I have never been much for ceremony. Neither Michael Phelps leading the U.S. team into the Olympic Stadium nor the pomp and circumstance of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2016 Olympics interested me. I marveled at both the individual and team efforts, especially those of the Brazilian and the U.S. teams. As always, … More Olympic Teamwork and the Ugly American
The Role of the Social Sciences in Developing Effective Climate Action NOTE: I presented a slightly different version of this paper at the National Social Science Association Meetings in Denver, Colorado, August 3, 2016 We need not turn to the elections of 2016 to observe the madness of the public discourse and the corporate-governmental response to the climate crisis. In electoral politics, at least, we expect … More Calculating Human Survival:
The fate of the planet is now in the hands of either a narcissistic billionaire sociopath or a corrupt corporate Democrat. … More The Charlatan, the Huckster, and the Fate of the Planet
The violence continues. It seems pervasive. The list is long and diverse. Cops shoot unarmed Black men in every major American city. A lone deranged Air Force veteran kills five Dallas police officers. A disturbed marine Iraq-returnee assassinates three more in Baton Rouge. Suicide bombers turn Brussels, Paris, and Bagdad upside down. A wife-beating suicide … More Reform is not Enough
The irony of the catastrophic crises of our time is that they offer unprecedented opportunity to shape the New Great Transformation of humanity. The alternative is our extinction. … More The Irony of Crisis and Opportunity
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
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
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
California could be the turning point. Or not… Growing numbers of Americans seek to live a parallel life by limiting their consumption as much as they can to low and no emissions products. But so much more is needed. California has led the nation in some of the steps it has taken against global warming, … More Is California BERNing?
As world population passes 7 billion, straining planetary resources, aging populations in industrial nations may not be a problem if economies are reorganized to serve human needs, not return on capital.
… More New Demographic Transition: Is the Aging Global Population a Problem?
Robert MacNeil Christie, Author 