Category: Environment

VOTE…while you still can.

On By StevoIn anthropology, conspiracy, critical thinking, Environment, nature, nature vs. nurture, religion, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Please get your butt out there and VOTE.

Pray to whatever god(s) you believe in – or lack thereof.

Think good thoughts.

But let us remember that these religiopolitical/societal experiments in governing ourselves are just that – experiments.

Over the last ten thousand or so years of human civilization, there have been many societies that have risen and fallen, and just as many experiments in governing the populace. So many political organizations, religions, kings, queens, gods and goddesses have been invented, worked for a time, and faded away or fell flat on their faces only to disappear into the pages of dusty unopened books, the sands of time and/or the rock strata, and some, like ours – are novel and are still in the testing phase.

Just because this experiment is the one we are testing and living through today – does not mean it is the only way or the best way to govern a society and its people – in fact, recent evidence suggest that this experiment may be failing on many fronts.

If this grand experiment does in fact prove to be a total failure, it will need to be ended and relegated to the history books as yet another example of what not to do.

Therefore, it is not productive or helpful to believe this ongoing experiment is the end all be all best way to govern a large population of people, and therefore, as it is only an experiment in governing – it is not at all helpful to yourself or others to get all bent out of shape when someone you know or love chooses to support another “team” and/or if your chosen “team” loses its seat at the table.

Nor is it at all helpful to harm others or their property with your actions or words because, in all probability – in a century none of this will matter and the world will have moved on in its never-ending orbit around the sun and the thinking members of its population will have adapted to meet the challenge…or not.

There are only two choices in the game of life: adapt or die.

Improvise, adapt, overcome, evolve, survive, and thrive.

Make good choices.

Do only good things.

One Love.

Unless.

Peace.

Part 2.
If your “team” (political, religious, or sport) doesn’t win the game and in response, you are choosing or planning violence, hatred, intimidation, spreading evidence-lacking FUD, and/or harm/damage/vandalism to citizens and/or their property, and/or wildlife or nature – then the simple fact is this: you are not a patriot of whatever country or religion you choose to reside within.

If you support or promote past or future violence, hatred, intimidation, spreading evidence-lacking FUD, and/or harm/damage/vandalism to citizens and/or their property, wildlife and/or nature – then you are not a patriot.

What you are is a bully and a terrorist and a danger to society and to everything your religio-political affiliation stands for.

Don’t be bully.
Don’t be a terrorist.
Don’t let the fairy tales you have chosen to believe in, poison your mind and make your decisions for you.

Wake up.
Think for yourself.
Grow up.
Get help.
Be a good human.
Make good choices.
Do only good things.

If you know someone who is exhibiting these troubling symptoms – please report them to the authorities ASAP – it just may save a life or lives.

A poem.

On By StevoIn anthropology, critical thinking, Environment, nature, nature vs. nurture, religion, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Somewhere at the edge of my hearing, a rooster crows, shaking loose the chill of the fading night.

A lone dog voices his opinion.

Sol cracks over the distant horizon as it has done without fail since gravity first bound our strange wet rock to its deep time well of space-time.

Several inches of fresh snow coats old smoky like a cathartic cloak.

A slumbering bruin dreams of fermenting blackberries in the late summer solshine.

Sandhill cranes trumpet and dance like the ancient dinosaurs that they are.

The tick tock of the nearby clock reminds me of the never-ending march of time.

A few dozen miles from where i rest, a troop of monks and their faithful canine companion continue their most important walk spreading love and peace.

Peace.

What is it?

Where is it?

It is in our hearts…in all of us.

It is a huge part of what makes us human beings.

Some…like the venerable monks and Aloka – warmly glow and freely radiate their peace without stipulations.

Others have chosen, or been trained to be frozen – with hearts and hands clutched around guns or grotesque gestures of fear, hate, and death.

Why such magnetically opposed forces?

Why such anger?

Why such fear?

Where has empathy gone?

Dig deep.

Delete your hate.

It is not you.

Find your love.

Share it freely with the world.

Walk forward from this moment in peace.

Do only good things.

One Love.

Unless.

Fossil Fuel Fools – revisited.

On By StevoIn climate change, conspiracy, critical thinking, earth, electric vehicles, elon musk, energy, Environment, EV, nature, renewable energy, Science, Uncategorized, wildlife conservationLeave a comment

In logical response to all the recent, and increasing negatively pitched “reports” and mud and FUD slinging being manufactured (by organizations funded by big oil) and spread all over the mainstream and social media about electric vehicles…and the ensuing wave of negative/emotional/thoughtless comments from oponents and haters in regards to the technology…I offer just the facts on EV’s from the point of view of an EV owner and educator of over a decade.

FACT: In 2013 I purchased a one year old 2012 Nissan Leaf (100% electric car) with 1,200 miles on the odometer. I drove the Leaf for over 6 years and 75,000 gas-free miles.

In 2019, I traded up to a new 2019 Chevy Bolt EV which i have driven over 80,000 miles and i am still driving today.

In 2025 I moved up yet again into a new, 2026 Chevy Silverado EV (CSEV) pickup that currently has clocked over 7000 miles on it odometer.

I drove all of these vehicles as daily drivers commuting to work daily and back in all weather, on paved and gravel roads, and up and down the mountains we call home. I drive an average of 40-45 miles/day and more on weekends. Due to the wonderful and growing EV charging network that continues to expand and open the roads to EV drivers – I can go almost anywhere with no problems. I have driven across NC, SC, TN, and several times to North central Florida without issue.

Here are a few of the most repeated myths followed by the peer-reviewed facts about EVs.

MYTH: It is very expensive to charge an EV.

FACT: Just the opposite. It costs me an average of 0 – .02 cents per mile to drive electric. I drive ~200 miles/week so for my use case I pay zero to $4/week for automotive fuel depending on where I charge my EV.
It is zero cost for fuel when I charge on solar-produced electricity (over 75% of the time). The remaining 25% of the charging is at home and rarely at community EV charging stations (level 2 and 3) where I usually pay around $2 – $12 to fully charge my EV and many of these stations are in fact – free. Many of these stations are also solar, hydroelectric, nuclear powered – so a good portion of that electric free-range fuel is renewably driven by locally produced energy sourced in the US (not half a world away in the mid east etc) and therefore, zero emissions and energy secure(no oil wars and dirty politics needed)!

FACT: Even when I account for the cost of all the electricity I have used to fuel both my EVs over the last decade – I have still saved many thousands of $$$$$ that I would have spent on single-use gas and oil had I continued to drive a toxic old fossil burner.

MYTH: EV’s have very short range, will run out of “juice” and leave you stranded.

FACT: While my LEAF did have very limited range at ~75 miles – the Bolt will travel up to 250 miles on a single charge and my CSEV will take me upwards of 475 miles on a single charge!! Like most newer Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) powered vehicles they all have alert systems to let you know when your charge level is getting low. They also have sophisticated GPS navigation systems that allow you to plan your trip ahead of time taking into account stops at charging stations along the way.

