MarkBrigham

@MarkBrigham@universeodon.com

In another life, I researched contaminants in aquatic ecosystems.

Current interests include #ClimateAction #CleanEnergy #EnvironmentalProtection #EnvironmentalJustice #Nature #Birding #BirdPhotography #cycling #hiking #canoeing #sustainability #democracy & #SocialJustice

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GreenFire, to TeslaMotors
@GreenFire@mstdn.social avatar

I have gotten the impression over the last year that the fossil fools are expending a lot of effort towards turning Americans away from EVs towards ICEVs so-called hybrid vehicles.

I'll let y'all in on a secret that they want to keep from you. We have to stop burning fossil fuels just as quickly as we possibly can and putting a fossil fuel burning engine into new vehicles is not helping towards that necessary goal to address the existential crisis we're facing.

MarkBrigham,

@LaNaehForaday @GreenFire True, but…

We can and should build out an infrastructure that makes individual vehicular travel the exception rather than the norm.

We had this once upon a time, but Big Auto ruined it.

Will you welcome please? (lemmy.world)

Did some work in the yard this morning and cleaned up just before the rain. Braved the inland desert rain for a trip to the back yard with my bong, now just watching the rain while listening to the bright vibes of the infamous Great American Music Hall show put on by the Grateful Dead on August 13, 1975. It’s like comfort food...

MarkBrigham,

@Negative_Autonomy must investigate!

ukuku, to Trains
@ukuku@mstdn.social avatar

It’s that time of year again, when the excellent Amtrak 30 day, 10 segment USA rail pass is on sale. Only $450! I’ve done it before, and it’s amazing.

https://www.amtrak.com/tickets/departure-rail-pass.html

MarkBrigham,

@ukuku Cool! I've only taken the amtrak a couple times, St. Paul to Chicago. Looking to do some combined rail / bicycle touring.

Do you have any recommendations for destinations I could access from lines from Chicago...Destinations which have outstanding cycle touring options readily accessible from the train depot? Especially rail trails for rural, good cycle infrastructure for cities.

GottaLaff, to legal
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

I'm back at my computer. 🧵 starts here. 1/...

(Painters slowed me down. I'm catching up...patience)

Via InnerCityPress aka Press:

Habba: My client & I wish to pt out Ms Carroll can sit in front of jurors every day. But my client has to choose between attending his mother in law's funeral--
Judge Kaplan: I have ruled. Sit down
Habba: I don't like to be spoken to that why. Please refrain. I am asking for an adjournment for a funeral.
Judge Kaplan: Denied. Sit down

MarkBrigham,

@GottaLaff

That’s a thread! If you were here, I’d serve you pie 🥧 over a trough of wine 🍷

MarkBrigham, to climate

Wheels of justice turn slowly.

'In 2020, Minnesota...sued the American Petroleum Institute, ExxonMobil and Koch Industries in state court, alleging the oil industry has caused a “climate-change crisis” through a “campaign of deception.” '

denied a change-of-venue request by defendants, as it has in ~25 similar requests.

https://www.minnpost.com/dc-memo/2024/01/minnesota-scores-a-win-over-big-oil-climate-change-chris-christie-scolds-tom-emmer-over-trump/

No guarantee that Minnesota will win the lawsuit, but one can hope.

georgetakei, to random

Having a hard time believing Tuberville talks to many scientists.

MarkBrigham,

@georgetakei

While I never watch Fox “News,” I do see their shtick called out with some regularity. They’ve really mastered the art of bullshit-propaganda chyrons.

TonyStark, to random
@TonyStark@progressivecafe.social avatar

Today was not the day where most people gained common sense. Maybe tomorrow but probably not.

MarkBrigham,

@TonyStark

Two responses:

  1. I have a colleague who responds viscerally to the phrase “just use common sense.” He hates it because it is vague. Your common sense might be my Waterloo, and vice versa.

  2. A “common sense” quote is attributed to Voltaire, but my internet searching yields very mixed versions. Can someone provide a good source & English translation to Voltaire’s “Common sense is uncommon” ???

