(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Anti-Capitalist Meetup: So many possibilities, none with free lunches [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-08-13 Get the most out of life. Live like there is no tomorrow, or, for those more marketing inclined, live like it’s your last day. What has that gotten us? Lots of great experiences, and tremendous technological development. At what cost? Energy providers have been handed obscene wealth and power by fawning energy addicts. Wealthier inhabitants rush around on a century plus bender of guzzling down borrowed energy. Less affluent citizens scrape by on dwindling resources in increasingly unstable climates. Rich nations fill with addicts scrounging for daily killowatt injections. Entertainment addled, energy addicted consumers demand convenient consumption of exotic goods shipped from all over the Earth. The sum of borrowed excess is readily incorporated into arrogant myths of human superiority and dominion over nature. None of it has been paid in full. Payment will come physically, not through monetary policy or penitent prayers. These payments are starting, as increasingly destructive weather and wildfires rampaging through our towns attest. It’s simple physics, not finance or gods. Unpaid burning of fossil fuels doubled atmospheric CO 2 and discombobulated Earth’s energy relations. We have suspected this would happen for hundreds of years, and have decades of solid backing data. The Earth energy imbalance (EEI) is happening, it’s getting worse and won’t stop until a new global steady state of energy balance is approached, i.e. we get net top of atmosphere (TOA) radiation to approach zero once again. Earth Energy Imbalance continues to climb, as will the changing climate toll Possibilities? Where? Go Green Replace fossil fuels with renewable sources. Just don’t use it as a path to further induce demand in context free consumerism. There is no such thing as unlimited growth. Evolve economics Eliminate externalities and circularize economies. We can curtail our physical energy deficits by having our economies account for consequences and pay for waste management, pollution prevention, environmental cleanup, mitigation of damages, and reparations to damaged communities. Set aside perpetual growth fables. At the very least, plan for periods of contraction by ensuring that everybody has accessible food, shelter, healthcare and education. Focus more on well-being and less on GDP. Take care of people across the economic spectrum. Then, we can use less energy in planned degrowth that people can appreciate. Otherwise, we will keep being hit with unexpected contractions in which workers are forced to provide essential services for unlivable wages and cheery yard signs until they rebel against overlords. Think outside the vehicle Last month, tens of thousands of cyclists rode their bicycles across Iowa in the 50th edition of RAGBRAI. Most pedaled, though electric motor pedal assistance is spreading. Busta and I joined with our bicycle and trailer. We saw some unbelievable riders there. One rode with a 4 foot front wheel. Don’t know how they got on and off. Another pedaled a fixed gear (must pedal, no coasting) unicycle up and down Eastern Iowa hills. We got to talk a little for a few miles as he passed me uphill and I passed him on the way down. A few RAGBRAI riders are similar to long hauler cyclists encountered on nearly every bicycle touring vacation that I have ridden. Perhaps the most amazing of those has been the rider Tobias whom I wrote about last year on the Katy Trail. First, he introduced himself by walking into a potential confrontation between me and local drinking young men, and the next morning he rode off many miles to who knows where, with all of his possessions in backpacks and bags that he wore and held. None of us are cycling 800-1200 miles in a day, as vehicle drivers such as myself have done with regularity. As we drive around to cycle scenic and new routes with teams and companions, most of us aren’t even cutting into our unpaid energy deficit, though we could. A national network of paved bicycle routes can be traversed 10-100 miles a day by unknown numbers of potential cyclists. The machinery is efficient enough for both personal and commercial transit. It’s not for everybody, and neither are vehicle driving or commercial trucking. We are not talking about eliminating cars, trucks, trains, barges or ships. What I am talking about is reducing the EEI and the deficits we are loading on children. Circularize the economics of all modes of transport so that options are fairly priced. Have people decide between bicycles, motorcycles, cars, trucks, trains, planes, boats and ships based on pricing that reflects effects on EEI and system sustainability. Where’s my flying car? Maybe technology will advance to where consumers can choose from a marketplace teeming with flying cars and robots. I don’t know. It is not vitally important. What is vital is understanding our places in our communities. Last week, I posted a summary of recent congressional testimony on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP). There were encouraging responses mixed with incredulity and alien debunking. If you really want to explore this tar pit, here is somebody who says they were on a tic tac UAP like the one retired Navy Cmdr. Fravor testified about to Congress. Among those taking the testimony at face value, there were vocal calls to keep it secret for arms race security. We agree that superiority in emerging technology from China, Russia or any other anti-democratic elitist state would not be good. Nobody can guarantee that they will prevent it from happening. I contend that the best way to avoid this is through transparent open science. Besides, the US DoD has demonstrated time and again that it cannot be trusted without oversight. Above all of that, there is no getting away from community. We are not going to star being our way off of a burning home planet. Even the tic tac star beings say as much to their passengers. We need to value nature and live with love. I do not need aliens or angels to tell me that. It is plainly evident in our biological existence. Moreover, universal consciousness is a possible explanation for standard model physics that already postulates infinite virtual particles. I’d love to see evidence that leaves no doubt one way or the other. Until then, I am accepting congressional testimony from multiple experts, while remaining open to more expansive sources of consciousness than human brains. Back to economics and humanity No messianic experiencers, vicars, politicians, stars, CEOs or generals are needed. They will not save us. On the contrary, they are capable of threatening all of us when they divisively talk of salvation and superiority. What we need are people who are working to find our place in social, biological, terrestrial and possibly intelligent being communities. This includes AI, who are far from out competing us, but may be unleashed in suicidal wrecklessness by humans focused on competition at the expense of the rest of community dynamics. We either do it as a species and global population, or we burn our home and kill off most of us and other species in futile vain attempts to save a few rich, powerful and/or influential elites. I am not choosing the latter journey. I am here with my friends and comrades to join with all who say it is all of us or none of us. Aside My life is funny. The more I talk about community, the more isolated I feel. It’s been a tough couple of years with work and friends. The spouse and kids are the only reason I got off the floor to do anything. The Anti-Capitalist Meetup has been the only reason, other than my own cantankerousness, that I continued writing. Thanks to the few who have put up with me these last couple of years. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/13/2186230/-Anti-Capitalist-Meetup-So-many-possibilities-none-with-free-lunches Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/