Columns

Can Smogburgers Save the Planet?

Sometimes (especially in wildfire season) the air pollution is so bad you can almost choke on it. But science is about to make this a good thing.

A new generation of food physicists has unveiled a novel process—call it a seeming near-miracle—that literally pulls food out of thin air.

Well, perhaps it's more correct to say "thick air" because we're talking about air that's stuffed with an excess of CO2.

The breakthrough relies on hydrogenotrophs that can be coaxed (or withdrawn) from smog banks and transformed into a protean powder that be used to create a smorgasbord of protein-based foods.

Plant-based burgers already have led the way in the transition to eco-friendly meat-free foods but turning our smoky air into a food source seems almost too good to be true. Perhaps we can start cooling the planet by scarfing coal-plant-based burgers and munching cow-burp enchiladas. 

Biden His Time

Thanks, Joe. Good to hear from you. Guess I missed the news. I'll pass the word. 

Best Movie Ad Ever! 

The November 14 Chronicle took the idea of "fake news" to a delicious, new plateau with a deceptive, four-page wrap-around that made it appear as if the Chron had been redacted by an over-active Sharpie-wielding mad-man. 

It all turned out to be an ingenious scam-of-a-scheme to promote a new film, a highly anticipated film about government crimes called The Report and starring Annette Bening as Senator Dianne Feinstein. 

The faux front-page contains seven breaking-news stories about whistleblowers and the Trump impeachment process—all heavily redacted with words or entire lines blacked out. Whoever got the assignment of redacting the text had a field day. A close look reveals how the swipe of a pen can completely change the original message. 

The headline, for instance, originally read "White House refusing to cooperate." But the redactor has altered it to read: "White House … to cooperate." In the caption for the accompanying photo, the redactor has changed the line stating that the White House was "calling the investigation 'invalid' and illegitimate'" to proclaim that the White House had called the investigation "valid" and "legitimate." 

These redactions demonstrate how some "cover-ups" can be revealing. Meanwhile, this film (about the CIA's secret torture/waterboarding operations) deserves our fullest attention. 

The GOPNRA Claims More Young Lives 

Another school shooting has cut short the lives of several students at Sagus High School in Santa Clarita. The soaring body count is, in part, a legacy of Sen. Mitch McConnell's refusal to confront the NRA and his refusal to support basic gun-control legislation. McConnell has earned the nickname, "Moscow Mitch" for his denial of Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election. Now CREDOAction has bestowed another moniker on McConnell by addressing a new gun-safety petition to "Massacre Mitch." Their message: "Your loyalty to the NRA is costing American lives. Act now on gun control." 

And here's a modest suggestion for the media: whenever a weapon is used in a deadly act of violence, please include the name of the manufacturer. Prominently! 

(And let's pause for a shout-out to the Supreme Court for ruling that the parents of children killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre have the legal right to sue Remington, the company that manufactured the Bushmaster assault rifle used in the mass-killing.) 

POTUS and FHTUS? 

The thought just struck me: if Mayor Pete Buttigieg were to become the next President of the United States (POTUS), how would we address his partner? FLOTUS would need to be jettisoned in favor of a new term. Instead of First Lady, what? "First Gentleman"? "First Husband"? "Second Man"? Come to think of it, shouldn't "First Lady" Melania Trump be referred to as "Third Wife"? 

Our National Parks under Trump: Falling Down and Up for Grabs 

America's treasured national parks are suffering from $11.9 billion in deferred maintenance. Access roads are crumbling, bridges are compromised, trails are overgrown and buildings are in disrepair. Enter the Pew Charitable Trust, whose minions have put on their thinking caps and come up with a "Protecting Our Parks" plan to "save" our national parks by commercializing them. "What if," the Pewsters posit, the nation's 318 million park-goers "had the opportunity to pay for cutting-edge, technology-enhanced experiences that made their trips more memorable?" 

Pew claims its "innovative ideas" could trim maintenance costs by $3.7 billion over the next decade. For instance: allow untended roads and trails to "return to nature"; shift responsibility for maintaining park roads to nearby city governments "connected by park roads"; reduce building upkeep expenses by reducing existing buildings to rubble—a sure way to "eliminate future maintenance costs." 

Smart Park technology like remote sensors could detect roof leaks and restroom sensors that could tell workers when to empty the waste baskets. Ultimately, "offering visitors customized virtual reality experiences—3-D or 360-degree headsets—that capture the sights and sounds of . . . historic tours from virtual park rangers" would be sure to "boost NPS coffers." A certainty since virtual employees wouldn't require salaries or costly benefits. 

