The Political Divide

The sense by which we take our bearing in the real world is being destroyed

The result of a consistent and total substitution of lies for factual truth is not that the lie will now be accepted as truth and truth be defamed as a lie, but that the sense by which we take our bearings in the real world—and the category of truth versus falsehood is among the mental means to this end—is being destroyed. - Hannah Arendt, political philosopher, (1906-1975) From her book the Origins of Totalitarianism

Young people eschew TV, older ones can't get enough

One of the divides that has been around since time eternal is the different ways that younger and older people view the world. An August 17, 2022, article in Fortune reports that "nine out of ten people ages 18 to 24 have decided to practically forgo the tried-and-tested tradition of channel surfing in favor of their preferred streaming service, and are spending two-thirds less time in front of a traditional television relative to a decade ago." On the flip side of the age continuum, "viewers over 65 can't get enough and spend nearly six hours a day on average watching television, a slight uptick from 10 years ago." One has to wonder how the different viewing habits, as a source of not only entertainment but information, affect perceptions of the world in general and the political divide specifically.

Storks give hope to a Ukraine divided by war

Sixteen percent of the 224,000 storks that visit Europe each year nest in Ukraine. Explosions, shelling and the roar of tanks were frightening the storks and keeping them away. A story in the Good News Network on August 9, 2022, featured images of a nesting stork in the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, becoming a symbol of hope for the country.

Climate Change

What is sustainability? Can we do this forever?

Sustainability is a word that is used and over-used. UCLA calls it "the balance between the environment, equity, and the economy." The United Nations Brundtland Commission in 1987 described it as "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Investopedia provides language that I think provides the best guidance: "sustainability refers to the ability to maintain or support a process continuously over time.” In other words, the question we should ask is simply "can we do this forever?"

Is the West in a drought or a process of aridification?

Two telling stories recently address the drought in the West in a sobering way. The first is an August 25, 2022, ProPublica interview with Jay Famiglietti, the executive director of the Global Institute for Water Security at the University of Saskatchewan. Famiglietti suggests that "the megadrought gripping the western states is only part of the problem." It explores how "alternative sources of water are also imperiled and the nation’s food along with it.” The second article, in Vail Daily, also on August 25, says "we are beyond treating the Colorado River crisis as something that will soon pass, or ever will." It quotes Brad Udall, director of the Western Water Assessment at Colorado State University, as saying "this isn't a drought, it's something else. Myself and other scientists are trying to use a different term: aridification." Aridification is defined as "the gradual change of a region from a wetter to a drier climate."

Covering California’s aqueducts to save water and create clean energy

In the 2007-2008 time period when California was in the early stages of the current 23-year drought, then Assembly member Mary Salas and I discussed the concept of covering the state’s concrete aqueducts with solar panels. The idea was to minimize evaporation as the water flowed through a hot area of central California and to generate clean energy at the same time. I took the idea to the California Department of Water Resources and was told it wasn’t worth doing. According to an August 25, 2022, story in Reuters, California will spend $20 million to cover a portion of the aqueduct with solar panels, "a plan that if scaled up might save billions of gallons of otherwise evaporated water while powering millions of homes." The project is based on a similar one in the west Indian state of Gujarat.

Could lithium from fracking help the clean energy transition?

Wouldn’t it be ironic if fracking to produce oil and gas also helped pave the way to a clean energy future? It turns out that the wastewater produced as a byproduct of fracking, known as shale brines, contains lithium. A professor at the University of Houston is working on a process to extract lithium from the brines. According to a story on Fox 26 Houston on August 26, 2022, "expectations are that the process could yield 4,200 tons of the vital metal, each year; more than double current U.S. needs, as the fossil-fuel industry could help power a transition to renewable energy.""

Debate: Can keeping California’s last nuclear plant open advance energy goals?

Diablo Canyon, California’s last remaining nuclear power plant, is scheduled to be shut down in 2025. However, a plan to keep it open until 2035 is being discussed according to an August 15, 2022, article in Canary Media. Is the plant "so crucial to a reliable power grid that the state should prop it up with $1.4 billion and waive environmental regulations to help it stay open an extra decade?" Or "would extending Diablo Canyon's lifespan cost too much, cause ongoing environmental harms, increase the risk of radioactive disaster, and betray commitments to replace its power with cheaper renewables and batteries?" The debate is on.

Future of Work / The Economy

While CEOs are now prepared for the near inevitability of a U.S. recession … the vast majority expect the downturn to be brief and shallow. - Roger Ferguson, former TIAA CEO

CEO confidence continues to deteriorate in the third quarter

A story in the August 17, 2022, CEO Daily reports The Conference Board’s third-quarter measure of CEO confidence, conducted in collaboration with The Business Council, "fell deeper than at any time since the beginning of the pandemic." Anything below 50 indicates more negative than positive and the latest data registered 34 this quarter, down from 42 in the second quarter.

