Your Carbon Footprint Was Just a Baby Step.

I recently watched an episode of Miracle Planet, where they explained a disturbing geological fact. Increasing carbon in the atmosphere is only the prelude to a far more unstoppable threat: Methane Hydrates - vast deposits of methane gas frozen in the polar regions, and at the bottom of the oceans, and a global temperature increase of only a few degrees will set a catastrophic chain-reaction in motion. Methane is 20 times more effective as a greenhouse gas than carbon, and these frozen reserves exist in quantities many times larger than all other fossil fuels combined.
Fossil evidence shows that increased carbon raises the temp just enough for some methane to be released, and then the greenhouse effect ramps up steeply, as more and more methane melts. Seas may rise hundreds of feet, atmospheric oxygen drops to lethal levels, and the system may not recover for 100,000 years.

Surely this can't happen? Sorry, it already has - at least twice. The most recent one killed 1/2 of all life, and the one before that nearly wiped it off the globe.

My Chevy Tahoe Commercial

Chevy did a foolish thing in early 2006. They held a sort of 'American Idol' contest, where idle Americans could use a nifty online editing software to turn stock footage of their new Tahoe SUV into commercials, with music and custom text. The Eco crowd got hold of it, and had a field day. For this submission, I actually did the math, comparing the numbers on the Tahoe to their Uplander van with optional 4WD and engine. Soon after, they nixed 4WD Uplanders. Hmmm, I wonder why?

The Freuds in Your Head

The 2002 BBC series, Century of the Self, examines how governments and corporations have toyed with psychological control of the masses. Sound like conspiracy nut stuff? See the people involved explain exactly how it was done.
It includes the father of propaganda - Sigmund Freud's nephew - Edward Bernays, who reinvented advertising as a technique for creating demand. This is how we all became 'consumers'.

Here are parts ONE TWO THREE FOUR video is from VHS.

Panda Porn. Seriously.

Some pandas are less....excitable....than others. China has dealt with this problem by creating panda smut films and showing it to less passionate bears, as well as letting some watch in person.

Gone: Half the Earth's Species

I've known for some time that we are currently amid a mass-extinction period, the 7th in Earth's history, and with each, the planet changes radically. How did I know? I stayed awake in my Geology 101 class, 8 years ago.
This article from Mother Jones reminds us of what scientists have known for decades: Half of Earth's species may be gone by the end of this century (fast for a mass extinction), and it may mean grave consequences for humans, as well.
Thanks to Chuck Mertz for the tip.

A Technological Explosion,1850's Style.

SS Great Eastern was the first all-iron ship ever built, and the first to exceeded the dimensions of Noah’s Ark - six times larger than any ship in existence. It would not be surpassed in size for half a century. It carried the largest paddlewheels and propeller ever made. Herman Melville claimed it would never float, but for 30 years it ruled the seas as the largest moving object on Earth. Jules Verne coined the term "floating city" after crossing the Atlantic on it. It was so well-engineered, it survived a collision far worse than what sank Titanic.
It was such a monster, that the era held no purpose for it, and eventually it was scuttled. They had to invent the wrecking ball to demolish it.

Queer Stormtrooper

Ernst Rohm, a rough bulldog of a man whose face bore scars from The Great War, wanted to become the military leader of a new, socialist Germany. In 1921 he co-founded the Sturmabteilung (SA), one of the militias that would eventually merge into the Nazi party. The SA had a fearful reputation for chaotic violence, heightened by the knowledge that Rohm and many of the SA were gay. Rohm supported the socialist ideal - nationalizing industry, offering profit sharing, and programs for the working class. But the Nazi party was already aligning itself with powerful businesses (becoming fascist), and Rohm was executed in 1934 during a purge of perceived opponents within the SA.

Pictures of the Maelstrom

Photographer Ed Burtynsky presenting a stunning visual slideshow of environmental impact on a massive scale. The highlight is China, where the industrial/capitalist revolution is happening at a scale and speed that is new to humanity. Included is an ironic revelation - the powerful protests of the Exxon Valdez spill led to legislation that prompted a highly-polluting mass-demolition of obsolete tankers in South Asia.

First Black Man to Run for President was a Woman

In 1968, Shirley Chisholm became the first black woman in Congress. But that wasn't enough. In 1972, she became the first black person and the first woman to run a serious campaign for Presidential nomination.