So yeah- turns out ‘ol Rush — whom I spent too many construction site hours having to endure — was Quite Anti Science when it came to the dangers of tobacco use. Just a bunch of intellectual and Ivory Tower geeks who certainly didn’t know about the “real” world with “real” men like Dear Ol “i’m a real man” Rush did… “Fake Science”
Right now ,of course, he may have come to an uncomfortable truth as he confronts the consequences of stridently ignoring the mega data that scientists have collected and publicized for years about smoking and health.
I kinda can’t give a shit about Rush and his feelings nowadays- he made his millions spewing the kind of hate that I feel sent us right down the divisive , fear mongering, violence prone path I see my country careening down today. So yeah- Rush- don’t let that door hit ya on the ass on yer way out...
But I do sense a prelude to the kind of inner and outer dialogues we will encounter as our planet careens down its very apparent path of human caused eco self destruction …..unlike Rush, when these folk made their decisions to discount the science provided mega data of Climate Crisis reality, they included me and mine in those consequences…..think of it as second hand smoking writ very very large…. and guess what?- my thoughts will be even less charitable than they are towards Rush.
It’s no more about “tweaking” the system than believing organic cigarettes are good for you. It IS about seeing the lethality of a system that ultimately still believes that individual selfishness somehow manifests as planet-wide cooperation and eco-nourishment.
If you need any further evidence, you need only look at the Annual Energy Outlook 2020 just published by the US Dept of energy with its projections out to 2050. Recall that the latest UN report says that in order to meet the Paris goals and get to net zero emissions by 2050, we need to see an almost 8% reduction of GHG each year.
Here is the USA’s projections for that time period:
• After falling during the first half of the projection period, total U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions resume modest growth in the2030s, driven largely by increases in energy demand in the transportation and industrial sectors; however, by 2050, they remain 4% lower than 2019 levels [my emphasis]
I would humbly submit: that ain’t gonna do it.
Even their best case scenario is nothing more than switching to low tar menthols:
The Low Renewables Cost case, which has sustained cost reductions for renewables through 2050,results in lower energy-related CO2 emissions overall compared with the Reference case. Increasingelectricity generation from renewables leads to decreasing emissions; after 2040, total emissions increaseas a result of increased energy demand in the transportation and industrial sectors that are less dependent upon electricity. However, in 2050, emissions remain 8% lower than 2019 levels [my emphasis]
please note that as best I can determine , this is a CO2 centric report with nothing re recent CH4 or N2O surges — both of which have a lot of USA origins….
That’s the data. Thems the breaks.
