon.com/Hopeful-Realism-Robert-MacNeil-Christie-ebook/dp/B0B52F18CX/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2LWKLZZGP6BB3&keywords=hopeful+realism:+a+climate+manifesto&qid=1656946028&s=books&sprefix=,stripbooks,428&sr=1-1

International Trade Emissions: Shipping and Aviation Overreach

July 2, 2016

The climate crisis will not wait for anyone. Unfortunately, the widely praised Cop 21 UN Climate Conference agreements this past winter failed to take committed action of adequate urgency. Instead, it accomplished what many thought impossible: it gained agreements from most nations to standards for voluntary actions to reduce carbon emissions by the 2%. That … More International Trade Emissions: Shipping and Aviation Overreach

The Democratic Party Needs Only One Platform Priority

June 18, 2016

Recently, I listened to Cynthia Sharf, the United Nations Secretary-General’s climate expert, summarize the dire situation indicated by the latest scientific findings on a range of measures of global warming and its extant and rapidly growing disastrous effects. Then I saw posted on the AParallelWorld.com website, Senator Keith Ellison’s Survey seeking priorities from Bernie supporters to … More The Democratic Party Needs Only One Platform Priority

The Other Culture War: The Ego and the Commons

June 11, 2016

Little does he grasp of the larger picture. But “The Donald” has now Trumpeted into official politics the already well established corrupt values embedded in the Era of the Ego. At the same time, he delights in embodying all of the core resentments and prejudices of the dispossessed U.S. white male. This, despite his own … More The Other Culture War: The Ego and the Commons

Is a Left-Right Coalition Against Trump Viable?

May 13, 2016

Our national politics has fully descended into the gutter at a very perilous time. The Republicans have ostensibly nominated a narcissistic buffoon. The Democratic Party establishment continues its attempts to force the only popular candidate with genuine ideas out of the race by anointing the candidate of empire. Essentially, the rich and powerful are fighting … More Is a Left-Right Coalition Against Trump Viable?

Panama Papers: Plutocracy, Kleptocracy, or Both?

April 22, 2016

plutocracy  [ploo-tok-ruh-see] noun, plural plutocracies. the rule or power of wealth or of the wealthy. a government or state in which the wealthy class rules. a class or group ruling, or exercising power or influence, by virtue of its wealth. kleptocracy  [klep-tok-ruh-see] noun, plural kleptocracies. a government or state in which those in power exploit national resources and steal; … More Panama Papers: Plutocracy, Kleptocracy, or Both?

Calculating Survival: How to Avoid Human Species Extinction

April 5, 2016

Chances for the survival of the species Homo sapiens beyond the next few decades are diminishing rapidly.  Reducing the accelerating risk of extinction will require massive intervention to change our present trajectory of the global economy and change it fast. Each week, new data are reported on rapidly accelerating impacts of global warming. Multiple positive … More Calculating Survival: How to Avoid Human Species Extinction

To build a sustainable world, academics need to tear down the Ivory Tower

March 19, 2016

Avoiding societal collapse means building bridges between science and the rest of the world. [Please note: This article is republished with permission from the site, ensia.com. It was accessed at: http://ensia.com/voices/to-build-a-sustainable-world-academics-need-to-tear-down-the-ivory-tower.] Anthony D. Barnosky @tonybarnosky Professor of integrative biology, University of California, Berkeley Elizabeth A. Hadly @LizHadly Stanford professor and global change scientist Paul R. Ehrlich President, Center for … More To build a sustainable world, academics need to tear down the Ivory Tower