COP30 finished two weeks ago without much fanfair or much accomplished. Perhaps global inequality and rampant capitalism is to blame? I remember when Naomi Klein’s book, This Changes Everything, came out in 2014. It was an impressive book about the climate crisis, but I found her assumption that we’d not be able to deal with climate change until we had got rid of laissez faire capitalism maybe a bit over the top. Now I am not so sure.
I comment on the way in which humans use the planet and the problems that has created. Climate change is just one, but with COP30 here tomorrow we can hope for some progress
In this post I dive into the issues of social media and AI, highlighting how they affect human behavior and understanding. I reflect on the irrationality of people’s decisions driven by emotions rather than facts, and worry about the growing impact of AI on our lives, questioning our future reliance on it.
The future of coral reefs depends on the effectiveness of the Paris Agreement adopted in 2015. Despite initial optimism, emissions continue rising, with a projected global temperature increase of 2.7°C by 2100. Urgent action is needed, yet fossil fuel companies hinder progress. However, potential shifts toward renewable energy offer a glimmer of hope.
In the beginning we sat around the fire and talked. Here I explore how we form social groups, and how that process has been altered by the advent of the web and search and social media. In a subsequent post I will home in on how the design of social media is reducing our native ability to think and reason.
This post was previously published in Reef Encounter, the news magazine of the International Coral Reef Society, volume 39, no. 2. That appeared in March this year. I’ve decided to put it up here as well, along with a photo… Read More »The tipping point is behind us. What do we do now?
Saturday 8th Today, like early gods, we all rested. The long day, strenuous activity and heat yesterday had exhausted all of us. After breakfast I wandered down to the beach for a couple of hours. It’s a nice one, especially… Read More »My Costa Rica Holiday in 2025 – Part Two
Tuesday February 4. The siblings had decided to have a tropical vacation together. Just the four of us, plus spouses. Total of six. What could go wrong? In Costa Rica. Pura Vida! Now the date had arrived. After all the… Read More »My Costa Rica Holiday in 2025 – Part One
I am writing this on January 20th 2025. I could have written it closer to the start of the year but today convinced me concerning some actions I have been considering in recent weeks. Various bits of environmental news were… Read More »22nd January 2025. Another New Year in This Rather Strange World.