J. Patrick Henry

There's litle I can add to the condemnation of Putin (and his American enablers: T***p, Tucker Carlson, Fox News, et al) regarding the torture and killings of innocent civilians in Ukraine.  It's a dark time. Not just for Ukraine, but for the world. But there may be an unexpected silver lining in these dark clouds.

Putin's invasion, successful or not, will have far reaching global effects, especially in terms of the availability of food (wheat and other grains) for populations in the Middle East and Africa already at risk of famine. Ukraine is the breadbasket of much of the world, and farmers can't go into their fields if they're full of mines left or they're under fire from retreating Russian troops. 

For more about the broader impact of the invasion, listen to the podcast where Ezra Klein interviews Fiona Hill, the most knowledgeable U.S. Russian expert we have. Hill sketches out a dark future, one in which global famine  becomes a reality, and offers a sobering view of what is to come from a war where Putin refuses to recognize the integrity of an independent nation. It kept me up long into the night.

 
But is there a reason for hope? Is there possibly a silver lining somewhere within these dark clouds?

Perhaps.

First, as you've seen in the reporting on the Ukrainian army, it's holding its own against Putin's best. The most recent success was their sinking of his flagship in the Black Sea. That ship not only sent cruise missiles into Ukraine, it also provided air cover for their bombers, and was their center for command & control. The Ukrainians are fighting for their lives, and doing a damned good job of it.

Secondly , the only way Putin can finance his war and prop up the Russian economy against the West's economic sanctions, is through the sale of fossil fuels.  Proceeds from gas and oil sales are paying for the bombs which rain down on hospitals, schools, train stations and apartment buildings in Ukraine, and for the bullets being put into the heads of civilians.

But this has led Europe to an "ah-ha" moment in re: to their dependency on Russian fossil fuels. They are now working, with our help, to wean themselves off the Russian oil/gas teat, and finding new sources of energy, including renewables. Europeans are well ahead of America in using renewable, non-fossil fuel sources of energy to stem the climate tsunami that is coming from rising global temperatures and, hopefully, impetus from the Ukrainian war will result in their moving even faster in this direction.

 
In light of this, I believe that, though we feel our hearts breaking at visions of civilians being bound and executed by Russian soldiers, the world is being given an opportunity to do both the honorable and the good thing by cutting off fossil fuel sales from Putin's regime, while at the same time, finding ways to wean ourselves off fossil fuels FOREVER.

Europe and progressive states in the U.S. are working toward a goal of saving the earth for our grandchildren (sorry, folks, it's already too late for our children), but too many Americans act as if there were no crisis, as if Mother Nature will somehow pull us out of this hell of wildfires and floods that are becoming second nature.

But what can one person do?

It's got me considering two things: heat pumps and electric vehicles.
Heat pumps are an efficient way to use the earth's stable below ground temperature to heat and cool our homes.  At the bottom of this post I'll share some links to information on this technology and what it can do for you. And, while the technology can be expensive, there are governmental subsidies which lower the cost.

The same is true for electric vehicles, which are being improved with every new model that comes off the assembly line. They provide the equivalent of from 85 to 110 miles per gallon, with a range of 220 – 350 miles, and most come with a large government rebate.

Heat pumps and/or electric cars may not work for everyone, but for those with enough land for the heat pump piping, and for who don't need a car to drive long distances on a regular basis, these two options can significantly reduce one's use of gasoline and natural gas.

So it is that Putin's brutal attempt to destroy Ukraine, by highlighting the danger of  Western Europe's addiction to Russian fossil fuels, could possibly have a silver lining: an unintended, positive impact on the battle against the ongoing effects of climate change.

 

Thanks for reading this far.
 
Here are some links related to the above:

 

How To Help Ukraine:

 

https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=9366

 
Ezra Klein Podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/la/podcast/the-ezra-klein-show/id1548604447 

 

https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS84MkZJMzVQeA==
 
Heat Pumps:

 

https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/heat-pump-systems

 

https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/Residents-and-Homeowners/Heat-and-Cool-Your-Home/Heat-Pumps
 
Fully Electric Vehicles & Subsides:

 

https://www.edmunds.com/electric-car/#electric-vehicles

https://fueleconomy.gov/feg/taxevb.shtml

 
That title is a bit misleading in that I'm certain people will be talking about this decision for years to come.  It is accurate insofar as this is the last time I'm going to talk about it. Once I get this off my chest I'll move on.
 
First, full disclosure: I'm no longer much of a football fan, so my opinions about the stadium deal are likely biased. There was a time when I watched every game, but after spending the fall of 2015 in a Cleveland hospital bed where the only game on TV was the lowly Browns, I realized I didn't miss it.  I found it was nice to have my Sunday afternoons back to do other things.
 
         So, here goes:
 
-       It's obviously crazy for taxpayers to subsidize what's essentially a billionaire's playground, but I understand what the Bills bring to the area, in emotional if not economic terms, and I think the financial arrangements are about as good a deal as we could have gotten.  I'm especially glad the Pegulas (the team's owners) are on the hook for any cost overruns during construction, which I expect to be significant in light of supply chain and global economic issues. Still, it's hard to swallow throwing tax dollars at owners and a league that rake in billions every year.  

-       The new stadium is being built in the wrong place. Despite the fact that a South Park site in the city scored the highest in the Pegula's own study, they've insisted on building it in the middle of nowhere. Granted, building in Orchard Park will be cheaper and quicker, meaning the Pegula's and the NFL's contributions will be smaller, and they can reap the financial benefits that much sooner, but it does nothing for the Western New York community at large. Building it in the city would cost more and take longer, but the overall economic payoff, as outlined in the team's study, would be much greater. Thus, the new stadium joins a famous list of failed opportunities, from putting the University of Buffalo campus in the suburbs, to cutting an expressway through the heart of the East Side and destroying an Olmstead Parkway in the process.  

-       It is hard to blame the owners for doing what's in their best financial interests, but one aspect of their plan—to partner with and benefit financially from the exploding sports gambling market—is especially appalling.  Gambling addiction leads to increases in bankruptcies, family breakups, and even suicide. Yet, the Pegula's plan includes a provision to make it easier for fans in the new stadium to gamble on the game. Kim Pegula said (paraphrasing now) that while she isn't morally for gambling, their study identified it as a new revenue source, so they'll embrace it. Apparently, for the right price she's willing to hold her nose and take the money.
 
That's all I've got.
 
Thanks for reading this far.

In my first post (see below) I claimed I wouldn't pester friends by announcing the existence of this blog.  

 

And now I have. 

 

Boy that didn't take long!

 

Thus, the score remains, Ego - 1, Modesty - 0.

 

Now I don't intend to bug folks every time I put a new post up, but hey, I lied about this once before, so why should you believe me?

 

Seriously, if you do want to get an alert now and then, let me know, either via email or by posting a comment to this message. I promise not to overload your inbox by sending out a note every time a new post goes up.

 

As it is, too much of our time is taken up with fending off the internet's intrusions, so I wouldn't take it personally if you silently decline the offer.  

 

Thanks for reading this far. 

Blogs have been in existence since the early-mid 1990s, and there are now hundreds of millions of them floating out there in cyberspace. So, it seems reasonable to ask, "Why would anyone wish to add to this cacophony of voices, and why now?"

 

The answer?

 

There isn't just one.  In no particular order:

 

   - Writers write, and lately I've been a bit blocked and looking for a new outlet. 

   

   - My opinions on local and national events need a place to be, and though the city's newspaper prints my essays and letters to the editor on a regular basis, they limit both what and how often they accept submissions.

 

   - One could imagine this blog being the equivalent of my Facebook page, which is something I've so far successfully avoided. I know that FB has the power to make valuable connections among people. Unfortunately, it also is designed to monetize your personal information, and it spreads disinformation that undermines our democracy and the very fabric of our society. Thus, this becomes my alternative to a FB page.

 

   - Ego. There. I said it.

 

I have no idea how often I'll post here, or even whether or not I'll tell folks of the existence of the blog and alert them to new posts when they arrive.

 

It can be awkward to say to friends, "Hey, look here!" when that includes the implied question, "What did you think of it?"

 

I mean, seriously now, other than asking someone to help you move your 50 boxes of books and records to a new 3rd floor apartment, is there anyting worse than saying to a friend, "I just finished my new 500 page novel. Would you read it and give me your opinion?" 

 

That's a burden one should rarely place on the shoulders of a close friend, let alone a group of acqaintances. 

 

In light of all that, perhaps for now I'll just leave this blog to finds its own audience, and wait to see what happens. 

 

Thanks for reading this far.