Environmentalism: A Blogger's Track Record

If you've followed my writing on the "New Rostra" blog, you've read about natural disasters, weather, and the dangers of this beautiful planet we inhabit. I love living here, but it is not safe. The environmentalist dilemma is front and center on this forum. My record has been set here, in many different contexts:

Pardon me for quoting my previous posts on #BlogSpot via the New Rostra, but here they are...

I've detailed the incredibly dangerous lives of storm chasers: http://goo.gl/iKZCTM

There have been musings on running away from threatening storms: http://goo.gl/sAqjpV

Reflections on Hurricane Ike in the Houston area: http://goo.gl/8cTmaa

The disastrous earthquake in Nepal:  http://goo.gl/3jyBjn

Thank you reader, and if you'd like to read these previous posts you'll see that I respect the earth and her power, but I don't pretend to understand that power or predict what will happen next. It's crazy to try to do that...

Many in the environmentalist movement seemingly make fear-mongering a religion, and their know-it-all scientists have twisted statistics and theories in order to scare the public into thinking that we're ruining the habitat, and in a few years with the ice caps melted, the population is doomed to drown or be crushed by famine. [They're not sure how the bad stuff is going to happen, but they're sure that it will happen; which I call, "it's too late" environmentalism]. As an example of vague warning, climate scientists emphasize that climate change didn't proximately cause hurricanes Harvey and Irma; still, they maintain with assurance that climate change exacerbates risks posed by the storms.

This hubris is addressed by the famous thinker Kurt Vonnegut, when he said,

“For me (Kurt Vonnegut), the most paralyzing news was that “Mother Nature” was no conservationist. She needed no help from us in taking the planet apart and putting it back together some different way, not necessarily improving it from the viewpoint of living things. She set fire to forests with lightning bolts. She paved vast tracts of arable land with lava, which could no more support life than big-city parking lots. “Mother Nature” had in the past sent glaciers down from the North Pole to grind up major portions of Asia, Europe, and North America. Nor was there any reason to think that she wouldn't do that again someday. At this very moment she is turning African farms to deserts, and can be expected to heave up tidal waves, hurricanes, or shower down white-hot boulders from outer space, at any time. She has not only exterminated exquisitely evolved species in a twinkling, but drained oceans and drowned cites or continents as well. If people think Nature is their friend, then they sure don't need an enemy.” (end quote)

I could be wrong, but I won't live to see it. After a few hundred more years when I am but dust in the wind, I think the earth will still be doing fine; although her weather patterns may have changed again after few more millennia, who knows?! My opinion won't be relevant, but that doesn't mean that as stewards of this great earth, we should not be careful about how we behave. (Balanced with human reality).

As an historically violent and unpredictable planet, the earth's recurring environmental nightmares are more common than we know: for example, Japan had been hit by tsunamis before 2011: in 1585, 1611, 1677, 1687, 1689, 1700, 1716, 1793, 1868, and 1894. The most destructive tsunami before 2011 was the Meji Sanriku Tsunami of 1896, which killed 22,000 people. Many of Japan's older residents remember the 1933 tsunami, w/ waves as high as 100 feet, killing 3,000 people. These hardy folks are not inclined to complain about weather, even in its extremes; nevertheless, she throws at Japan walls of water, every century. My point is that man didn't visit this tragedy on Japan.

Kathryn Schulz wrote in the New Yorker, in 2015: 

"The “ghost forest” is a grove of western red cedars on the banks of the Copalis River, near the Washington coast. The cedars are spread out across a low salt marsh on a wide northern bend in the river, long dead but still standing. Leafless, branchless, barkless, they are reduced to their trunks and worn to a smooth silver-gray, as if they had always carried their own tombstones inside them. 

What killed the trees in the ghost forest was saltwater. It had long been assumed that they died slowly, as the sea level around them gradually rose and submerged their roots. But, by 1987, it was discovered through studying soil layers in the ghost forest, evidence of sudden land subsidence along the Washington coast. The death of the cedars was not due to long exposure to saltwater; instead, the trees died quickly, when the ground beneath them plummeted. Scientists followed this lead to discover circumstantially, and through Japanese history that a massive earthquake happened there, and spread a tsunami to Japan, across the ocean. 

