Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” is supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

Israel is using food as a weapon of war. Unforgivable.

Somebody needs to explain to DeSantis that nobody needs to do anything to make him look bad.

Maybe you would prefer that we take Joelle’s side in ALL CAPS?

It’s easier to kill a dangerous animal than a man who just happens to have different thoughts/values than one’s own.

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

The lights are all blinking red.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

In my day, never was longer.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Washington Post’s Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Let’s show the world that autocracy can be defeated.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / Going Green

Going Green

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This is interesting:

John D. Rockefeller built a vast fortune on oil. Now his heirs are abandoning fossil fuels.

The family whose legendary wealth flowed from Standard Oil is planning to announce on Monday that its $860 million philanthropic organization, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, is joining the divestment movement that began a couple years ago on college campuses.

The announcement, timed to precede Tuesday’s opening of the United Nations climate change summit meeting in New York City, is part of a broader and accelerating initiative.

In recent years, 180 institutions — including philanthropies, religious organizations, pension funds and local governments — as well as hundreds of wealthy individual investors have pledged to sell assets tied to fossil fuel companies from their portfolios and to invest in cleaner alternatives. In all, the groups have pledged to divest assets worth more than $50 billion from portfolios, and the individuals more than $1 billion, according to Arabella Advisors, a firm that consults with philanthropists and investors to use their resources to achieve social goals.

The people who are selling shares of energy stocks are well aware that their actions are unlikely to have an immediate impact on the companies, given their enormous market capitalizations and cash flow.

This is on the heels of a massive march in NYC, which drew as many as 300,000 people. You probably didn’t hear about it, though, because it did not consist of a dozen blue hairs in tri-corner hats using poorly worded signs and racial slurs.

Somewhat related, I was listening to a Radiolab podcast called in the Dust of this Planet (you can stream it here or download it from itunes), which was a wide ranging discussion of nihilism, pop culture, etc. It included discussions of nihilism in pop culture (True Detective and Jay Z make appearances as topics), but it also included a part about climate scientists (I forget the name of the group) who have been issuing climate change reports since the late 1980’s, urging the world to take action to prevent or roll back the change, and this year they have basically said fuck it, it’s too late. Now their annual report has given up on prevention and is focused on living with climate change and survival. At any rate, great podcast (and spare me the inevitable totebagger remarks or snotty comments about Radiolab- I just told you I like it, so piss off if it is not your cup of tea).

Reader Interactions

63Comments

  2. 2.

    PaulW

    problem is, this is leaving fossil fuel ownership more and more in the hands of those billionaires who don’t care about climate change and actively fight against the evidence. And they’re the ones scarfing up elected officials right and left…

  3. 3.

    Schlemazel

    Back in the 80’s JDR’s grandkids were suing the trust fund for not producing enough from their investments. At the time each grandkid was getting $13 million a year (inflation adjusted something like $35 million). Their contention was at that rate their children would simply not have enough free money coming in to live the life they were accustomed to. Heaven forefend the little dears would have to call on their connections to get a job on some BoD or Wall Street trading firm. I never heard how the lawsuit turned out.

  6. 6.

    Eric U.

    one of the totebagger stations I listen to while traveling has BBC most of the time and the NPR (&affiliates) on for considerably less than my local NPR station. I find it much improves NPR if it is watered down a little. Granted, BBC gets repetitive.

  7. 7.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Schlemazel: Wow. A mere $13 million a year? Man, how does one possibly cope on such a near-poverty income? Why, they’d have to have domestics take up second jobs at McDonald’s to make ends meet with such a paltry sum coming their way.

    On a serious note, perhaps they’re realizing that it is indeed possible to get your name removed from the tumbrel manifest if you start acting a lot more responsibly. This is something that never occurred to the Cheney spawn, for example. Or the DeVos or Bush Crime Family offal.

  10. 10.

    boatboy_srq

    In all, the groups have pledged to divest assets worth more than $50 billion from portfolios, and the individuals more than $1 billion

    Over $51 billion. From valuations (summing all the big players here) well into the trillions (just ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron and BP together are over $1 trillion). Drop. Bucket.

    @PaulW: True, but keeping your <1% stake in a petro giant doesn't give you a say with the Board of Directors – it just makes you fat and happy living off the dividends. Taking that money and investing it in Philips (LumiLEDs), or Tesla, or any one of the thousands of renewables startups, just might make those voices louder over time. And ownership hasn't done much up to now. ExxonMobil has been opposed to the 20th Century in general since before the Exxon/Mobil merger: responsible voices have had nearly two decades working with the conglomerate, and at least as long beforehand, and the result is one of the biggest, loudest voices against any rational AGCC policy ever, and staunch opposition to most other progressive policies (IIRC Mobil had something resembling good environmental stewardship underway, and it got quashed in the merger along with a number of other forward-thinking policies).