While it is understandable that this lifestyle is not for everyone, advances are being made in the EV, battery, and charging infrastructure that, within a few years time, will put 500+ mile range capable EV’s on the roads from most of the world’s major auto makers.

FACT: No matter if you run out of a charge or you run out of gas – it is your fault for not planning ahead.

MYTH: “Electric Vehicles are not zero emissions, they run on coal, and are dirtier and more polluting than internal combustion engine (ICE) powered vehicles that run on gas/diesel fuel.”

Let’s break it down.

FACT: Battery Electric Vehicles BEV’s (the focus of this report) do not run on anything but electricity and are themselves – truly and fully zero emission. That being said, depending on how that electricity is generated– the place it gets its electricity to charge its traction battery–could be “dirty” (coal) or “clean” (renewable energy) but in most places it is a combination of both so let’s dig deeper.

FACT: A small ICE car emits ~390 grams of Carbon Dioxide CO2/mile.

FACT: The average power consumed by a small EV is ~.25 KWh/mile.

FACT: ~907 grams of CO2/KWh is emitted from coal fired power plants in the dirtiest 100% coal-based electricity generation areas.

FACT: 907 (g) x .25 (KWh) = 226 grams/mile in dirtiest 100% coal-based electricity generation areas, which remains lower than the 390 grams from the small ICE car so in reality, even if your EV is charged in an area that gets all of its electricity from coal, EV’s are still cleaner than a comparable ICE powered vehicle… and FAR cleaner than these children.

MYTH: Building more EV’s will require us to build many more power plants to provide all the electricity to operate all of them.

FACT: EV’s are charged from the same utility grid that your mobile devices use. Like your devices, EV’s come with their own charging cable that plugs into a standard 120v outlet*. Like your mobile electronic devices they are most often charged at night, while you are sleeping, and when electricity generated from emissions-free wind (and no, wind turbines do not kill all the birds, feral cats, windows, pesticides and fossil fuels do), hydro, nuke power is in low demand, lower in cost, and goes mostly unused – so there is ample supply to power your EV. *In development now are inductive charging highway lanes that, when you need a charge, you will just simply drive in the lane and your car will charge while moving at speed! There are now available inductive charging pads (just like you can buy for mobile devices) but made for EV’s. This will eliminate the need to plug in your EV and one day you will be able to just park in an EV charging parking space or in your garage and your car will automatically start charging.

FACT: The US power grid is getting cleaner every day as more fossil fuel fired power plants are retired and more renewable energy power systems go online – so in these areas especially, EV’s are much cleaner.

FACT: Due to the fuel mix of the grid getting cleaner, EV’s get cleaner as they age. This is never a fact with ICE cars that constantly loose efficiency as they age due to wear and tear of all their moving parts.

Learn more here:
greencarreports.com/news/1086927_coal-makes-electric-cars-bad-no-plug-ins-show-coal-as-worse

and

ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/clean_vehicles/electric-car-global-warming-emissions-report.pdf

FACT: One parking space covered with a canopy of photovoltaic solar panels (2.5KW) in the southeast would produce around 3,292 KWh/year. This will operate an EV for around 13-16K miles of 100% emissions free driving on clean, sunshine generated electricity!

FACT: EV’s produce a portion of their own fuel via the process known as regenerative breaking – try to find an ICE powered vehicle that does that!

FACT: The average EV travels an average of 4 miles/Kilowatt hour (KWh) of electricity.

FACT: It takes 6 KWh of electricity to refine one gallon of gasoline (source US DOE).

FACT: The average EV can travel 24 miles on the power that it takes to refine just one gallon of gasoline!

FACT: It takes ~9 KWh of energy to extract and transport the crude oil that will be refined into that gasoline.

FACT: An EV could travel an additional 36 miles on this energy.

So, no new power plants are needed, especially if we do not produce the gallon of gas. So…get an EV, and drive 60 all-electric miles on the same amount of energy we are generating today to refine all that dirty gasoline…and fight all those wars to keep it flowing.

And…

Save the 44 gallons of water that it takes to refine that one gallon of gasoline! It is a no-brainer.

MYTH: It is very expensive to power an EV.

FACT: The average cost of electricity in the US is 12 cents/kWh. Therefore the average person driving an average EV 15,000 miles per year will pay about $540.00 per year to charge it. How much did you pay for gasoline/diesel last year? I bet it was much more than $540. Think about what could you have done with all that extra money you spent on gas and oil? Just think about it…or feel free to remain in denial of the facts. It is your choice, not mine – I made my choice decades ago.

FACT: Believe it or not – five 100 watt light bulbs left on continuously for a year use nearly the same amount of energy as it takes to power an electric car 15,000 miles! Here’s how: Five 100 watt light bulbs use 500 watts. In 24 hours they use 12,000 watt-hours or 12kWh. In 365 days they use 4,380kWh. A typical EV that uses 30 kWh for every 100 miles will use 4,500 kWh to drive 15,000 miles! Simply by turning unnecessary lighting off at your home, you can drastically reduce or completely eliminate your annual transportation fuel cost. Try doing that with an ICE powered vehicle! (The cost of LED lighting products has dropped recently so we have replaced almost all of our light bulbs in our house with LED’s. This has not only saved us money but we have also totally offset the cost of driving our EV just by upgrading our lights to LED!)

Learn more here: pluginamerica.org/drivers-seat/how-much-does-it-cost-charge-electric-car

Cars are not the only way you can reduce emissions by switching to EV’s

FACT: One piece of gas burning lawn equipment such as a lawn mower emits more hydrocarbon pollution into our shared atmosphere than a gasoline-guzzling crew-cab pickup truck! You would have to drive a 6.2L V8 truck almost 4000 miles to equal the emissions produced in 30 minuets of use by a gas powered 2-cycle engine such as a string trimmer (weed-eater). Why not use an all electric string trimmer or lawn mower—there are many available now and they all can even be fueled with renewable energy you can generate at home! I made the switch to all-electric lawn equipment over a decade ago and it just works. Even my two chain saws are all-electric.

MYTH: EV’s, solar, and wind power are not American because they do not create jobs or use the oil/gas that we fight deadly wars to acquire.

FACT: The Nissan Leaf is made in Smyrna Tennessee and provides good jobs to thousands of American and Tesla provides over 120,000 jobs!!

Today there are more Americans employed in solar construction/maintenance jobs than there are coal miners mining coal. The wind energy industry provides great jobs to over 50,000 Americans. And that’s just for starters…

FACT: Sourcing our energy domestically (be it solar, wind, hydro, coal—whatever the source) provides many good jobs to Americans and is much more efficient and much safer than traveling thousands of miles, dealing with governments—that are often hostile and feed money to terrorism groups—extracting it, then finally bringing it back to be refined and used only once- thats right, fossil fuels are single use and that single use comes at great cost and loss of life due to the needless wars that often must be fought to keep it flowing.