• 81% of the CEOs surveyed say they are preparing for recession over the next 12-18 months.
• Three quarters of CEOs say demand for their own company’s products or services has risen or held steady over the past three months.
• 50% still expect to expand their workforce over the next 12 months (down from 63% in Q2).
• 82% still expect their capital spending to grow or hold steady over the next year (down from 93% in Q2).
• 73% continue to report some difficulties in hiring qualified people (down from 80% in Q2.).

Half of businesses are planning layoffs

Another survey, this one by PwC of 722 U.S. executives, including 63% from Fortune 1000 companies, found that "one-half of all respondents are reducing their head count. Furthermore, 46% are dropping or reducing signing bonuses, and 44% are rescinding offers." The survey results were reported on August 22, 2022, by Channel Futures, a platform serving the communications and technology industries. "Business leaders are prioritizing changing their workforce mix by ensuring they have the specialized talent needed to grow, while also managing labor costs due to the current inflation rate."

The U.S. has shifted from regulating businesses to subsidizing them

According to an opinion on August 21, 2022, in The Guardian, “America used to regulate business. Now government subsidizes it.” The opinion, by former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich, says “this shift from regulation to subsidy has characterized every recent administration.” He points out the billions provided to industry by the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations. He writes that “before the 1980s, the US would have done all this differently. Instead of subsidizing broadband, semiconductors, energy companies, vaccine manufacturers, health care and pharmaceutical businesses, and the financial sector, we would have regulated them – requiring them to act in various ways.” However, he points out the balance of power shifting to corporations “makes it politically difficult, if not impossible, for government to demand that corporations (and their shareholders) bear the costs of public goods. Government must bribe them instead.”

Covid-19

Your first exposure to Covid can dictate later response

It is called "original antigenic sin," but what it means is "the version of a virus to which we’re first exposed can dictate how we respond to later variants and, maybe, how well vaccines work." An August 23, 2022, story in the Washington Post reports that "people have been infected, vaccinated, boosted, reinfected and boosted again — in varying combinations. People's immune systems are on slightly different learning curves, depending on when they were infected or vaccinated, and with what variants or vaccines." Understanding this will influence future vaccine strategies. "More than two years into the pandemic, the quest to unravel these riddles underscores the seemingly unending complexity of the battle against a new pathogen."

How to tell if you have had Covid

Covid hasn’t gone away. When I told my doctor at my recent annual physical that I hadn’t had Covid, he said "or you don't know if you have had it." In an August 27, 2022, story in Eat This, Not That, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, provides clues that you might have had Covid:

• Sore Throat. Fauci himself had what he thought was just a scratchy throat, but he tested, and the result was positive for Covid.
• Fatigue. He didn’t feel great, but mostly the impact was fatigue.
• Brain Fog. Anywhere from 25% to 35%—or more—have lingering symptoms. One is what people refer to as brain fog.
• Stuffy Nose and Body Aches. Symptoms of COVID-19 can be similar to those of flu … just a stuffy nose and a little sore throat and ache, and then they get better.

Fauci says that "even though being vaccinated won't necessarily stop reinfection, it can help prevent serious complications and hospitalization."

The only monkeypox vaccine maker can’t keep up with demand

It’s not Covid, but because the World Health Organization has declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern, we are tracking it. According to an August 17, 2022, story in Fortune, "Bavarian Nordic A/S, the only company with an approved vaccine for monkeypox, said it's no longer certain it can meet demand as cases continue to rise across the world."

The Nett Light-Side

Good thoughts will shine out of your face like sunbeams

If you have good thoughts, they will shine out of your face like sunbeams, and you will always look lovely. - Roald Dahl a writer who has been called "one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century."

Why your best thoughts come to you in the shower

Do your best ideas come to you when your mind is wandering, or when you are doing mindless things, like taking a shower? There’s a reason for that. According to an August 15, 2022, story in National Geographic, "research from the last 15 years suggests that people may be more likely to have creative breakthroughs or epiphanies when they’re doing a habitual task that doesn’t require much thought—an activity in which you’re basically on autopilot. This lets your mind wander or engage in spontaneous cognition or ‘stream of consciousness’ thinking, which experts believe helps retrieve unusual memories and generate new ideas."

Taking a closer look at the Moon and Jupiter

Humans love outer space and two new looks outside our planet have emerged recently. On August 22, 2022, CBS News reported on two astrophotographers who have captured "the most ridiculously detailed" photo of the moon. On the same day, The Guardian shared infrared images that "capture unprecedented views" of Jupiter's northern and southern lights, swirling polar haze, storms, rings, and two tiny moons from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.