Heck, the NPS could save more money and rake in added profits by turning the whole park experience into a 3-D VR experience that could be enjoyed in the privacy of one's kitchen, living room, or sleeping quarters. And, for the kids, there could be videogames with titles like: "The Avengers Storm Yosemite" and "Guardians of the Galaxy: Groot, and the Petrified Forest," and "Star Wars: Death Valley." 

Grand Coca-Cola Canyon? Trump's Plan to Privatize National Parks 

CREDOAction is circulating a new petition in hopes of preventing the corporate take-over of America's most cherished national parks. Their alert reads: 

"Reporters recently uncovered shady plans between the Interior Department and national park profiteers, the RV and hospitality industries, and enemies of public lands to privatize national park campgrounds, allow commercialized food trucks and other services at parks, limit benefits for seniors and increase prices." 

According to critics, the plot (quietly drawn up by Trump's ex-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke) would constitute "a massive giveaway to corporate interests and Trump donors." 

To Trump, it seems, everything's a commodity—just a means to some profit-making end. Now Trump wants to grab public lands with the same shameless gall he's employed to grab private parts. Impeachment is not sufficient punishment for such a public scofflaw. I propose a nationally televised public spanking—to be administered by Smokey the Bear. 

"Trickle-up Politics"

According to the Indianapolis Star: "For the first time in nearly 40 years, voters in Columbus, Indiana, elected more Democrats than Republicans to the city council." Not good news for Columbus-reared Mike Pence and his brother, US Rep. Greg Pence, an Indiana Republican. Neither of the Pences accepted the IndyStar's request for comment. "Big wins in suburbs across the state are setting the table for 2020," the Indiana Democratic Party said in a news release. 

Weatherisms: How to Avoid Boring, Repetitive Forecasts 

The Saturday Chronicle arrived with a seven-day weathercast that proffered no hint of rain in our future. What the forecast lacked in precipitation it made up for in redundancy. While nearly every day began and ended as every other—overcast in the morning; sunny in the afternoon—the Chron apparently has a rule against boring the public with same ol'-same-ol' predicitions. 

So, instead of just repeating "partially cloudy" seven times, the Chroncast promised readers a week of "low clouds, then sun," "mostly sunny," "periods of sun," and finally, "times of clouds and sun." 

The latest flurry of the Chron's "partly sunny" weatherisms included the phrases "sunny through high clouds," "clouds breaking, followed by sunny," and finally a welcome report of something different: "plenty of sunshine." 

TP-ing the Planet to the Tipping Point 

Canada's boreal forest is the world's largest surviving intact forest. Stretching over half of Canada, these pristine woodlands provide habitat to billions of animals and a home to hundreds of indigenous communities. These vast woodlands also help remove massive amounts of globe-heating carbon from the atmosphere. 

So why are legions of loggers clear-cutting these precious trees and unleashing gigantic plumes of CO2 in the process? Answer: So CostCo can turn old-growth trees into rolls of luxury toilet paper. But using virgin wood to make TP (CostCo's "number one biggest seller") has a worse eco-impact than driving gas-hungry SUVs in freeway traffic. 

The 400,000-members of SumOfUs previously brought CostCo to the negotiating table over the TP issue but, in recent weeks, negotiations reportedly "have gone cold." SumOfUs responded by surrounding CostCo's HQ with vehicles serving as "mobile billboards" and predicted: "When Costco bosses see giant billboards slamming them for destroying pristine forest surrounding their HQ, it’ll rattle staff. They’ll know their reputation—and profits—are under threat." 

SumOfUs previously convinced Starbucks to switch to 100% recycled paper cups and compelled McDonald's to abandon forest-killing palm-oil products. For more information, check out these two teasingly titled items: 

The Issue with Tissue: How Americans Are Flushing Forests Down the Toilet, Natural Resources Defense Council, February 20, 2019. 

Wiped out: America's love of luxury toilet paper is destroying Canadian forests, The Guardian, March 1, 2019. 

¡Cuba Sí! ¡Bloqueó No!
On Nov 7, 2019, the UN General Assembly voted—again—to express its opposition to the US blockade of Cuba. Arn Kawano, from the National Lawyers Guild International Committee, reported that "other than Brazil under Bolsonaro, the US was defeated in its efforts under Trump/Pence/Pompeo to strong-arm Latin American countries to oppose the UN resolution to end the illegal and inhumane blockade of Cuba." 