FACT: It is far more American to be self sufficient and produce your own energy at home, than it is to rely on an outside source to provide you with that energy.

FACT: You can power your home and your EV with off-the-shelf renewable energy (solar, wind, hydro, etc ) that you make at home…and even make a profit from the excess!

Maintenance

MYTH: EV’s are expensive to work on.

FACT: EV’s rarely need major servicing because they have fewer moving parts than ICE vehicles. EV’s have only a handful of moving parts in their power plant whereas the average ICE engine has thousands! Therefore, EV’s require far less maintenance to keep them “healthy” and are therefore they are much more economical to drive.

I have been driving electric for over a decade and over 160,000 miles, and my EVs have required no specialized routine maintenance by me other than the occasional washing and vacuuming, a set of new windshield wiper blades, adding a little air to the tires, and the occasional topping off of the washer fluid, changing the cabin air filters, and one set of brake pads on the LEAF – you know, the things you would need to do to any type of vehicular construct no matter its fuel source.

Had I been driving a legacy vehicle I would have had to spend far more time and money over the same time-frame. For example, to keep my 2013 Honda Pilot 4×4, (the last ICE vehicle that I owned) running in an efficient as possible manner (for a machine with so many miles – 120+k – and so many moving parts that can and will wear out due to constant use thereby lowering the fuel economy of the vehicle and lowering the amount of money in my bank account) I used a bio-based fully synthetic American made motor oil, and I change the oil filter when I change the oil. Just the oil/filter change and new spark plugs for the Honda cost us ~ $230** over its last 30k miles! Operational costs for user replaceable parts and non warranty covered parts for the Bolt EV during this same period of time = $55 (wiper blades and cabin air filter)!

The simple fact that EV’s do not have as many moving parts as petroleum powered vehicles makes them much more reliable and cost effective to operate than their fossil fuel powered counterparts. The do not have or need any of the parts that commonly wear out in gas/diesel vehicles such as: belts, chains, hoses, air/fuel filters, water pump, spark plugs, glow plugs, oil, filter, clutch, transmission, muffler, catalytic converter, exhaust pipe…they do not even have an engine.

MYTH: EV’s are new…scary…future technology.

FACT: Electric vehicles are anything but scary and nothing new. The electric motor that moves them has only a few long lived moving parts and is a proven technology that has been used to make our lives easier since the mid-late 19 century.
They pre-date ICE powered vehicles and were hitting the roads of the world in the late 1800’s – see the timeline here: energy.gov/articles/history-electric-car!

FACT: Most of our houses/businesses are totally electric. Washer, dryer, refrigerator, heating and cooling, lighting, entertainment systems, power tools…all electric…with many electric motors and systems that quietly work in the background keeping our lives comfortable. Why is it then that we continue to use outdated petroleum powered transportation systems to get around?

MYTH: “EV’s are slow, like golf carts, dangerous, and I heard that they catch on fire and burn to the ground all the time.”

FACT: EV’s are anything but slow. The little Nissan Leaf EV will go 0-60 in around 10 seconds. The Bolt EV 0-60 in 6ish, and the CSEV – 5 seconds. The Tesla Model S Plaid 100% electric car has the world record for the fastest accelerating production four-door car ever! It accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in a brain melting 1.8 seconds!

Dangerous, totally the opposite – the Tesla Model S was rated by the NHTSA as the safest car ever tested…in history! And each new Tesla product is safer than the last.

Fires, there have been around 287,000 vehicle fires per year since 2003…less than a dozen of those involved electric cars…ALL of the others were ICE powered vehicles.

News agencies just love to manufacture drama and the fact that gas powered cars burn all the time is not anything new, its not dramatic anymore…but let an EV catch fire and it is all over the headlines because sensationalist drama centered around anything new feeds the weak minded. (Note: I am not saying anyone reading this is weak minded because if you have read this far you obviously are interested in the facts and not the manufactured drama :-))

Think of it like this: if everyone had been driving clean, fast, safe, low maintenance electric vehicles for the last century, and someone tried to get you to drive or even ride in a vehicle powered by an incredibly toxic, flammable, explosive liquid fuel—what would you do? Personally, I would R.U.N.N.O.F.T!

MYTH: Electric vehicles are expensive.

FACT: While it is true that a new top of the crop EV will set you back over 100K, you can get a new EV such as a Nissan Leaf or Chevy Bolt for less than $40k and a used one for much less. You must also remember to factor in that you will NEVER pay for gas and oil again and that in itself adds up to thousands of dollars/year…even when you account for the cost of the electricity used to fuel your EV! Then, when then you factor in all the money spent on tune-ups and engine/transmission/exhaust system repairs for most ICE powered vehicles – all the savings add up to reveal that most EV’s are much more economical to own and drive than your average ICE powered vehicle. Oh and since EVs don’t have catalytic converters to steal, you won’t have to worry about that issue…ever.

MYTH: When the battery wears out a new battery will cost more than the car is worth.

FACT: When an EV’s battery degrades to the point where it is no longer able to store enough energy to propel you in your daily commute, the battery can be easily replaced with a new one-it is as plug and play as the one in your mobile device…only larger. After the battery is replaced you essentially have a new car. Note: all EV manufactures have excellent battery warranties/leasing options that serve to help new EV drivers “ease into” a better way to drive and are great incentives for adopting a this technology.

MYTH: A used EV battery cannot be used for anything and is toxic waste and must be tossed in the landfill.

FACT: Used batteries can be recycled just like any battery but before that time comes they can be used in stationary power storage facilities, as back up generators connected to homes and businesses and off-grid power stations especially when connected to renewable energy power systems. Learn more here: nytimes.com/2015/06/17/business/gm-and-nissan-reusing-old-electric-car-batteries.html?_r=0

and here

greencarreports.com/news/1093810_electric-car-batteries-what-happens-to-them-after-coming-out-of-the-car

It is illegal in most places to toss out a 12volt car battery and it is the same with a used EV traction battery – and since they are fully recyclable, they can be remanufactured into new EV batteries over and over without needing to continually mine the earth for raw materials.
Check out https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/

MYTH: There is nowhere to charge an EV?

FACT: Most EV drivers charge their cars at home but when out on the road there are thousands of EV charging stations (EVSE) in the USA alone and the number is growing every day. To find out how many are near you just take a look at Plugshare.com.

FACT: Most EV owners love their cars so much that they have become “crusaders” of the technology and promote them every chance they get because they know from experience that that they are a much better way to drive.

MYTH: “EVs are “woke” democrat cars.” Yes, I have heard that bizarre comment from some people. Really, you are going there…why, and what productive purpose does it serve?

FACT: EVs are a transportation technology. Thay are the next most logical step in the story of transportation. Get over your attempt to politicize…everything. If you want to live in the past, go ahead. The only direction any of us can move in life is forward.

