it pains me to have to post about something that is established science like it is breaking news -- but at the same time as this administration is gutting climate regulations the facts are... (check the spike the past 3 years)

here in AZ, we skipped winter all-together
it's now spring

6 hours ago, macphysto said:

(Ahem!) Bookmark this topic and refer to it the next time that you feel the urge to consult AI about Life, Death, and The Meaning of It All, V.3.

The Growing Environmental Impact of AI Data Centers

How AI and Data Centers Impact Climate Change

and you mean next time i consult a.i. on how to solve the energy/climate crisis, poverty, and corruption, etc.?
including how to properly regulate and responsibly use a.i so as to not waste energy, replace human creativity, etc.?

because, frankly, Mac, if it wasn't for cynics and their hands-off, no-vote approach we might not be in this current mess
or, at, least not as waist deep in it as we are right now

• the invention of fire enabled cooking vegetable soup or the flesh of sentient life forms

• the invention of the wheel can be used to build an ambulance and fire-truck, or a tank

• the invention of the car was the first harmful use of oil leading to pollution and energy waste

• the gun empowered European settlers to repel British tyrants from America, and the American Indians from their homeland

• the internet can be used to connect cultures around the world, or to connect religious and political fanatics to themselves in closed bubbles of ignorance

it's not about how much energy it takes to run artificial intelligence
it's about not wasting energy by misusing artificial intelligence
a.i. helped me build this site that you are using to communicate your opinions to the world
and, btw, i know you object to being told what to do
but kudos for you bravely TELLING ME AND THE WORLD WHAT NOT TO DO
and i suggest you be more specific.
a.i. put to proper use will probably save your life one day
or extend it
and i agree we should not waste energy misusing it to do the thinking for children
to replace relationships and human creativity

the devil is in the details
i suggest that when you tell other people what to do and what not to do
be specific
if you were, i'd probably, mostly agree with you

aim your stones

also, Mac, since i should be aiming my stones...

1. the guy who enacted climate change regulations and the guy who joined the international climate accord
   are guys you didn't vote for

2. the guy who put an end to both of those,
   is the guy you didn't vote against

and here's the thing...
if people like me had voted for Ralph Nader or a third party
in a TWO party system
we wouldn't even have had the climate accord
and the Spring i'm experiencing in my Arizona winter
might already be a summer

think it through, my friend

6 hours ago, BobDylan said:

"If most Americans cared half as much about politics as they do about the Super Bowl, we would have already elected Ralph Nader twice"

unfortunately, that is not true. Americans of both parties say they vote the way they do because they care about America and politics. If all the progressive idealists in the Dem Party voted Nader he still wouldn't have been elected because we all have mixed emotions shaped by the corporate media. There is only one path -- incremental change. There's no truth pill or progressive lever that can be pulled.

11 hours ago, macphysto said:

...America will always have a two-party system, so why bother try to change it? So silly and a waste of time, right? Ditto regarding...

i believe your thrust is what they call a "strawman" argument, since the straw/words are of your construction, not mine. I believe the 2-Party system can and MUST be changed. It begins by electing the best candidate and forcing them to go further. It will never change all at once (and a.i. is a viable tool towards that goal, if we can elect someone ready and willing to drastically regulate it, in cooperation with the rest of the world.)

your approach, is similar to Nancy Reagan's "just say no" to drugs policy, or worse. Melania's "Be Best" campaign. (it's an oversimplification. but you get the idea).

(regarding you labeling me the "Planet Lord" i'd point out that we both share the know-it-all branding, but i acknowledge i am only Captain of my own ship. And only one of us admits that he CAN, MUST, and is WILLING to change)

indeed we are only human, so i remind myself and encourage others to "be better." Maybe Melania's on to something. And if some people want a medal for working on it more than others, my reply is, "gold or silver." It's those people who make a difference in the world. Jesus, MLK, etc.. were flawed human beings, BUT THEY STILL PREACHED and i thank them for doing so.

critics uses the "hypocricy" tact to dismiss anyone who tries but is not perfect. for example, if Greta Thunberg didn't arrive on a bicycle to a U.N. meeting to convince world leaders to cut emissions, she'd be ridiculed and dismissed.

1 hour ago, macphysto said:

Hey Man, you (virtually) created a "planet," not a starship. Don't be so humble.

for the moment, i only created a site. but i'm working on it. thank you.