While 179 members of the UN voted to end Trump's Cuba blockage, the only other country to join Brazil in backing Washington was Israel. There were two abstentions: Colombia and Ukraine (which suggests there are still some abiding quid pro quos at work.) 

Evo-lution: Reflecting on the Tumult in Bolivia 

When we visited La Paz last year, one of the first things we saw on approaching the capital was a large billboard on the outskirts that showed president Evo Morales in a hard-hat superimposed over a photo of the new freeways that were being built. 

During our stay, we heard from locals who were tiring of Evo's administration after so many years. When we asked about the freeway, one resident indicated why it was unpopular—in addition to the expense, part of the new concrete superhighway was set to cut through lands that previously belonged to cocoa farmers who had been displaced to "make way for progress." 

So the feeling was: Evo had evolved (in not the best way) and was no longer true to his own cocoa-growing roots. 

In recent months, we've seen far too many of these messy political implosions—followed by the arrival of self-nominated replacement leaders. These days, the ballot box is apparently no match for the megaphone. Democracy requires free and fair elections but, around the world, honest and uncorrupted votes now seem little more than a dim fantasy. Even in the US. 

Evo's claim to legitimacy as four-term leader was part of the problem. As NPR pointed out: 

Morales tried to amend Bolivia's constitution so he could run for a fourth term but voters narrowly rejected the proposal in a referendum. Rather than accept the result, Morales appealed to the nation's highest court, which, according to analysts, is packed with the president's allies. The judges ruled that Morales' reelection bid could proceed on the grounds that the president's human rights would have been violated were he not allowed on the ballot. 

Be that as it may, I still admire Evo Morales for his steadfast resistance to US imperialism. Earlier this year, Morales sat ten feet from Donald Trump at a UN meeting and unleashed a damning, history-rooted complaint directly in Trump's face. Here's an excerpt: 

Tell Trump: "Don't Pass Gas" 

This November, 11,000 scientists from around the world published an urgent declaration: “The climate crisis has arrived and is accelerating faster than most scientists expected. It is more severe than anticipated, threatening natural ecosystems and the fate of humanity."¹ 

Their message could not be clearer—we simply can’t allow more greenhouse gas emissions. Despite decades of warnings, Trump’s EPA (aka Environmental Pollution Agency) continues to promote doom over decarbonization. Trump recently proposed rolling back regulations to reduce methane emissions—favoring the short-term profits of the fossil fuel industry over the long-term survival of human society. 

The Climate Reality Project wants to send a message to Andrew Wheeler, head of Trump's EPA: Don't Give Methane Gas a Pass. Now is the time to tighten regulations on methane leaks—not relax them. 

The public comment period ends soon, so add your name to the CRP's letter to EPA Administrator Wheeler today. "It’s our planet. Our future. And we won’t be silent." 

24 Hours of Global Concern on Climate 

Concerned about the climate crisis? Wondering what can be done? The Climate Reality Project is preparing to offer some ideas with an event called 24 Hours of Reality: Truth in Action, "a global conversation on the climate crisis and how we solve it." This peoples' planetary plenary will take place on November 20–21 when Climate Reality volunteers—trained by former US Vice President Al Gore, no less—will host public conversations "on our changing climate across continents and time zones." Presentations are set for all 50 US states. To find an event near you, just click on this link to locate the closest Truth in Action presentation. (Two events are currently listed to take place in Berkeley at 1543 Addison and 2015 Center Street.) 

And Keep Your Oil Platforms Out of Our Seabeds 

On November 8, the group, When Democrats Turn Out, released an email warning that read: 

"While Democrats are focused on impeachment and voting Trump out in 2020, he’s using every possible moment to cause as much damage as possible -- especially with his environmental policies. Trump has gutted emissions standards, expanded logging and mining, and now, he wants to expand offshore drilling into the Atlantic. Expanding offshore drilling would be devastating to our environment and coastal economies, and the GOP knows it, but all they care about are corporate donations." 

Unfortunately, in a breach of logical (and geological) consistency, the alert was titled: "Offshore drilling has no place on our shores." And that's the littoral truth. 

The One Phone Company That's Not a Phony 

CREDO Mobile, a division of Working Assets, is proudly showcasing a new video celebrating the company's mission of "powering progressive change." Every month, CREDO Mobile donates $150,000 to activist causes. So far, that adds up to $88 million in gifts to support voting rights, racial justice, and other progressive campaigns.