FACT based OPINION: Driving ICE powered vehicles is like purchasing a subscription to dependency on a highly toxic, highly addictive drug that shortens your life while constantly draining your bank account and damaging everything it comes in contact with.

OPINION supported by SCIENCE, RESEARCH, and EXPERIENCE: All of these reasons and more are why EV’s are superior to everything else on the road and one day in the near future gas/diesel will go the way of the dinosaurs.

Be the change you wish to see in the world and the world will change.

Special Thanks to Bob Harris of Black Bear Solar Institute for compiling some of the facts in this document! Learn more at: blackbearsolarinstitute.org

Special Thanks to the members of the Blue Ridge Electric Vehicle Club for supporting the future of transportation and renewable energy technologies.

I will never go back to gas.

All that being said, here is another take on this subject from the land down under:

“Alright, strap in because the dummies need infinite education.

Every time you clowns think you’ve kicked a goal with the “ahhh but wind turbines need oil, batteries need mining, steel needs coking coal” routine, I can practically hear the last two brain cells high-fiving. No shit, Sherlock. Nobody is disputing oil is useful. Oil is insanely useful. That is exactly the fucking point.

Oil takes millions of years to form. Millions. You don’t just whip that up in a factory between smoko and lunch. It is essential for medicine, agriculture, plastics, lubricants, fertilisers, cosmetics, clothing, electronics, about 98% of modern life. Nobody serious is saying “no oil ever”. What we are saying is maybe, just maybe, lighting the stuff on fire and huffing the fumes inside your air sacks like idiots isn’t the smartest use of it.

We should be stockpiling oil for this generation and future generations, not pissing it away by turning it into exhaust fumes so Dave can rev his Hilux at the lights. You want to know how dumb that is? Go stick your face behind a tailpipe and inhale for a few minutes. Let me know how that goes for your lungs, champ. That shit is carcinogenic. It is literally poison. That is why asthma rates are up, lung disease is up, and lung cancer is up. Burning petrochemicals and breathing them in turns cities into rolling chemistry experiments.

And don’t give me the “but we’ve always done it” crap. We also used to shit in holes and die of infected paper cuts. Progress happened.

Using oil without burning it, in products that last decades, medicines that save lives, fertilisers that grow food, plastics that actually make modern healthcare possible, that is smart. Wasting it by setting it on fire for transport when we have cheaper, cleaner alternatives is fucking moronic.

Electric transport and renewables are not about pretending oil doesn’t exist. They are about not being dumb enough to burn a finite, irreplaceable resource into the atmosphere like cavemen discovering fire for the first time. We don’t want to drag the planet back to the Carboniferous era where it was basically a Turkish sauna with ferns the size of buildings.

And here is the real punchline. While you’re pounding your chest defending fossil fuels, you’re donating your money straight to petrochemical giants and oil states. Congratulations. You are sending your hard-earned cash overseas so Saudi princes can buy another gold-plated toilet while you scream about freedom.

You don’t need to be Albert fucking Einstein to see this. Oil is too valuable to burn. Clean air is better than poison. And if you’re still clinging to this nonsense, it’s probably because you’re emotionally attached to the idea of setting ancient dinosaur juice on fire and calling it masculinity.

Do us all a favour. Stop confusing “oil is useful” with “burn everything forever”. One is intelligent. The other is fucking stupid.”
Source: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Dj38Q2y4D/

Heavy Thought Time

On By StevoIn anthropology, critical thinking, earth, Environment, nature, nature vs. nurture, religion, Science, space, UncategorizedLeave a comment

To create a life is rather easy, people do it all the time.

To create good people, that is possibly the most difficult thing we will ever do.

We have all heard about the nature vs nurture debate, and from where I stand as an observer of nature, I see many deep connections between all living things everywhere I look – connections that run like fungal mycelium throughout the deep-time tapestry of life.

These ancient genetic connections are incredibly apparent to me because I see them in myself. I was adopted as a newborn and spent the next several decades with wonderful, loving parents who nurtured and cared for me, giving me a comfortable home, an education, and most of all, the ability to think for myself. They let me choose my own path – they did not force on me any specific religion, politics, or any other worldviews – they let me choose for myself who I was to become. They were the nurture side of the coin that I received in this coin toss called life.

On the nature side of the coin: From a very young age, my curiosity about the natural world around me was incredibly strong. I have always had a deep empathetic nature and a deep connection to animals, nature, wildlife, and the silent teachers that exists in the forest, an endlessly flowing river, the rolling ocean waves, and the deeptime knowledge that exists in every rock, tree, mountain, water drop, and in our own DNA – these are teachers that only some of us can hear.  Due to these deep connections to the natural world I always wondered if I had inherited this intense love and focus on nature from my biological family.

Then, in 2018, I used the tools of science to find my genetic family and my suspicions were confirmed – my love of nature was indeed genetic – my father and all my family members were great lovers of nature and all things wild and wonderful. My father and I shared so many things in common – even down to things like favorite foods, TV shows, music, vehicles, wildlife, it is really astounding how many deep connections we share.

So for me specifically, the nature vs nurture argument is no longer a debate – i am a product of both of these things.

From my point of view, and from my lived experience – I believe that at birth we carry within our genetic code, a singular sequence specifically written by the experiences of our parents, grandparents, great grandparents and far far back into deeptime, to a time before we gave ourselves names, before we harnessed fire, before we were even human. This ancient code sequence is the nature side of the coin. It is a hard written instinct stamped into our DNA by the experiences of all our ancestors. This ancient code is expressed,  like it or not, by our consciousness.  But what the heck is consciousness anyway?

In an attempt to answer this age old question we need to flip the coin back over to the nurture side again and ask – what about our consciousness?  Where does it come from?  What is it that allows us to look in the mirror and say “Hello me, i recognize that i exist…i think therefore i am.” 

Where does the consciousness  originate?  Some say it is all in the mind…and maybe this is so.  However, I sometimes wonder if it comes from outside the body…another realm of existence that we have yet to identify.  Maybe we and all life on earth are part of this unique and massive energy field…this Singularity…and we are greatly limiting ourselves when we think that we are separate, apart, alone individuals.  But in reality…a reality we have not discovered yet because we are not yet ready, not evolved enough to experience that reality and understand it…maybe we are all connected deeper than we could ever imagine.  Maybe when our body exhausts itself and ceases to exist, maybe our unique consciousness – our soul – retreats back into this unknown realm, this undiscovered country, to rejoin with the rest of the whole where it then shares its lifetime of experiences with its “peers” afterwhich it is reset, and then born again as another lifeform on earth…or another planet in the vast cosmos – and the cycle continues.

I do not believe in omnipotent beings – a god or gods – and therefore i do not believe a devine creator being gives us each a unique consciousness – at soul – at birth.  I have this hypothesis that at birth, our consciousness is a blank clean slate…like a new computer waiting to have is blank but eager to learn storage drives filled up with all our unique photos, music, stories, history – the unique things we save close to our hearts and minds – the things that make us, us.

Maybe we are all born with this same basic, “blank slate” consciousness.  Maybe this blank slate consciousness is exactly the same for everyone – it is a carbon copy of whatever the first one was, whatever the first human being was.  Then, as we live and grow and are exposed to our family, friends, society, the media, religion, politics, science, culture, war, love, hate, bullies, hippies, laughter, passion, sickness, trauma, etc – maybe it is only after this exposure to all these unique outside experiences and influences, coupled with the genetic expression of our instinctual nature knowledge passed down from our unique evolutionary lineages, does our unique consciousness truly becomes ours, and only ours.  It becomes unique to each human due to the unique experiences each of us has experienced as well as the deep genetic connections we brought forward in time from our unique ancestrial DNA.

Maybe the “me” and “you” parts of our thinking brains are exactly the same until they experience life, the universe, and everything around us during our first few years of life – and then we become the unique individuals that we are – we become the you and the me that we see in the mirror.

If all this is so, then to guide an innocent young human into adulthood as a parent, teacher, or mentor, is possibly the greatest responsibility one could ever hold.

Choose wisely.

Think before you speak.

Be a good human.

Do good things.

Parasitic Prison

On By StevoIn Environment, nature, parasites, ScienceLeave a comment

The Tick Chronicles – a most important PSA for everyone reading these words.

The backstory. In mid May of 2024 I was visiting family in central Florida and found a tick embedded on the small of my back. I pulled it off and flushed it, as i have done hundreds of times before – im a naturalist and spend alot of time outdoors. I’ve probably had over 100 ticks embedded in my skin over my almost 58 years of life and I have treated all of them the same – a good squishing or flushing and then go on with life.  In retrospect,  that was not the best decision.

Then, a few weeks later, I awoke with unusual symptoms that I thought was COVID-19. I made the trip to the local urgent care only to discover it was Rocky Mountian Spotted Fever and a co-infection of Ehrlichiosis. The docs put me on a month-long course of Doxycycline and another antibiotic, I cannot remember the name of. As usual, the antibiotics messed up my digestion and made me feel slightly nauseous, but between doses I ate dairy-free yogurt (I’m allergic to bovine milk) and it eased the backlash from my microbiome.

The week after the symptoms started, I experienced only one day of fever that never went above 101 and only a few hours of a severe frontal headache that a bag of ice calmed down a bit. The only namesake spot I developed was at the location of the bite – the spot was a crusty scab about 1/4″ in diameter –  and it didn’t fully heal for many months… weird. The infectious disease specialist said that was indeed a symptom of RMSF…but that most people infected by this nasty parasite develop spots all over their body…so I was, in fact, lucky.

I did not feel lucky.

For the next 9 months i had almost constant brain fog and almost no energy, and it took all my willpower to drag myself off the sofa to do anything. (I’m still finding it very hard to get off the sofa…especially in the mornings. )

In mid-December of 2024, I started feeling a bit better, but I was still lethargic, and it took me hours to get going in the AM. Sometimes I wouldn’t leave the house until after 11am…most of the time not at all.

By spring of 2025, I could feel the fog lifting and had more good days than bad but the heat of summer was debilitating.

Fast forward to mid-summer. I took a walk in the woods, and shortly after, I found another tick embedded in my leg. I was in a remote location, so I carefully removed it and kept it in the event the docs wanted to ship it off to the infectious disease lab to be studied (they didn’t), but they did give me a preventive dose of Doxycycline again, but no tick vectored disease retest.

In the fall of 2025 I attempted to go back to work part time, that was a bad decision.  It was exhausting and I had to quit after a few weeks.

Fast forward to today – June 7, 2026. For 24 months, I have been living with the bizarre health impacts of RMSF and Erlichia.

It has been a roller coaster ride of truly bizarre symptoms. In the beginning, and for the first 9 months, I had daily lethargy, fatigue, muscle and joint pain as well as heavy brain fog, on and off depression, and sensitivity to light, sound, hot and cold – especially cold – and short-term memory problems.

Then, for the next year or so, on most days the brain fog and chronic fatigue symptoms lessened a bit but the muscle and joint pain, unexpected weakness, sensitivity to light and sound and heat and cold increased – sometimes to the point where I felt as if I could not do simple tasks such as taking out the trash or lifting a wrench. For part of that time the muscles and joints of my lower arms and not as much my legs, felt as if they had been hit with several blows from a hammer…but there was no recent trauma or bruising – my calf muscles often cramped, and I had nerve pain/neuropathy in my feet, lower legs,  and knees… and it has now spread to my elbows.  My elbows and lower arms ached when I moved them – and it got worse when I tried to move or lift anything…a real-life example, imagine if your lower arm muscles hurt when you squeezed the toothpaste tube to brush your teeth – that is what this is like. It truly suks in every way possible…but at least I’m not on fire LOL.

Starting in the late winter of 2026 I started feeling mostly “normal” mentally – save for the continuing memory issues, but that could also be age related…or both.  Physically however, my stamina and energy are still almost non existent.  It still takes me until around lunchtime to feel awake enough to do almost anything and then I only get 3-5 good hours to do what I need to do and that is not always a guarantee.  If I overdo it or get overheated or chilled, then the next few days are ruined for me.  The doctors call this Post Extertional Malaise PEM, and that is exactly what it is – overdo things and I pay for it.  The key to limiting these events is pacing myself and listening to my body.

I am an active person with many plans and projects going on at all times. However, since I acquired this nasty, tick-vectored infection, I have not at all been myself. I feel like I am a prisoner in my own malfunctioning body. I have had to put many plans on hold simply because I do not have the energy to do them.

Needless to say, the events of the last 24 months have really started to weigh heavily on my mind. I am truly concerned for the future of my health. Chronic fatigue and pain with an insidious creeping lethargic depression have become my normal state. Recently, my doc mentioned that my symptoms are similar to ME/CFS, but I do not think he wants to make that complex call just yet…

The only things keeping me positive and looking to the future have been the following –

1. My wonderful wife Marian O’Neil who has helped me so much during this longterm health ordeal.  She has always stood by my side to help me get through this and I love her so much for her care and compassion at this low point in my journey called life.

2. My 501c3.  This past 2 years my orgs programming has taken me to many local camps, schools, and festivals where the smiling happy faces of the next generation learning always serves to lift my spirits up and give me hope for a better future.

3. My wonderful 501c3 volunteers and interns and my coworkers at Ignite – they have all been so supportive during this time.  They have checked in on the nature center and its inhabitants (thanks so much Yuko Larrison et. al.) and/or taken on the heavy lifting needs of my programming and gone above and beyond the call of duty.  Thank you all for being so awesome!

4. My 501c3 friends and supporters who have helped me keep things moving forward even when Im moving as slow as cold molasses in winter. 

5. My personal friends including but not limited to Jim Hardy, Alice Hardy, GC Smith, Kippy, Bob Harris, Mark and Chris – you have all given me so much support (personal and 501c3), kindness, and have been so patient* with me – and for all that I cannot thank you enough.  You are all my heroes!!!  I truly do not know what I would do without all of you.

6. My doctor Dave Ward who has worked tirelessly to get me through this.  Dr. Ward has gotten me through many common and not so common health challenges over all the years but this one may be the biggest one yet.  I know that he will find a treatment for this condition and that gives me great hope that one day, I will come out of this depressed state of health and get back to living life. 

Personal insight i have gained from this ongoing health misadventure:

If you are an outdoor oriented person as i am…or was…then please, if you find a tick on you and it is embedded in your skin – do the following immediately:

1. Go to your nearest urgent care facility.  Have them remove the blood sucking parasite the correct way.  They may send it off to be tested so they can update the range maps etc.

2. If they do not prescribe a preventive dose of antibiotics such as Doxycyclene, then please, ask them to do so. 
DO NOT TAKE THE CHANCE.
DO NOT PLAY RUSSIAN ROULETTE with your health.

3. Learn about the tick/mosquito and other parasite-vectored diseases in your area and know what to do if you or a loved one is bitten** by a parasite.

4.Keep your outdoor pets treated for ticks/fleas – humans are often infected with parasites that hitchhike inside the home on their pets then drop off and bite the human inhabitants of the home.

5. When journeying into the wild, always take precautions to keep the nasty parasites from feeding on you and potentially giving you one or more life altering diseases.

Here’s a good video on the subject:

https://youtu.be/fD0GiSKSSlA?si=_tUU-iZUenmf3LVb

Learn more about parasite vectored diseases in your area:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950248925000379

https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/tickborne-diseases-in-the-us

https://epi.dph.ncdhhs.gov/cd/diseases/rmsf.html

https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/ticks-and-tick-borne-diseases

https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/about/index.html

https://www.cdc.gov/rocky-mountain-spotted-fever/about/index.html

https://www.cdc.gov/ehrlichiosis/about/index.html

Click to access lyme-pep-low-ink-p.pdf

Home

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/vector-borne-diseases

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/researchers-confirm-new-rickettsia-species-found-in-dogs/ar-AA1RAagl

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/31/11/25-0681_article

If you are interested in having a tick(s) tested for pathogens visit:

Home

*I have observed and learned that it is hard for people to be patient with those with the symptoms I have.  Why, I suppose it is because I seem otherwise healthy to the observer.  However, for me, it is an entirely different story.  It is a battle between what i need to do, what i want to do, and the ever present yet varying in intensity, lack of energy, mental fog, muscle weakness, and sensitivity to…everything…keeping me from living my life.  To say it suks furry monkey nuggets is a gross understatement.

**I have been bitten by many cats, dogs, a few Opossums, many non-venomous snakes, one venomous timber rattlesnake, a mad prairie dog, and a few humans – but the painless bite of a tiny tick has, BY FAR, been the most damaging and debilitating of them all.

Update: 7.1.26: I’m finding less ticks crawling on me over the last few weeks so hopefully this summer heat and continuing drought is killing them off.   With the longer days and warmth of summer,  my symptoms have greatly improved…however, my mornings are still very slow and i continue to be hyper-sensitive to heat. 

Positive note: after I took a single dose of a wild crafted fungal-based medicine, my energy levels, focus, depression, and even peripheral neuropathy has greatly improved!!  More treatments may be needed, i will be sure to keep you updated on my progress.

Update 6.10.26:  After walking in the Florida woods I found another tick embedded in one of my calf muscles.  I visited urgent care and was Rxed a 2 week course of Doxycycline to waste of any future issues. 

Update 6.7.26: The ticks continue to be active, over the last few days I have found 4 ticks crawling on my skin,  luckily none were embedded.  Use your repellents on yourselves and your pets, and always check yourselves after outdoor activities.

Update: 6.2.26: The results are in on the 6 local ticks i shipped through the mail to Ticknology.org to be examined for disease pathogens. Lucky for us they were all negative! 

Update 5.11.26: The ticks are active!  Over the last week I have found 3 ticks crawling on me – and that is just from walking in my “yard.”  I sent these three ticks off as well as three others from another location, to be screened for pathogens- more on the results soon. 

The journey drags on…and on.

Another Thought Experiment

On By StevoIn anthropology, climate change, critical thinking, earth, Environment, nature, religion, Science, space, UncategorizedLeave a comment

If a highly advanced, long-lived, extraterrestrial species from another galaxy landed on Earth today and told us we were all part of a long-term planetary biology/evolution “lab” experiment designed and implemented several million years ago in the attempt to discern the direction biological evolution would take under the unique environmental conditions offered by this planet and its star…

…and/or…

If Jesus (or any other religious prophet) returned and/or appeared – and he was a dark skinned, barefoot, long haired, “herb” smoking, robe wearing, bisexual, “hippie” “dude” whose pronown was “whatever man” and he was asking all of us to destroy our walls, weapons, governments, religions, superficial labels and divisions, and all coexist and live in harmony…

Recent events suggest that many people who call themselves religious would probably deny the flesh and blood evidence standing in front of them, and cry “demon,” “witch,” ” infidel,” “imposter,” – and then try to crucify and/or dissect them.


Sadly, the fearful, preconceived notions of what many believe their god and/or extraterrestrial visitors should be are far too limiting and microscopically small, to allow them to see the grandeur of the cosmos as it actually exists, and all the amazing possibilities it may hold.

We are our own most limiting factor.

Your 3rd eye is watching you

On By StevoIn anthropology, critical thinking, Environment, nature, religion, Science, space, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Some of us have the rare ability to look ourselves in the mirror and reflect on our choices, make changes, look at the past as a learning experience and never do it again, and then go on with life.


Some do not have that ability and need help from those who do.


All of us need to forcefully pry open our third eye to see the violence inherent in the system, step outside of it, and see the religiopolitical matrix for what it really is: a manufactured control machine designed to keep us down by any and all means, so the dangerous, mean, rich and powerful – and those dumb as a bag of steaming fresh scat – remain in control behind the curtains pulling the strings and collecting the wealth while the rest of us scratch, scrape, and slurp to get by in this manufactured automaton we call a society.