Mac and V., I've really enjoyed reading the dialogue between you two. Two people who are both very bright, knowledgeable, and brutally honest with others. All rare traits in this Kardashian/Idiocracy world, or at least country, that we live in. I fully agree, this site deserves much more robust and wider participation from its members and visitors, but I don't have a clue how to make that happen or encourage more of it. Maybe most of us on the lefty end are feeling just too demoralized, stressed, and depressed to participate in discussions here, who knows? But I agree with both of you on your points made in your comments above. I don't feel either of you is more right than the other in the debate over human flaws, consistency and hypocrisy. For what it's worth, mac, I probably only meet about half of your four standards about morality. I do care about animals, but will still continue to be a carnivore, who supports animals being treated well while they are living as pets, in shelters, zoos, or in the wild. I will gladly pay higher taxes, as long as it benefits all of society, not just me and my age group, and also not just white people, the rich, or corporations. I am an Agnostic, so I guess Christian hypocrisy doesn't apply to me. Lastly, even tho I will likely be dead before the 💩 really hits the fan with climate change, I do care about the world left to younger people after I'm gone, and even tho I still drive a gas powered Ford Fusion, I would gladly ride a bicycle some of my travels, if I lived in a climate warm enough to do it most of the year, or would drive an electric vehicle, if I lived in a home that would allow me to plug it in. But I don't live in such a place, and my condo apt, fits my needs best for housing, as well as being affordable.

I suppose that my next car will at least be a hybrid, if I can find a late model used one in a couple years or so. So judge me as you will, mac, but I honestly think I am trying and doing better at it than most.

19 minutes ago, macphysto said:

You're welcome, and thank you for your patience and courtesy.

I genuinely and immensely admire your skill, talent, and vision in designing newBluePlanet, V.3. I applaud your noble mission to provide a salon for liberals and progressives. I stand in awe of your valiant, artistic effort . . . which, alas, I don't think is suitably rewarded by nBP citizenry. I find the meager participation in nBP forums annoying.

Every day I see "guests" -- sometimes many guests -- viewing forum topics, and that's all they do: view topics! They aren't joining in! They aren't contributing! WT . . ., citizens?!

The only other social media forums that I frequent are Yahoo! comment "communities," which get a LOT of action! Even the most (to me) vapid Yahoo! articles generate hundreds, sometimes thousands of responses. Yahoo! serves up a report on the world's cutest puppies or Sydney Sweeney's cuter "puppies," and several hundred knuckleheads (who have entirely too much time on their hands) feel compelled to spout off and argue about that!

Meanwhile thought-provoking and important nBP topics stagnate like barren, dead planets in the cyberspace void.

Why, citizens? W-h-y?

and indeed you are trying, Mac. You actually post more than i do.

The W-h-y? i accept. I may have overdone it with this site -- too organized, too many features, that only you may understand as much as i do.

i go through cycles. Right now i've been working on new songs -- that come to me in dreams. But soon i do plan on working on that "new.blue.planet" thread. And here's where it ties into the W-h-y?

people have to see, WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME? Or, simply, what's the point? there's no way out of this mess. That's why i push back with my brand of naive optimism, and stress we don't have to be guiltless to suggest, even demand more from each other.

my primary plan always was to build that new blue planet, as soon as i can concentrate on that. The operative Field Of Dreams expression is "if you build it, they will come" --to a vision of an idealistic world that offers humans something much better than we're getting now. That we CAN have. I'm confident it will be compelling...

To Mac's point about combating climate change during our affordability crisis...

Who decides what is reasonable if not the person making the decision? I want an electric car. I drive a gas car. I have no guilt. I do have concerns. I will switch if and when I can by my own reckoning. That may not be possible before I expire. That may be possible before I expire. I do not want to be forced to not drive to save the planet when a US regime change can nullify and largely walk back WAY PAST everything I've done within my power to move the climate change needle in the direction I think it should go. I do not take responsibility for doing everything possible at every step I can see where I can make a difference because that view is hubris. I am a committed believer in combating climate change. I am not in conflict with my decisions on this issue so far.

On 2/14/2026 at 8:12 PM, BobDylan said:

Mac and V., I've really enjoyed reading the dialogue between you two. Two people who are both very bright, knowledgeable, and brutally honest with others. All rare traits in this Kardashian/Idiocracy world, or at least country, that we live in. I agree with both of you on your points made in your comments above. I don't feel either of you is more right than the other in the debate over human flaws, consistency and hypocrisy. For what it's worth, mac, I probably only meet about half of your four standards about morality. I do care about animals, but will still continue to be a carnivore, who supports animals being treated well while they are living as pets, in shelters, zoos, or in the wild. I will gladly pay higher taxes, as long as it benefits all of society, not just me and my age group, and also not just white people, the rich, or corporations. I am an Agnostic, so I guess Christian hypocrisy doesn't apply to me. Lastly, even tho I will likely be dead before the 💩 really hits the fan with climate change, I do care about the world left to younger people after I'm gone, and even tho I still drive a gas powered Ford Fusion, I would gladly ride a bicycle some of my travels, if I lived in a climate warm enough to do it most of the year, or would drive an electric vehicle, if I lived in a home that would allow me to plug it in. But I don't live in such a place, and my condo apt, fits my needs best for housing, as well as being affordable.

I suppose that my next car will at least be a hybrid, if I can find a late model used one in a couple years or so. So judge me as you will, mac, but I honestly think I am trying.