Bill's Focus

A planetary view of the Future

Part 1 – The Truth

IMO, one of the greatest TV series is “Newsroom”. It was one of the few that deserved more seasons. Jeff Daniels (portraying a popular news anchor) delivered this impassioned speech during a college panel discussion. This clip is from 2012 but is a perfect response for right now. It brings tears to my eyes.

Part 2 – The Darkness

The Fascists are setting a course for America that is embarrassing at its best and criminal at its worst. MAGA is ignoring established science and accepted medical research. Project 2025 is a war on the people and the planet. The country that had been admired and respected is now a pariah.

How bad is bad? Read this article from the Guardian: Tipping Points.
”A climate communications expert, Genevieve Guenther, who explained why talking about tipping points is a powerful way to counteract the narrative that the climate threat is under control. She also spoke to scientists about what these moments may mean for the collapse of coral reefs, the future of the Amazon rainforest and the sudden, enormous drop in levels of polar ice. As well as sharing their scientific expertise, all the scientists talked about how it makes them feel to watch their particular area of study hurtle towards a cliff edge.

As Guenther put it: “the children we have in our homes today are threatened with a chaotic, disastrous, unliveable future.”

Makes you want to scream? I’m with you. But guess what?

Part 3 – The Chaos

Ironically, the “Fossil Fascists” are as frustrated as you and I! The chaos of the Trump policies on energy are making American oil companies crazy with confusion. They would love to drill more but Trump is making it less profitable. If this continues, would it be a surprise if we see more wind and sun farms?
Read this: Oil and Gas Begins to Push Back…

Part 4 – A “Big Picture” View

I came across a video that looks at the Climate Issue from a global perspective.

If you have 20 minutes or so, it is truly worth viewing. If you are short of time, fast forward to the 9 minute point. Or jump in at the 12 minute point for some facts about what is happening around the world. I came away more hopeful.

America isn’t leading. But much the rest of the world are acting like adults. We are an important part of the planet’s future – but only about 1/8th of the carbon footprint. Other countries are making big changes for practical reasons. They are saving the planet. Largely because sustainable “green” energy sources are becoming economically more viable – they are now cheaper.

For now and sadly, we exist in our own “American Exceptionalist Bubble”. We think the Universe spins around “Mericuns”. Our isolation should embarrass us.

But on my most hopeful days, I reassure myself that economics are like water which “always finds its level”. Financial market experts frequently say “Everything always reverts to the mean.” So ultimately, regardless of political persuasion, money is money. These “American Dark Ages” will come to an end.

Wind turbine and solar technology can deliver electricity cheaper with less negative impacts. There is an explosive growth of demand for electricity from AI centers and Crypto mining – testing the limits of our electric grid. Wind and solar are the sources that can be built and brought on line fastests. Business logic will supercede ideology.

Maybe, American “business people” will eventually reverse this insane course of embracing fossil fuels. If you believe that money is the primary driver for the Oligarchs, sustainable energy production with it’s lower costs and higher efficiency will be their choice. Not because of benevolence. Because they live the phrase made famous by Gordon Gekko: “Greed is Good”.

Part 5 – Finding Optimism

In this time of attacks on all things good, I think Mental Health is best achieved by finding the balance in our brains. For me, that includes occasional rants about the unbelievably cruel and stupid policies of this maladministration. The horrors of the Stephen Millers and Russell Voughts need to be reacted to and condemned. Here is a read that might fill that bill for you today.

Stephen Miller’s Albatross

But once I have vented, I open myself to other new possibilities. Every dictator has an expiration date. The pendulum swings both ways. We were an “America First” nation before and we ultimately rejected it more than once. This time will also pass.

We will rejoin the world, admit our mistakes, and once again lead with our technology, common sense, deep resources and good will. Believe.