PSA for today

On By StevoIn Environment, ScienceLeave a comment

A few days ago I had to drive our other vehicle to tote a load. This vehicle is wonderful in all ways but one – it runs on gasoline. At one point I needed to fill up its fuel reservoir with the expensive, toxic, highly explosive, refined, fossil based liquid hydrocarbons (aka gasoline/petrol) that it frequently needs (it only gets 12 – 16mpg) in order to be useful and of any value at all. When I pulled up to the pump I thought, as I always do, about all the nasty pathogens (bacteria, viruses, sputum, and other manner of nastiness) left on the pump handle by all the other plague rat humans who had used it since it was last cleaned…if it ever was…ugh. I took a chance and stuck the likely pathogen funk covered toxic death liquid spewing nozzle into my vehicle’s fuel port, got a squirt of sanitizer, and walked a few steps away so as not to breathe the potentially cancerous VOC’s, and waited (I know, I’m a bit of a germaphobe but being extra careful – especially today – is always a good policy). I noticed nearby two men with their upper bodies buried in the engine compartment of their older model pick up truck. They were covered in grease, working diligently as they tried to reason out whatever the problem was with their vehicle’s internal combustion engine and its hundreds of moving parts, tubes, pipes, belts and bits. I did not envy them as I have been there many times myself, in many similar situations, working on old cars and because of those times I now have great mechanical skills 🙂 – back to the story.
As my vehicle’s tank filled with highly volatile life destroying ancient fossil juice I noticed a car pull up on the other side of the pumps. A man exited the vehicle and proceeded to fill his tank. I immediately observed two problems – 1. He did not shut off the engine while pumping gas and 2. He was smoking. I thought about saying something to him but from his rough outward appearance I thought otherwise (I really do not like needless, energy wasting, confrontations). Instead I decided to protect life and limb and RUNNOFT so I stopped my tank from fueling before it was finished and removed myself from the danger zone. In hindsight the right thing to do would be to have gone inside the station and informed the attendant of the dangerous situation and that I will do the next time I witness a situation such as this. Sadly, I have seen this kind of unbelievable carelessness several times before (and reported it as well) and can’t help but wonder if these individuals are either just dangerously complacent in their use of a highly flammable and toxic substance, failed to listen to their parents, driver education teacher, or whomever taught them about the skills needed to drive a vehicle, or maybe they didn’t listen in science class, maybe they didn’t take a science class, maybe they have have a death wish, or maybe they believe they are magically protected by some invisible being or force, or maybe all of the above. Whatever the case may be if they keep it up they will eventually win a Darwin award and might just take a few of us careful, thinking people with them and that is what seriously scares me.
If you drive a vehicle that requires an expensive,* toxic to all life forms, highly explosive, refined fossil based liquid hydrocarbon as its fuel source (as I still do…for now anyway), then please, please be careful when you need to stop at public access fuel distribution centers because it is CRAZY out there!
Better yet, when you are able to one day get an EV and fuel up on your own porch/garage at night while you sleep without the dangers/costs/germs and crazy associated with all of the above – then please do so – you will be glad you did.
I know, many EV’s are currently more expensive that most gas powered vehicles and the EV market is pretty slim to nonexistent when it comes to 4×4 on/off road EV utility vehicles (that has changed since I originally penned this story: now we have several great choices with the Rivian R1T and R1S, Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado EV, GMC Denali EV, Hummer EV, and Cybertruck and more on the way) and vehicles that are able to haul loads but it is getting better and more affordable every day. However, if you need an around town daily driver and do not drive more than 150 miles/day you really should check out a new or used Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV or the Nissan Leaf. After you figure in all the costs of gas, oil changes, and tune ups (all gone when you drive an EV) – these two are the some of the best EV deals on the market.
NOTES: This story is not an attack on anyone. It is a commentary on the absurdity of the situations we often find ourselves in on a daily basis. It is also a commentary on the absurdity that is the reality of driving/energy use in our country and that how that out-dated and dangerous finite fossil fuel-based system is not the most proactive way to do things. Please also note that I do not work for Chevrolet or Nissan – the fact is that my almost 12 years of EV experience has shown me that driving EV is in almost every way a better way to drive and I am attempting to share some of my experiences with you all so you will be better informed and ready for the coming EV revolution.
My prediction is that by 2027-2028 most of you will be driving electric or planning to do so very soon. The value of daily driver gas cars such as Toyota and Honda anything – will be almost zilcho. The classics will never die (I hope) because they are pieces of automotive history that must live on on the roads and in museums. But the daily driver car of tomorrow is 100% electric powered – powered not by expensive foreign sourced, war funding, highly toxic, flammable, atmosphere, health and life killing petroleum-based fuels – but by domestically-sourced renewably produced electricity.
*these fuel products are expensive in so many ways including but not limited to: madly fluctuating end user cost at the pump, cost in pollution to the local, regional, global environment and atmosphere, cost in acquisition, refining and shipping, cost associated with war and terrorism, cost in human sickness, suffering, and death from all of the above…but due to government subsidies they are far lower in cost at the pump than they could be. If we were paying the true cost as many people do all over the world – most if not all of us would already be driving electric.

Something from my brain.

On By StevoIn anthropology, climate change, conspiracy, COVID-19, critical thinking, earth, Environment, nature, religion, Science, space, UncategorizedLeave a comment

The star we call Sol sent out its energy across the deep void of space…the oceans and land warmed…waters evaporated…clouds grew tall and mighty…wind blew, rains fell, and fell, and rivers jumped out of their banks…their mindless liquid fury eating up the ephemeral landscape while ending all the innocents in its path…the humans cried out – “Why?!?”

The heat and humidity continue to build and build…and the exhaustion and heat stroke drop more and more of us…the sick, the old, and the weak…the humans cried out – “Why?!?”

The land drys out, clouds move over, and, like socks on carpet in winter – friction charges them up like big fluffy sky capacitors and their charge is soon released in great jagged bolts of superheated plasma – igniting the dry lands below…

…and monsterous unstoppable wildfires race across the landscape indescrimanantly devouring everything and everyone in their path…while simultaneously sending choking toxic smoke far and wide beyond their perimeter…the humans cried out – “Why?!?”

The snows, glaciers, sea ice, permafrost, and ice caps melt, while those bedded and beached upon the shore watch as the waters rise, and rise, and rise some more – they build their stuff – buildings, roads, bridges, and walls – higher while they watch in disbelief as their homes are taken back by the mighty and timeless great blue ocean…the humans cried out – “Why?!?”

…and yet, the complacent, self absorbed, multi-colored, mostly hairless, big brained, bipedal apes that call themselves the humans continue to ignore…the reality.

Still they burn…like an addict sucking down cancer sticks as fast as possible while their lungs rot out of their chest…faster they drill baby drill and burn baby burn, more and more oil…more and more coal…more and more gas…more and more and more of this ancient, trapped sunlight and carbon-rich energy…these fossil fuels: the true and tested evidence-supported peer-reviewed root cause of all the “natural” disasters we are all now facing.

And yet, as they watch the sky and pray and cry for the lost – still they choose to blame and deny. And the humans cried out – “Why?!?”

Do they deny because an imaginary sky god or grinning political figurehead made its way into their brain and told them piles of lies about how things work?

I do not know, but I have a suspicion.

But my question remains…why?

Why can’t they think for themselves?

Why do they need a leader, a father figure, a tribe, a chief to tell them his why?

Why can’t they understand and support what their own eyes see?

Why do they continue to deny the facts and findings, the science, the reality?

They laugh and scoff and call it a hoax as they blame the rich, the scientist, the empathetic, the poor, the immigrant, the elderly, those who live differently than they do, and they always loudly blame the “other” – it is obvious to me that they must not care at all about their Mother…or father…or children…or all the “others” on “their” side…and the “other” side of all the imaginary lines they have drawn on pages, in the sands, and in their heads…lines that were intentionally designed to seperate and to create the fear and hate that feeds their bloody war machines and bloated bank accounts…that all are automated by and in support of all the ancient fossil fueled lies.

They often wrongly say the “other” “tribes,” the leftists, the hippies, the pot smokers, the mexicans, the women, the gays, yhe lesbians, and the science types made all these things happen with bribes, tricks, and planes, schools, books, and sprays, and “seeds,” and loads and loads of lies…all to build support to fund their own needs.

This is not reality.

The reality is this: the liers and deniers are in fact on both “sides.”

We are all to blame for our own demise.

They often pray and say their god(s) will keep them safe from the storms, the heat, the sickness and pain…and that it is also their gods who are punishing those who have died for some terrible “sin”…what a childish and heartless reply designed by some nasty old guys with dollar signs in their greedy uncrying black eyes.

Bad sports they are in this game of games while they point crooked fingers and yell hateful names…at all the “others” but never, in the mirror, never ever admitting they were wrong in the game, but always claiming they were wronged by the game…and yet, somehow, they are unable to own up to their own errors in judgement, unable to give aid to those who were maimed.

So many wonderful and beautiful people have tragically died, their lives, homes, and towns washed away, burned, bombed, blown down,

…yet still those that remain, still they choose to deny.

Why?!?!?

Still they cheat, swindle, disrespect, and lie through their perfect little grinning blood dripping teeth, while they get fatter and fatter like bloated parasites sucking the life out of you and me with their toxicly malignant pride.

Those that choose to rebel, to disagree and fight back…they are soon dissappeared. Murdered in cold blood by heartless, soulless, uncaring, brainless, tiny boned, shrunken, little old white men (descended from immigrants), and their throngs of ultra dangerous ultra proud boylike yes men and women – the ultimate toady brown nosers and arse kissers, in suits and masks, hoods, and pointy hats, who will lie rapid fire to your face while shiny gold crosses hang around their necks – nothing at all matters to them except to feel powerful and to win, win, win.

Yes, that is it I believe, they must win. If they lose out in their lust for “greatness” and power, they actually believe – in their tiny, dessicated, shrunken husk of a mind – that they have failed. So, no matter the cost to themselves, their family, city, country, environment, or the entire earth – no matter the cost to our species, they must win. They are the ultimate sore losers, the ultimate bitter, hateful, venomous, malignant, bullies.

When will they ever take responsibility?

What will it take?

Or are they so full of ego, greed, hubris, fear, meanness and hate that they will choose to go down with their ship while pointing their finger at those they have labeled as the enemy…when the real enemy is inside.

Buckle Up

On By StevoIn climate change, conspiracy, critical thinking, earth, Environment, NASA, nature, Science, space, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Hurricane Helene and now just a few months later – this terrible flood in Texas.

This is yet another horrible and avoidable tragedy.
Please do all in your power to help those in need.


Shifting gears a bit –
Here’s the thing: when I was in college, I learned from my professors, and from my own research in the campus library and online, all about anthropogenic climate change/global warming or whatever you choose to call it. I learned why it is happening, I looked at all the evidence, and all these data, evidence, and facts, they needed no support – they stood alone. It was so obviously real that it made it past my logic and reason filters – and guess what, I understood and accepted it all as peer-reviewed reality.

Here’s the other thing: everything all those scientists (NASA, NOAA, NWS, etc, and all the independent scientists all over the planet studying the issue said would happen – is now coming to pass- heck it has been happening for decades.

I have watched as the climate has noticeably warmed – we didn’t need fans in our home until the mid 1990’s, or air conditioning until 2010 – and now, when the HVAC fails (due to the storms, power outages, etc.), all the floor and ceiling fans and our bodies own built-in cooling systems (sweat glands) can barely keep us from dangerously overheating.

The sea level has visibly risen on the beaches I have been visiting over the last 50+ years of my life.

The once frequent snows of “winter” have turned into cool and sometimes even warm rains…or super-concentrated cold spells – aka Polar Vortexes…vortices? – that have been colder than any cold I can remember.

I have watched springs and creeks dry up and trees die due to the unusually long periods of heat-induced drought.

Almost every year, I have witnessed more frequent and intense wildfires, as well as the unbelievable air pollution the fires bring.

Then there are the hurricanes – (Andrew, Katrina, Harvey, Helene!!!) – more and more powerful every season, more and more rain, wind, destruction.

We then have the wildlife species that never lived in my region, migrating into the wilds near my home – some examples include but are not limited to: the Coyote (the earliest to arrive), the Nine-banded armadillo, Fire ants, Bedbugs, mosquitoes, ticks, and, needless to say, many different nasty diseases – two of these are tick-vectored diseases that I have contracted and still suffer symptoms from – Rocky Mountain Spotted fever and Ehrlichia.

Anthropogenic climate change is an evidence-supported, peer-reviewed fact.

If you choose to not believe me or the thousands of climate scientists and researchers, then just watch and/or read the horrific headlines from the climate change-induced/exacerbated storms, floods, heatwaves, droughts, polar vertices, wildfires, toxic air and water pollution, sea level rise, etc, etc.

Or just walk yourself outside and wait a while.

This climate change thing is not a political plot or ploy to make the Democrats, “leftists” and “greenies” rich, that is ridiculous and you know it. Nor is this some sort of scam cooked up by “the Chinese” – this shit is real so please just keep your political (and religious) BS out of the important business of discovering the impacts of our species on the the evidence-supported peer-reviewed findings and facts of the natural world and its systems that support us all.

But even if still choose to ignore the evidence, the science, and the new reality of the dangerous situation we have made for ourselves by burning copious amounts of fossil fuels over the last few hundred years – say what you will and believe what and who you choose…but your belief in something or someone does not make your choice a fact – unless it has the evidence to back it up.

Like Evolution by Natural Selection, Climate Change has mountains of supportive peer-reviewed evidence. If you choose to not believe all these mountains of evidence, from all over the planet and even satellites orbiting in space…then all I can say to you is buckle up buttercup, and “enjoy” the ride because we are all riding on this crazy train of life together. There is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide and the cold beauty that some call mother nature is as mad as hell at the dumbass “thinking” ape clan for fukin up the planet – and I fear this is only the beginning and there is going to be some serious hell to pay.

Please remember – nature does not give one single hot puckered rodent arse about any of us, so you better learn how to take care of yourself. Be ready. Stay vigilant. Be prepared. And above all, do good things to help others in need around you, because we are all riders on the same 4.5 billion-year-old planetary boat afloat in the vast ocean of space and time.


One Love.


Namaste