At approximately 9pm on January 26, 1700, a magnitude-9.0 earthquake struck the Pacific Northwest, causing sudden land subsidence, drowning coastal forests, and, out in the ocean, lifting up a wave half the length of a continent. It took roughly fifteen minutes for the Eastern half of that wave to strike the Northwest coast. It took ten hours for the other half to cross the ocean. It reached Japan on January 27, 1700: by the local calendar, the eighth day of the twelfth month of the twelfth year of Genroku. In Japan it was labeled in history, the “orphan” because no one in Japan felt the earth shake prior to its arrival." (emphasis, and paraphrasing are mine)

If we need to panic, there are more immediate needs of our attention as a species than the environment; if I were to categorize things to which humans can actually affect change. There are numerous examples, but trying to wrangle mother nature is a waste of our time and resources.

In a previous post about petroleum's impact on the world economy, if you weigh that impact against the environmentalist view, the decision is forced: to lean on the side of humanity flourishing, or to limit carbon-based fuels to developing countries when they need it most:

http://goo.gl/H2uWPQ
"The need for abundant fuel is just as acute in 2017 (e.g., more than one billion people lack access to electricity and modern cooking fuels, and 75 million new cars are sold each year, globally). There is an incredibly strong correlation between the use of fossil fuels and life expectancy, and between fossil fuel use and income; one can observe the recent history of China and India as examples. Human “flourishing” requires resources, and abundant energy (points made by Alex J. Epstein in his book “The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels,” 2014)."

https://books.google.com/books?id=_ld9AwAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&dq=Alex%20Epstein&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=Alex%20Epstein&f=false

If you would like to discuss the environment with me, please give me a Tweet @markpills

Disclaimer: views expressed in this blog or anywhere on social media sites are my own personal opinions and express my individual perceptions. They do not represent the policies, positions, or viewpoints of my employer.

(Fair use of copyrighted work shown herein is not an infringement of copyright law, see 17 U.S.C. §107) 

©Mark H. Pillsbury

Blogging... Five years in... The Sailboat...

(Dear Reader:)

Keeping a digital diary is very modern, but five years ago, in 2011 I started blogging just to try it out. Not thinking anyone would read my posts, it provided a channel for me to practice writing and find a voice for deeper expression. Also, as the supervisor of school communications, it was an experiment in social media: the Head of School thought Twitter was the coolest thing going, but wouldn't know a "weblog" if it rolled in front of his shiny grey Camry. The New Rostra was my own, and my impression is that many artists don’t create for their audiences until much later in their journey. Blogging allows the writer an intersection of their thoughts and lives; sometimes in juxtaposition, like my partner does here with her art and a diagnosis of breast cancer:

www.theartofcancerblog.wordpress.com

Origins
As I finish 5 and ½ years of blogging and this 142nd post, looking back, I see the same kinds of topics initially placed on the Blogspot® “Profile”: fiction, politics, religion, sports, culture, books, movies, wine, and basic “lifetime” story-telling which has attracted almost 46,000 site visits. Even in today’s fast paced social media society, some of my longest posts are the most clicked; nevertheless I am still surprised when a stranger takes the time to read and comment on what I’ve written. It's fun hitting the “Publish” key after spending time and effort writing a post; however, it is also rewarding to think that a reader out there relates to what you’ve written (agree, disagree, like, dislike, but just read it). This is not a Writer's Manifesto or a Declaration of Blogging Independence, but I'm sure that nowhere else can you sear ideas onto a page like a weblog. Twitter's 140 character limit is a ceiling, a natural filter, so it is on the New Rostra where I explore in depth those thoughts most captivating. 

Building the Machine
Through blogging I’m encouraged to write more, even attempting chapters which might someday be cobbled into a book. There’s a lot of fiction stirring around in my brain if I can ever find time to put it down in short chunks. As I’ve read two (well-known) best-selling authors' latest novels this month, it occurred to me that books are written one chapter at a time, like building a brick wall, brick-by-brick. There’s no magic to it—work is required, and continuity, flow, and character development must be consistent throughout; but a story is made like our lives unfold, one-day-at-a-time. These simple truths do not break any ground to anyone who writes, but blogging reinforces this reality.

Talking w/ Charlie Rose on 11/23/2016, Jon Stewart said about the challenge of developing his long-running Daily Show, which I'm comparing to the art of blogging:

“Would we be able to develop a process, within the inherent juxtaposition of a creative pursuit; which is to say, can we build a machine that is redundant enough, and rigid enough that it can sustain inspiration, improvisation, and creativity?” (end quote)

Dark Doubt
Like a dark enveloping cloud of dense fog, doubt seeps into a writer’s brain, and we tell ourselves there is just no use! No one will read this crap. Who has the time to go to your blog? Aren’t you glad you don’t feed your family doing this? Why would anyone believe anything you put down in writing, who do you think you are?… And so on. Since I’m not trying to leverage my website into advertising income, I don't fight the anxiety of caring (or needing to care) if anyone really visits. If writing posts is my "business", then I’ve lost the love of the work, giving up amateur-status (from Latin amator ‘lover,’ from amare ‘to love.’). Blogging is in some ways about Love. Without being critical of professionals, amateur-status for me, is like the force that makes the sailboat move across the ocean. From tracking site statistics, it is apparent that the more one writes, the more people visit, and the more passionate the topic, the more clicks the post receives. The love of the work, the frequency and passion with which it is done are important, and data has proven this at the New Rostra.

Obstacles
Allow me to admit that sometimes I don't know whether I'm lost or found; I lose the power to write, adrift without creativity (but this is not a investigation into the paradox of "writer's block"). So many topics and issues are on my mind, often I can't sort them out - the cup overflows. With the freedom to sail anywhere across the vast ocean, the writer must not veer off course; but instead, making tacks and turns throughout the plot, one must chart a course and find their destination. Along the way the cutter loses power, “in-irons” as the "doldrums" are called out on the sea. These doldrums, where doubt steals the usefulness of the sails, can only last awhile; soon the writer is back on her way, inspired and moving along with the winds, as if catching one’s breath. As in life, writing is a process, a task, a habit, which must be supported and practiced on a regular basis or it gets atrophied, slow, or even stilled. Doldrums can mean the loss of momentum: even though this blog is a priority, sometimes I can't summon the passion or motivation to write. It's OK to wait, and let curiosity build.

Tomorrow's Sunset
So, as the sun sets on another year of blogging, I'm looking forward to what next year brings?! I'm counting on numerous topics to power the canvas sails. Thank you to the reader, and a salute to all bloggers who think, feel, and post. Keep up the good work... Sail on!

Keeping my tradition of posting a music video to accompany my blog post:

Ben Rector -- "Sailboat"  https://youtu.be/rRyXY4oo21A

This song illustrates the writer's plight, we often feel like a sailboat... 

benrectormusic.com

The New Rostra©Mark H. Pillsbury

Beginning with the letter-A: Awareness

Awareness

I’ve stopped at the same light for years, waiting 3-minutes for a left turn arrow. Today the driver window was down, beautiful spring smells filled the air, the clickety-clack of the old V-8 pistons mesmerized me. Even though I’d sat serenely at the same exact spot before; this time, I looked to my left to a scrawny oak tree and saw it for the first time just 6 feet away. Around the trunk was a small wooden sign the size of a 4x5 index card, affixed with a striped, taffeta ribbon and painted robin's egg blue. On the dainty sign was written one simple word in a winsome fresh pink cursive. It's the word that can change the world by melting away fear, filling us with courage and hope: LOVE.

Hiding in plain sight was what I needed to hear that day, for real; however, had I not been aware and open to this tiny signal, my life would have been totally different. Awareness means the ability to Stop, Look, and Listen to the world in which one lives. It pumps fresh air into relationships and protects us from a number of maladies, pratfalls, and dead-ends.

Recently, certain words caught my attention. They either shine like new or keep turning-up like a dirty penny. These words resonate to me, they pique my curiosity, and they made me want to incrementally write them down on a tiny Post-it® note on my desk. 

As the list grew, I saw a thread tying them together: they begin with the letter “A,” and so I was destined to blog about them; even though they all have enticingly different meanings and significance. Now, in a semi-regular series, words beginning with the A-B-Cs will be the topic for my posts. As long as I stay aware of the words as they speak to me. Thank you for reading along.

Next post: Appreciation

©Mark H. Pillsbury

The Facebook Vote

More thoughts on Facebook

Have you voted? No, not the presidential vote, thankfully that is over. The vote on Facebook [“FB”] policies going forward. As stated in the policies, if more than 30% of all active registered users vote, the results will be binding. If turnout is less than 30%, the vote will be advisory. Don’t they appear democratic when in reality FB can never be bound by users?

In previous blog posts here on The Rostra Novum* (The New Rostra), I wondered aloud whether the new format, or going public was such a good idea; now I am curious what Facebook has to do to meet shareholder demand. My presupposition is that they have to give investors value in return for their stake in the company and other than advertising on the pages which don’t work that well, FB’s best revenue engine is data mining.

Facebookers expect to see an attractive format not always changing or confusing, logical interface without oppressive advertising (I have never clicked on a pop-up ad), and plenty of visually stimulating newsfeed items and timeline photographs about which they are interested. Issues of control, privacy, shareholder value, security, patent infringement, mergers, expansion to other devices, regulation, and overall user satisfaction swirl around this nascent Goliath now such an integral part of our online lives.

Nonetheless, value in the platform is keeping up with friends and their families in a way that could not have happened just five years ago! It is a bragbook fueled by a culture of immodesty and narcissism allowing a user to “share” and “show” the best and brightest side of their lives. The scale and reach of Facebook is of inestimable value or users would have stopped logging on daily a long time ago. It always amuses me when I hear someone took down their FB page in rebellion against the Evil Empire, kind of like running away from home as a kid; you know they’ll be back.

For people or organizations this huge platform is a way to show the world in one “Page” what one makes out of life; how they fulfill their existence whether commercially, artistically, or socially. In March 2012, FB reported that there were more than 42 million “Pages” with 10 or more “Likes.”

Because this is the year after, the year of Facebook, and as campy and narcissistic as it’s become, its enjoyment for me diminished; although it is a great way to keep up with everyone’s photos. Now that half of American adults are on FB, newbies and amateurs weigh down the newsfeed with clip art musings, pet pictures, affable affirmations, and insignificant drivel only your aging mother could love. (And having my parents on FB says a lot: it is hardly cutting-edge, now fairly mainstream. If you want up-to-minute news, hip commentary, and social relevance; go over to Twitter® your parents will never get on Twitter®).

Being completely open on social media, I don’t mind whether people know my activities; however, when I think about what is out there, the enormous amounts of data available chronicling my routines: where I work, shop, what I read, eat, buy, whom I love, with whom I disagree, or where I go when I leave my home? Marketing minions leverage this by profiling and targeting messages for the audiences they address, whether the product or service is wanted. Who else is watching?

FB expects to gather as much data on its users as is possible from all the items we place on their servers. It expects to use this data to tailor advertising to each user every minute they are on the site. It also expects to crunch all the data into usable sections of information that it can market to companies who want to apply this amazing database to their marketing. The immense value of all this should be reflected in the price of Facebook stock [NASDAQ: FB] which has gone from $38 in May to as low as $17 in September. So was the initial public offering price too high, poorly executed, or does this proposition not quite yet bring enough value? As long as advertisers can engage with more than 900 million monthly active users, Facebook will always have a value-proposition, albeit one that evolves.

All this information is sliced and diced, stacked and folded until it fits into the right spot; where the data dumps into exactly the right inbox. Photo albums made of paper, cardboard, stickers and tape have been digitally replaced. Does FB own all the pictures you took on vacation, at the reunion, or sitting around your house? Even though these trinkets of time seem unimportant to you; no one thinks they are valuable, someone out there is curious enough to peek into your lifestyle. Is privacy and modesty dead?

Over Fourteen Thousand (14,586) visits after I started this blog, readers still abound. Much of who I am is contained in these posts, just like #Facebook. Since going on FB in 2009 and seeing it become a household word in 2011, I’ve posted almost everyday until just about the time of the IPO (“going public”).

Acknowledging their reach is recorded as massive, my suspicion is that the decline in the stock price mirrors the loss of interest in this platform. FB exists on a scale almost like a governmental entity which supposedly exists for the benefit of the people. Changes in policy or format send ripples throughout culture, but there is not much anyone can do if they use the service for free? Which brings me back to the sham of voting about new policies and the 30% threshold in order to make changes binding. Did you vote?

©Mark H. Pillsbury

*blog post 12/25/2011 re: FB introduction of new Timeline format (rostra novum blog, see below)