  12. 12.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I only liked radio lab when nobody listened to it.

    I saw comment here or in the tweets that not one of the Sunday shows mentioned the rally. I was shocked of course.

    @Schlemazel: my favorite trust fund fight was a pair of Pritzker twenty somethings suing their father and uncles because their trust fund was worth four billion and it should have been five. And yeah, that’s billion with a “B”. Still not as egregious a sense of entitlement as Luke Russert, IMHO.

  13. 13.

    skerry

    Final official count for the NYC People’s Climate March is 400,000.

    Another 200,000 marched/demonstrated in 160+ countries around the globe.

    The NYPD has started arresting demonstrators who are part of today’s #FloodWallStreet demonstration. Last I heard over 2500 people were sitting in the streets around the Wall Street bull.

  14. 14.

    C.V. Danes

    …and this year they have basically said fuck it, it’s too late. Now their annual report has given up on prevention and is focused on living with climate change and survival.

    At this point, that is probably the only rational choice. If society is determined to leap off a cliff, then you’re better off now spending your time learning how to make a parachute.

  15. 15.

    Schlemazel

    @Villago Delenda Est:
    Well, I am sure life offered them no other benefits that could jump start their position in the work world so really it is only fair.

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:
    Thats the thing, its never enough. There is no amount of money that these feckless pustuals would be happy & content with. Despite only winning the sperm lottery they have done nothing to earn a dime & should be over joyed with that sort of cash.

  16. 16.

    jl

    @Mike J: thanks. I was going to ask bout the broken link.

    I think I have heard a few Radiolab shows, but don’t really know why anyone would call it ‘totebagger’. I never hear that term out on the Left Coast. My understanding of what ‘totebagger’ means came solely from the ventings and gripes of one D***J (I cleverly anonymousized the handle since he is some bigshot now who cannot have his name associated with a prudish mommy and pets blog).

    Check out front page of TPM blog front page today on response of St Louis police department to the PR kerfluffles caused by shooting and otherwise injuring and maiming their citizenry on the regular basis: A class for police for how to handle the PR after shootings and maimings. It is advertised as being very upbeat and fun, and not a downer at all!

    Seems to be quite hip and ‘meta’ and ‘with it’. Did you know that ‘no comment’ is in and of itself, actually a comment?

    St. Louis Police Offer Class To ‘Win With The Media’ On Officer-Involved Shootings
    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/st-louis-police-academy-ferguson-class

  17. 17.

    skerry

    @C.V. Danes: There is a whole movement, started in the UK, called “Transitions” that has resilience and sustainability as their goal. They’ve basically said, “fuck it, we quit.”

    Transition US is a nonprofit organization that provides inspiration, encouragement, support, networking, and training for Transition Initiatives across the United States. We are working in close partnership with the Transition Network, a UK based organization that supports the international Transition Movement as a whole.

    The Transition Movement is a vibrant, grassroots movement that seeks to build community resilience in the face of such challenges as peak oil, climate change and the economic crisis. It represents one of the most promising ways of engaging people in strengthening their communities against the effects of these challenges, resulting in a life that is more abundant, fulfilling, equitable and socially connected.

    We believe that we can make the transition to a more sustainable world. We hope that you will join us.

  18. 18.

    Anoniminous

    @skerry:

    We believe that we can make the transition to a more sustainable world.

    Making a transition to a more sustainable world is unavoidable. The Known/Unknown is what kind of world it will be. I oscillate between Hope and Fear for what is to come.

  19. 19.

    C.V. Danes

    @skerry: Every little bit helps, for sure. But part of that transition should probably include a “strengthening” against a loss of law and order. I think consensus now is that the climate will change abruptly once a certain trip point is reached, and not gradually over a few hundred years as many people think.

  21. 21.

    Mike J

    @jl:

    The class will also touch on topics like “‘No comment’ is a comment” and “managing media assault and battery.”

    If you hit them in the groin, they’ll be less likely to show the bruises on camera.

  22. 22.

    scav

    @jl: The whole entire Ferguson thing was entirely due to bad PR. A few tweeks to the talking heads and they’ll totally sell their new product. And I love how a seal of quality of value is “No PowerPoint!”. Whee! Actual Hallmark card-worthy catch-phrases actually glued on actual boilerplate! And fun too?

  23. 23.

    El Caganer

    Nihilism? Fuck me. Say what you will…..If you want something even gloomier, go check out The Dark Mountain Project.

  24. 24.

    grandpa john

    @jl: Hmmm, wonder if they ever considered a class on building good will and improving public relations by NOT beating and shooting their constituents but treating them
    with respect

  25. 25.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @jl: Hey, they’re just borrowing from the GOP playbook, which is basically “we have to find a new way to sell our shitty policies that no one wants.”