#CommonSense #voltaire #famousQuotes

MarkBrigham, to instagramreality

This was a good read: “WHY THE PAST 10 YEARS OF AMERICAN LIFE HAVE BEEN UNIQUELY STUPID”

From The Atlantic:
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/05/social-media-democracy-trust-babel/629369/

If you don’t subscribe, there is a library version here (34 page pdf): https://www.tcatitans.org/cms/lib/CO50010872/Centricity//Domain/63/Haidt%20-%202022%20-%20Why%20the%20Past%2010%20Years%20of%20American%20Life%20Have%20Been%20Uniquely%20Stupid%20-%20The%20Atlantic.pdf

Near end of article, some ideas on how could be regulated to slow the spread of .

lolgop, to random
@lolgop@journa.host avatar

Never thought that I'd write these words:

I read a hugely important thread over at Threads.

Probably won't surprise (m)any, I know, but still needs to be public knowledge.

https://www.threads.net/@umansky/post/C09b5I0OeLy

MarkBrigham,

@lolgop

This is important. There must be accountability beyond the officers that murdered George Floyd. Systemic failures that permitted Floyd’s murder also permitted many more murders and almost-murders.

https://www.propublica.org/article/how-police-undermined-promise-body-cameras

georgetakei, to random

Good for commuters, good for the planet!

MarkBrigham,

@georgetakei

@nerd4cities had a really good video dissection of this project, and the travel options from LA to Las Vegas by plane, Brightline train, and automobile.

Upshot: Given how horrendously bad LA traffic and transit options are, it really depends what part of LA you're leaving from. If you live close to Rancho Cucamonga, great. If you're on other parts of LA, then getting to this new train will be an ordeal. LA needs to fix this shit.

https://youtu.be/11Noo855zyA?si=ta9ZrgRFVUW9LH6a

dukepaaron, to Jewish
@dukepaaron@babka.social avatar

Can someone please explain this one to me?

"A "#Jewish and #Israeli owned falafel restaurant" in #Philadelphia cannot do a single thing about Israel's military campaign against #Hamas.

What you're looking at is people normalizing #antisemitic incitement against their Jewish neighbors."

https://www.rawstory.com/philadelphia-protesters-circle-jewish-chef-restaurant/

MarkBrigham,

@dukepaaron It seems to me they should be protesting Netenyahu and his war crimes; and simultaneously protesting Hamas and their terrorism.

It's not a Jewish or Muslim thing. It's a warmonger thing. Protest the warmongers, not the normal people.

TheConversationUS, to news
@TheConversationUS@newsie.social avatar

Henry #Kissinger is dead at the age of 100.

Here's one Cambodian's verdict
"I’m a scholar of the political economy of Cambodia who, as a child, escaped the brutal Khmer Rouge regime with four siblings...
In both a professional and personal sense, I am aware of the near 50-year impact Kissinger’s policies during the Vietnam War have had on the country of my birth."

That impact was destruction, death and trauma.

https://theconversation.com/henry-kissingers-bombing-campaign-likely-killed-hundreds-of-thousands-of-cambodians-and-set-path-for-the-ravages-of-the-khmer-rouge-209353
@histodons #News

MarkBrigham,

@TheConversationUS @histodons

Good time to reprise these poignant & sadly still relevant Tom Waits lyrics:

Once Kissinger said "we have no friends, America only has interests"
Now our president wants to be seen as a hero
And he's hungry for a re-election
But Bush is reluctant to risk his future
In the fear of his political failures
So he plays chess at his desk and poses for the press
Ten thousand miles from the road to peace

https://youtu.be/pnw-Eob4GYY?si=68VQI3b5dEJqy6wI

#kissinger #gaza #IsraelWarCrimes

MarkBrigham, to random

Minnesota is awash in forever chemicals. PFAS gets into the wastewater system, but doesn’t break down, so wastewater effluent pollutes rivers; nutrient-rich sludge spreads PFAS on the landscape; sludge incineration emits PFAS to the air. It’s everywhere.

https://www.minnpost.com/environment/2023/11/wastewater-treatment-plays-large-role-in-spread-of-minnesotas-pfas-contamination-report-finds/

MarkBrigham,

And 3M knew that PFAS they produced was both toxic and persistent. They produced them anyway…and dumped PFAS waste where it would contaminate aquifers and everything else. https://time.com/6284266/pfas-forever-chemicals-manufacturers-kept-secret/

MarkBrigham,

3M was a revered company in Minnesota. Indeed its name was Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing. But given its corporate malfeasance relative to PFAS pollution the State sued them for $5B, settled for $850M. https://3msettlement.state.mn.us/

MarkBrigham,

And now 3M is settling a geographically broader lawsuit for $10.3B. https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-states-withdraw-objections-3ms-103-billion-pfas-settlement-2023-08-29/

The company has a model program, Pollution Prevention Pays. https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/sustainability-us/environmental/waste/

They should have thought of that before they started dumping toxic forever chemicals.

