Notices by Paul Wermer, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (paulwermer@sfba.social)

@evan A pause, yes - and end? not so sure.

@alcinnz @gerrymcgovern
We are an unusual species. We have invested immense sums studying cancers, and have developed a reasonable understanding of why cancer kills: Its unrestrained growth interferes with the functioning of the body's organs - consuming nutrients needed by other cells, and invading organs, this impeding their ability to function.

And so with this model of unconstrained growth, we happily build an economic system that replicates cancer in the larger world: over-extracting resources, squandering energy, generating waste we cannot get rid of, displacing essential ecosystems with land development and abusive agricultural & forestry practices.

We do it for "money" and because of "property rights" that enable "prosperity" through growth.

I remember in the 90s hearing from the experts at DuPont, etc about how safe the fluorinated organics were.

Not only do we (USA) not use the precautionary principle as a guide, we continue to trust companies to test their own products for health and environmental impacts - in spite of what is now extensive history of failures of this approach to assessing chemical hazards. Failures include both corporate lies and sheltering behind "we followed the law" defenses. Both are aggravated by older, inadequate toxicology standards that failed to comprehend current research results - yet offer a defense for corporate obfuscation.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/02/toxic-pfas-menstrual-pads-carefree-edgewell?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

#ToxicChemical #PersistantPollution #HazardousChemicals #PFAS

@rightardia
Good news, indeed.

And a cautionary note: let's not get complacent. There are a lot of swing states where the margin is much closer, and every vote is essential.

That pesky Electoral College means we need to really GOTV, and reach out to undecideds in the swing states.

Today's distressing reminder that atrocities are happening in many places, yet news coverage in the US is focussed on just a few - like Gaza or Ukraine:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/09/darfur-atrocities-ethnic-cleansing-human-rights-watch-report-rsf-sudan?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

And I feel quite helpless in the face of what appears to be global indifference to these crises. Yes, these are complex problems, with no easy solutions. BUt is that really a reason to let these crises propagate?

Just one more reminder that social change takes time, effort, commitment, persistence.

And, unfortunately, possibly more than a generation. The status quo is one tough bugger*

* "In the United States, particularly in the Midwest and South, it is an inoffensive slang term meaning "small animal"", see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bugger?wprov=sfla1

https://mastodon.social/@davbatz/112360263237551643

@evan
That presumes we all have a viable carbon-free option. That's unfortunately not the case right now in many cases.

@evan one would expect Mastodon to have a few who get this. What gives?

@drahardja there is a distressing tendency to reward those who respond to a disaster, while ignoring those who do the difficult work of preventing a disaster. The latter is so much harder to see, and also so much more challenging...

@james Thanks for this - and I think your guidance is generally applicable in many areas; you've just changed the way I think about some things.

@accretionist @sy @matthewtoad43 @gerrymcgovern @deightonrobbie I've been stunned to see how much one can carry on a bicycle with trailer, and e-bikes make that viable for all ages and terrains (and the range is pretty impressive as well). In younger days I bicycle commuted and shopped via bicycle (in Cncinnati with it's hills, and in a Chicago winter) but I had too many friends and coworkers killed or injured to keep it up and 1980s/early 1990s Bay Area was not bicycle friendly - transit (BART, Caltrain) did not welcome bicycles so structural barriers simplified my quitting.

THe change in San Francisco with Slow Streets and the JFK Promenade in Golden Gate Park opened my eyes to the possibilities that exist now.

Im hoping to spend some time in rural Maine in the future - and wish the roadways permit cycling as an alternative. But that needs some advocacy. Rural road = low traffic density =high speeds and bored drivers - so some dedicated lanes are needed. DOable, but needs local demand