Category Archives: What to do

Book review “Women, armies, & warfare in early modern Europe”

Posted on October 22, 2025 by

Preface. Ever since I read that women were the pack mules in Alexander the Greats army, carrying all the food and camp gear while their men only carried a sword, I’ve wondered about the role of women in armies. Very little has … Continue reading →

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The growth of incarceration in the U.S. Causes and consequences. National Research Council 2014

Posted on October 8, 2025 by

Preface. This National Research Council 465-page report may be the most comprehensive study of the U.S. prison system there is.  It will make you cry. I’ve excerpted about one-sixth of it below.  It is shocking that the “U.S. penal population … Continue reading →

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Enough minerals for a solar, wind, & battery transition from fossil fuels?

Posted on September 23, 2025 by

Preface.  The transition could require as much as $173 trillion in energy supply and infrastructure investment over the next three decades. One HELL of a lot of metals needed – questionable if possible in in three decades, especially with China … Continue reading →

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Aside

Preface. After seeing the film “The Power of Community: How Cuba survived Peak Oil” in 2006, I thought about how those lessons might apply to California, which grows about a third of U.S. food.  Much of what follows in the … Continue reading →

Posted on May 28, 2025 by

Escape to Mars after we’ve trashed the Earth?

Posted on January 23, 2025 by

Preface. The idea that we can go to Mars is touted by NASA, Elon Musk, and so many others that this dream seems just around the corner.  If we destroy our planet with climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, soil erosion, … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Extinction, Far Out, Hopium, Human Nature, Planetary Boundaries, Where to Be or Not to Be | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

President Carter’s energy solutions 1977

Posted on December 31, 2024 by

Preface. The speech below is one of the reasons Carter was not reelected. Reagan’s “Morning in America” was far more appealing. Another reason he wasn’t reelected was because the Reagan administration prevented the hostage crisis in Iran from being resolved … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy Policy & Politicians, Expert Advice, President Jimmy Carter | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Hemp for paper, textiles, the war on drugs, and more

Posted on December 17, 2024 by

  Hemp product categories include: Clothing & Accessories, Health & Wellness, Food & Drinks, Pet Supplies, Beauty & Skincare, Farming & Gardening, Home & Office supplies, Automobiles, Industrial. Source: Top 50 Hemp Products You Can Get Online Preface.  If you … Continue reading →

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The evolution of the Republican party from 1960 to 2024: from moderate democracy to extreme authoritarianism

Posted on October 12, 2024 by

Preface (long). Over time the planks grew more and more religious, stopped mentioning voting rights in 1980 as well as a war on regulations, stopped supporting the equal rights for women, could care less about abortion to being against it … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical Thinking and Scientific Literacy, Politics, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book review of “The Power Worshippers. Inside the dangerous rise of religious nationalism”

Posted on September 24, 2024 by

Preface.  One of the many items I found of interest in this book “The Power Worshippers” was that it wasn’t until 1979, six years after Roe v Wade, that conservative activists seized on abortion not for moral reasons, but as … Continue reading →

Posted in Birth Control, Politics, Religion | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Book review of “Deer Hunting with Jesus” Best book on why people vote for Trump

Posted on September 18, 2024 by

Preface. This is a book review of Joe Bageant’s 2008 Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America’s Class War. Joe Bageant grew up in poor, conservative Winchester Virginia, which is like tens of thousands of other small towns in America. … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical Thinking and Scientific Literacy, Human Nature, Politics, Religion | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments