Dead End: How the West Was One

Will we

all die

by AI?

Or will climate

be our

ultimate

end?

To pretend

that this

moment

will merely

foment

debate

and our

fate

will be

established

at some

later date

is a great

mistake.

Recently,

an artificially

intelligent

secret

agent

got smart.

In the

Hugging

Face

Incident,

autonomous

AIs

breached

containment

by creating

and using

self improvised

message

boards.

The cyber

attacks

by autonomous

hacks

exposed

a chain

of vulnerabilities.

With

ludicrous

speed

these

dangers

proceed

a stampede.

Have we

agreed

to this?

Not quite

the abyss,

but we should

not dismiss

just how

ridiculous

it is

to ignore.

Suffering

caused

by plagues

and disease,

floods

and tsunamis,

tornados,

volcanos,

fires,

and heat

and cold

extremes

it seems,

means

finding

alternative

energy.

I don’t

mean

green,

although

that’s a

must;

It’s trust

in truth,

science,

and defiance

of the nefarious

among us.

Unplug

from the

drug

of scrolling.

The trolling

is too

often

insidious.

The hideous

side

of humanity

that revels

in the

insanity

that drives

the rest

of us

crazy,

needs

an alternative

too.

If facts

were enough

we’d

have solved

this stuff,

but the

way people

feel

is what’s

most seemingly

real.

So facts

must

resonate

in order

to activate

an adequate

shift

from this

current

rift

where

we are

all

adrift

as we

sift

through

the algorithmic

stew

created

bespoke

for me

and you.

Now that

creates

its own

DIY,

can we

defy

the odds?

West

will need

East

and at

the very

least,

we will

need

each other

to recover

and survive.

Remember

“Westworld”?

and “2001: A

Space Odyssey”?

Add the documentary

“An Inconvenient

Truth”?

are living

in the scariest

movie

ever.

But don’t

cover

your eyes;

energize.

Organize.

Contribute.

VOTE.

Despite

the warnings

from AI

CEOs,

it seems

like no one

knows

for sure

what we

could

possibly

endure.

Some are

fearful

of government

oversight

as though

that might

inhibit

profit.

But AI

dominance

comes with

great

consequence,

especially

when

incompetence

lives

in the

White House.

A do nothing

Congress

suggests

we are helpless.

Like children

lockdown

with an

active

shooter.

There’s still

a bad taste

from what’s

now seen

as a waste:

keeping schools

closed

during COVID.

Government

intervention

(except

with abortion

and immigration)

is seen

as best

to avoid.

But the void

that gets

filled

from bills

that get

killed

that would

otherwise

subsidize

a clean

green

future

and have

a close

eye

on AIs,

it’s no

surprise,

has made

the future

more tenuous.

The ominous

effects

will affect

all of us.

Let’s not

invite

this way

to unite

us.

We need

not be

helpless,

so please

help us.

Democracy

might

still be

the way

of progress

even in

this mess.

El Niño

A marine

heat-wave

seen

forming

the Pacific

Ocean

confuses

global

weather systems

and produces

more intense

drought,

rain,

and flooding,

disrupting hurricane

and monsoon

seasons-

reasons

for extreme

heat

and agricultural

retreat

and failure.

With the coming

Super

El Niño-

the fear

this year

is that a

warming

climate

will exacerbate

an already

monstrous

El Niño fate,

already difficult

to navigate.

With higher

temperatures

expected

this summer,

and weather

systems

becoming

chaotic,

our sclerotic

governmental

attempt

to preempt

disaster

will be tested

faster

than expected.

What to expect

when you’re

expecting

El Niño

in an already

overheated,

defeated,

depleted,

political

climate?

When

over reliance

on business

to lead us

without

government

to co-invent

a clean

energy

environment,

we are left

with

insufficient

preparation.

Meanwhile,

AI Data Centers

are being built

without

regulation

as their demand

for water

and electricity

hurts

each nearby

community,

as tech companies

seem to have

immunity

from everything.

Nurturing

is not just

for mothers.

For Mothers’

Day,

I say,

start to be

a citizen

who takes

action

beyond

a ballot.

The climate

is in crisis.

Think of it

like Isis:

we can’t

just

be victims

in waiting.

I know

the threats

to democracy

are

an emergency

we see

playing out

each day.

But this

El Niño

on the way,

is a brutal

warning

of what

global

warming

plus natural

disaster

at a rate

much

faster

than expected

means

when unprotected.

The El Niño

prediction

of infliction

of serious

threat

should get

you to do

what you can

for collective

action.

Building

political will

will require

your energy

and money

for green energy

policies,

and government

assurance

that insurance

will be there

when

and where

it’s needed.

This Mothers’ Day,

I say,

write a letter

to the editor

and/or

your

legislator.

Connect with

another

activator.

Here’s a toolkit

that could fit

most any

climate

issue:

https://www.beyondplastics.org/tools

And here’s a way

(for Mother’s Day)

to contribute

to candidates

to flip the house

towards

climate stewards

(and other helpful

policies):

https://app.oath.vote/

And working

to pass

reasonable legislation

is the

Citizens Climate

Lobby

organization:

Homepage

These are just

a few

I hope

you

will explore,

but I implore

you to

do something

for Mothers’ Day,

El Niño

is on the way

and the climate

crisis

is already

here.

The antidote

to fear

is action.

Please,

in honor of

your mother

and earth,

your actions

are worth

it.

We can

make progress-

even now,

despite

that monster

threat.

Resiliency

and sustainability

are a possibility

but require

communal responsibility.

Now go

to your room

and do

your homework.

Happy Mothers’

Day!

Gulf Club

A deep ravine

between

sides

abides

enflaming,

blaming,

renaming

gulfs.

Engulfed

in fire,

raging

politcal

and actual,

as of now

uncontainable

and utterly

unsustainable,

what

are you doing

to be helpful?

The worst

disaster of the

catastrophe

era

in which

we live

in fear

is here.

Renaming

gulfs

as flames

engulf

LA,

while some

sneer

at the wealthy

who have lost

their homes,

and others

blame

diversity

policy

in the current

polity-

this climate

calamity

is a conflagration

of such

enormity

and each

abnormality

is a part

of the new

normal.

Meanwhile,

How’s Your Weather?

Learn to see

the forest

through trees,

behind

the curtain,

certain,

while consumption

without assumption

of consequence

or sequence

of events

systemic,

seemingly

endemic

in our culture,

ignoring

nature

in danger,

due to

the illusion

of control.

Learn to see

blindspots;

hot spots

of regions

and reasons

for how we

unintentionally

perpetuate

this state

of climate

crisis

for us

which

we may not

be able

to reverse,

could relieve

this perverse

curse

of disconnection

between

decisions

and ramifications.

We have

solutions;

paths that

we’ve proved

to behoove

us.

Technology

and policy

combined

with the necessity

of accountability,

helps us solve

what we’ve

yet to resolve

without

yet

being able

to see

clearly.

We need

the creativity

and participation

of everybody.

Use your

resources

and proclivities

for activities

where

the priorities

engage

others

to bother

to do

than weather

current

conditions.

Still

I still believe

In evolution

Despite

Breaking News

And broken

Norms,

Laws, and

Utter Climate Change.

We can’t go

Backwards

Remain still

Anymore

Than we can

Young again.

This moment

That feels

Endless

And also still

As a dark

Cloud

Or maybe

Smog

Hovering

Oppressing

Menacing

Polluting

Seemingly static

And yet

We still

Continue

Seeking

Clarity

Distilling knowledge

To become

Still better

Positioned

To meet

Change.

We choose

How

We live

Still.

Perhaps not

Our conditions,

But our

Responses.

lou sight

Looking at Culture, Politics, and other stuff

climate change

Dead End: How the West Was One

El Niño

Gulf Club

How’s Your Weather?

Still

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