  27. 27.

    Schlemazel

    @skerry:
    I have no doubt the world is sustainable, thats a sure thing as long as there are no meteors. Now, having an environment that will sustain human life is a different question. That is very much in doubt.

  28. 28.

    Schlemazel

    BTW – there is a side ad here now touting a tubeless toilet paper. I understand that every small step is important in its own way but are we really going to save ourselves by doing away with the cardboard roll?

  29. 29.

    Belafon

    @Schlemazel: That’s actually been out as a TV commercial for a few weeks now. From this link:

    The 17 billion toilet paper tubes produced annually in the USA account for 160 million pounds of trash, according to Kimberly-Clark estimates, and could stretch more than a million miles placed end-to-end. That’s from here to the moon and back — twice. Most consumers toss, rather than recycle, used tubes, says Doug Daniels, brand manager at Kimberly-Clark.

  30. 30.

    ericblair

    @Schlemazel:

    I have no doubt the world is sustainable, thats a sure thing as long as there are no meteors. Now, having an environment that will sustain human life is a different question. That is very much in doubt.

    On the other hand, you’ll be able to watch the preppers all ready for the Racial Holy War and/or the Collapse of Fiat Currency trying to pump out their flooding bunkers, so there’s that.

    To add to it, my limited understanding of the issue is that climate geoengineering is a) theoretically feasible; b) likely within the resources of a small country or even an individual billionaire; c) by far the riskiest and least controllable act that humanity has considered. Okay, riskiest and least controllable besides global thermonuclear war, which it may resemble.

  31. 31.

    Eric U.

    @Schlemazel: it concerns me that most people seem to think that there is nothing we can do that will end human life on earth. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to find out that the reason we see no evidence of life in the universe is that it kills itself off fairly quickly in the historic time scale.

    the transitions people linked above seem to be preppers without the guns. I am counting on the preppers with guns to take me out when that time comes. Somehow I don’t think that most people are likely to react to the end of carbon with the kind of calm, thinking, communal behavior that would actually be needed to save us. They are going to be more like zombies

  32. 32.

    jl

    @scav:

    ” The whole entire Ferguson thing was entirely due to bad PR. ”

    I saw a youtube clip with William F. Buckley and Chuck D discussing race relations. WFB kept explaining to ChuckD that the blahs just ‘had to understand’. Chuck D asked why it was the blahs who always have to ‘understand’, did people like WFB not have to ‘understand’ some things?

    WFB seemed flustered, or maybe just faking it because he knew he couldn’t say what he really thought (he was White, and had the Superior Culture, so no one else had anything to say to him that would be useful for him to ‘understand’).

  33. 33.

    scav

    @Schlemazel: Chose your level of sustaining! Shape as a sphere? Presence of atmosphere and oceans? Cockroach and Kudzu Utopia? all the way to /sustain current level of technological and population growth with expansion of first-world consumption rates elsewhere without messy disruptive events etc etc./?

    As for the toilet roll, I’d be interested in seeing how it’s managed. Why did they go with the roll route anyway instead of something more tissuey, I mean a box of sheets? Is the cutting that tedious? That’d be my hypothesis, but then why not roll tissues as default?

  34. 34.

    scav

    @jl: Would have liked to see that. And with BBBill BBuBuBukukukukukukukly (family name)? We’d have thrown a party.

  38. 38.

    Schlemazel

    @scav:
    The earth can sustain itself, its humans that are screwed. If the -temporary – outcome is roaches & kudzu a few hundred thousand years will adjust to some new species that could dominate the surface.

    I hope to go quickly if it comes to that. I always said in the even of a nuclear exchange with the old CCCP I would drag a lawn chair up on the roof & pray to go in the flash because you would not want to be around after. Minneapolis was targets with 3 10 Megaton warheads dropped in a diagonal from NW to SE so they were not going to miss.

  39. 39.

    Ruviana

    @Schlemazel: I’m thinking it’s sustainable, and even human life is sustainable, just not the kind of human life we in the Global North are living now. I tell people to brush up on their subsistence farming skills. They don’t like that advice.

  40. 40.

    gene108

    At any rate, great podcast (and spare me the inevitable totebagger remarks or snotty comments about Radiolab- I just told you I like it, so piss off if it is not your cup of tea).

    NPR, PRI or whatever other entities constitute Public Radio have some pretty good programs.

    The ones dealing with “news” are insufferable though.

    I wish we could pick what programs we’d like donations to go to rather than also supporting things we do not like.

  41. 41.

    jl

    @Schlemazel: You a geologist, geological engineer? My friends in that field talk that way. One said “The whole ocean acidification thing is not a big deal in the long run because after a few hundred thousand years, it will buffer out, get into new equilibrium and whatever pockets of stuff left will start repopulating’ (I have no idea if that is really true, it’s just what he said).

