A system of values and beliefs that organize a society and result in various practices and artifacts that are associated with the general characteristics of that society.
A great deal of angst has emerged over the huge amount of money, initially two trillion dollars, being conjured “out of thin air” to counter the economic collapse occurring under to stay-at-home orders and business closures as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated. The Two trillion dollars quickly proved to be wildly insufficient to stimulate the economy … More Phantom Wealth, Phantom Debt, and Viral Pandemic
Sadly, the science of epidemiology is about as well understood as science itself. In the case of the current COVID-19 pandemic, many are grasping at straws to find comfort in some quick “cure” or other. Unfortunately, life is not that simple. Science and Medical Treatment Scientists estimate the efficacy of a drug based on the … More The Science and Politics of Medical Treatments in a Pandemic Emergency.
What is all this confusion over facemasks? Everyone knows that medical personnel wear facemasks to avoid infection and to limit infection of others. Yet, with blatant self-contradiction, the CDC issued “guidelines” recommending that citizens not wear medical facemasks during the COVID-19 pandemic. A facemask can’t hurt you. At the same time, the CDC proclaimed their … More Unmasking the Masquerade
We—the world’s population, that is—seem to have fallen victim to what is claimed to be an old Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times.” The curse, of course, implies that “interesting times” involve deep troubles, crises and dangers shall beset its victims. On the other hand, we may want to turn to the ancient … More We Live in Interesting Times: Seeking Opportunities in Crises
The spread of the COVID-19 in the US began later than in many other nations, but its current pattern of growth gives us no comfort. The rate of growth in the spread of COVID-19 in the US has only increased since the first few days of its appearance in the country. This chart from the … More The US Spread of COVID-19 vs. Other Nations
As the media report the continued explosive growth of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and resulting deaths in some cases, the level of indifference and denial appears to be declining. Yet, governments remain sluggish in their response to the pandemic, with a small number of exceptions. The United States of America seems particularly vulnerable to … More Two Emergencies, Part II: Climate & Coronavirus Collide
Sometimes we resist forces that take us out of our “comfort zone.” These days, two such forces, one new and in our face, and the other not so new but consistently resisted as its danger grows, now vie for our attention. A viral pandemic and a global climate crisis seem so different. But are they? … More Two Emergencies: Coronavirus and Climate Collapse
I spend a lot of time during the winter in a small town on the Pacific coast of Mexico. It makes more sense to a jubilado who grew up around California beaches than staying where Skiing is popular. The snow-covered Sangre de Cristo Mountains overlooking Santa Fe, are not a draw for this old surfer. … More Engineering and Experience: Professionals and Us
The global corporate economy of perpetually growing extraction, production, consumption, and waste, has already produced far too much. It has done so for a very long time, with increasingly inequitable distribution. Consumption and waste not only exhaust non-renewable resources; they contaminate the complex adaptive living systems we call ecosystems, that is, our habitats. The only … More To Transform Society for Survival, We Must Liberate Ourselves from the Endless Growth Economy
In a number of posts, I have discussed various social illusions such as the idea that the extractive industrial consumer economy could just keep growing permanently, as so many economists implicitly insist. That deeply flawed illusion rests on some equally defective assumptions. Many people also believe that as industrial materials reach a state of depletion … More Let’s Get Real: What is Sustainable in Markets, the Biosphere, and Society?
Robert MacNeil Christie, Author 