Government Coup

[Rogar]

I sometimes think that humans just aren't very smart as a species. We have such a beautiful planet and yet we continue to destroy it and each other.

On the plus side, it's highly unlikely that we can destroy the planet. Earth has has five extinction events and will probably have another, whether it's a volcano or asteroid, or a human caused event. The planet will likely regenerate with a new diversity of life forms, just like it has in it's long history, even if it takes millions of years or longer. However we could sure make it an unpleasant place to live for future generations.

[catherine]

On the plus side, it's highly unlikely that we can destroy the planet. Earth has has five extinction events and will probably have another, whether it's a volcano or asteroid, or a human caused event. The planet will likely regenerate with a new diversity of life forms, just like it has in it's long history, even if it takes millions of years or longer. However we could sure make it an unpleasant place to live for future generations.

I agree, but it's so frustrating that we willfully trash our house and don't care. We're mocking God with our ingratitude and hubris.

ETA: Here's another example of the pendulum swinging in the same direction as the US: Ecuador.

Here's an article from the NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/15/o...gos-noboa.html

And here's the TL;DR version:

For almost two decades this small country has pioneered new ways of imagining and legislating the human relationship with other life on Earth — and inspired similar innovations around the world.

Now, however, that ecological progress is under severe threat from a series of reforms steamrolled by Ecuador’s young populist president, Daniel Noboa. Mr. Noboa is the heir to an agribusiness empire, and came to power with the promise of combating organized crime. His reforms will throw Ecuador’s stunning landscapes open to mining and drilling, dismantle government agencies in the name of “efficiency,” target public officials and civic organizations that he claims obstruct his agenda and concentrate broad emergency powers in his own hands.

Together these measures amount to the most serious assault on environmental protection and constitutional integrity in Ecuador’s recent history. They also come at a perilous moment for a country where murder rates increased sixfold between 2020 and 2023, and where violence toward environmental activists is now also rising.

Mr. Noboa’s first and boldest step was to dissolve the Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition on July 24 and hand its powers to the Ministry of Energy and Mines. This is a clear case of putting the fox in charge of the henhouse, and leaves Ecuador without an independent institution to protect its extraordinary ecosystems.

Sound familiar?

[Rogar]

Sound familiar?

Today's NYT had an article about how the environmental efforts have been set back by at least a generation. There was a time when the Earthday protests were among the largest in US history. It's beyond unfortunate that we've lost sight of these things. Appearently the evangelicals don't place custodianship of the planet as one of their priorities over money.

The conversion of the rose garden into a mara largo type ball room is a good analogy for a shift in public opinion.

[frugal-one]

Traitor trump siding with Putin on Ukraine. Would not be surprised if trump is getting a deal from Putin to build another trump tower there !