    I asked what about humans in the meantime.

    “I study rocks, and the rocks will still be there. from my point of view, stuff like this has been going on for millions of years. Maybe the stolamites got so common they declined because they messed up their own environment too, you know’.

    If we cannot start making faster progress on reducing anthropogenic climate change, I better start thinking like a geologist.

    Edit: life-forms that look more or less like us have only beeen here, what, I think 200K to 250K years. So… they have a point. We are still (and maybe always will be) a blink of an eye. Maybe those big ass amphibians and the dinosaurs will turn out to have had a far longer run.

  42. 42.

    scav

    @jl: Or we could hunt around for a different next big thing, not re-release the whole reptile event. Tree-shrews probably weren’t the obvious bet right before that crash. Maybe, . . . . . Cuttlefish? Slugs? I’m really hoping for pill bugs, all in all.

  45. 45.

    MomSense

    @Chris T.:

    Same here. The only ones I don’t recycle are the ones that get turned into some bizarre yet fabulous craft project invented by the evil genius art teacher at my son’s elementary school.

  48. 48.

    catclub

    @jl:

    long run because after a few hundred thousand years

    a few quibbles. long run probably means more than a few million years.

    The C/T extinction event killed many species, but there were others that were far worse. How bad will the human caused extinction event be? We shall not be around to see it.

    OTOH, by that time most of the nuclear waste we have generated will have cooled down. yippee!

  49. 49.

    The Pale Scot

    @Eric U.:

    one of the totebagger stations I listen to while traveling has BBC most of the time

    Which one?, I’m tired of setting up a proxy to access iPlayer.

    Streaming a radio station that’s choosing what to play so I don’t get bedazzled by choices would be nice

  50. 50.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @MomSense: I compost mine. The internet tells me they contain a high concentration of carbon.

    How do you recycle them? Just with the rest of the paper or cardboard?

    and on the heels of the Rockefeller news, Alex Wagner wants me to stand by for an interview with environmentalist David de Rothschild. Any Krupps or Fuggers or Medici left around to weigh in?

  52. 52.

    e.a.f.

    In some areas of the world, its true, it is too late, either because it is so polluted or the politicians and their friends in power will continue to pollute, regardless.

    it is important people learn where to find clean water and food, even if it means growing your own food in an area, which does not suffer from pollution.

    the first set in learning to live with pollution, is to ensure your food isn’t polluted, so check where your food it grown, much of it comes from a very polluted China these days, with brand names we all think are grown in North American.

  53. 53.

    MomSense

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I put them with the rest of the paper and cardboard recycling. I use cardboard egg crates to start seeds–use egg shells too.

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    No and we are really losing hope. We will keep checking with the shelters and doing searches but I’m concerned that a fox or a fisher got him.

  55. 55.

    gene108

    @jl:

    You a geologist, geological engineer? My friends in that field talk that way.

    I have a bachelors in geology, though I’ve changed fields.

    In the grand scheme of things mass extinctions happen. Whatever the result of global warming will be, maybe relatively minor in terms of prior mass extinctions.

    250 million years ago, at the end of the Permian, 90% of all life on Earth died. Largest mass extinction evah.

    The loss of life from climate change may not really register in the geologic record. There were lots of humans and then there were not a lot of humans, but humans still exist.

    That’s not really a big deal, in terms of prior mass extinctions that wiped out entire species that will never be seen again, since humans will still exist.

  56. 56.

    jl

    @catclub: I was vague about that because I don’t remember exactly what the range of 100K years was. My vague recollection that ‘few hundred thousand years’ meant 500 to 800 thousand before things started to settle down. But, you say that is too quick? Jeez, should I really start getting worried now?

    But thanks.

    Where can a layman can read up on predicted long run evolution of global warming and stuff associated like ocean acidification?

  57. 57.

    Julia Grey

    True Detective = nihilism?

    Well, okay, one of the characters certainly espoused it, in the beginning.

    By the end, though…not so much.

  59. 59.

    The Pale Scot

    @catclub:

    The C/T extinction event killed many species, but there were others that were far worse.

    There’s a theory that the Permian and C/T ELE was caused by a huge discharge of methane from the hydrates under the sea floor, (Clathrate gun hypothesis), you know like stuff presently bubbling up in the Arctic,

    It said that because nobody has ever been to the exact spots the bubbles are at it cannot be known if this is a new phenomenon or not. I think the Inuits would have mentioned burnable bubbles from the sea if it wasn’t a new thing.

  62. 62.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @jl: Mother Nature will solve this problem, and it may take a while.

    The issue is, will humans be around to witness it. Chances are slim. Mother Nature is a bitch. It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.

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