MarkBrigham,

How you can help reduce PFAS in the environment?

Don’t buy any. It’s tricky bc PFAS sneaks into many products. GORE-TEX, for example, was made with PFAS. They’ve since moved to a different membrane chemistry, but still use in their Durable Water Repellents which are applied to raincoats & such.

https://toxicfreefuture.org/press-room/gore-tex-manufacturer-announces-availability-of-new-pfas-free-membrane-but-still-uses-forever-chemicals-to-make-its-outdoor-apparel-and-gear/

MarkBrigham, to random

I’m not happy with REI’s union-busting maneuvers.

REI accused of labor law violations at unionized stores, including Maple Grove. https://www.startribune.com/rei-accused-of-labor-law-violations-at-unionized-stores-including-maple-grove/600320601/

#rei #reiunion #union #mnastdon #capitolism #capitolistpigs

MarkBrigham, to climate

Are y’all subscribed to @kathhayhoe ‘s weekly newsletter Talking Climate?

Every week, a concise email featuring good news, not-so-good news, and things you can do.

I find it refreshing. The constant drumbeat of bad news gets tiresome.

Good to feature good news, where it can be found. #ClimateCommunication #Climatechange #SciComm

Subscribe at https://mailchi.mp/249c32978cec/talking-climate-now-in-your-inbox-9191130?e=577c1951e4

losttourist, to random

My own personal #FediTip is aimed more at experienced users than the newbies.

It's simply this: follow the #introduction hashtag. It's an amazing way to find so many new people who are discovering this platform.

And then of course follow them, interact with them and encourage them to follow and interact back. There's no better way to be made to feel welcome here.

#Feditips #NewHere

MarkBrigham,

@losttourist

I’d also say to new folks here, populate your profile before you do your big intro and before you start following people.

I don’t approve follow requests from accounts if it doesn’t look like there’s a human on the other end. Nor would I follow back.

jeffjarvis, to random
@jeffjarvis@mastodon.social avatar

What will the talking heads say in the morning? They were declaring polling Armageddon but tonight the actual polls -- voting -- sent a radically different message. Listen to the voters, not the pollsters, assholes.

MarkBrigham,

@jeffjarvis

Dewey Defeats Truman

MichaelEMann, to random

"Efforts to reduce pollution are warming Earth FASTER, study claims" by Stacy Liberatore for @Dailymail

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-12717405/reduce-pollution-suflur-emissions-global-warming.html

MarkBrigham,

@MichaelEMann @Dailymail

A problem with this framing is that it plays into the anti-regulation denialists’ narrative.

“Now they’re saying that a little pollution is a good thing.”

The headline should be: Efforts to curb global warming are wholly inadequate because we keep burning more fossil fuels

The aerosol angle is merely a factoid that a balanced story would slip in somewhere around paragraph fourteen. As a headline, it is a distraction.

steve, to tesla

Also, I managed to rent a for the first time this week. It's an interesting experience - it seems to have been designed by someone who has never designed a car before, and knows nothing about for safety-critical environments.

I think I now know why Tesla drivers are always cutting up cyclists. They're too busy trying to find controls on a massive touch-screen to pay attention to the road.

MarkBrigham,

@steve Tesla is just plain shitty.

There are much better EV options. Like a Chevy Bolt (I have the EUV verson).

Better still would be if the cities of North America had never abandoned superior technology and urban development; if they still had the streetcars they had in the 1890s through the mid 1950s. Those would be cities worth living in.

davidho, to CDR
@davidho@mastodon.world avatar

The people who say CO₂ removal () works when we're still emitting 40 billion tonnes of CO₂ every year are selling you something, most likely CDR.

MarkBrigham,

@davidho most likely they’re selling fossil fuels

TonyStark, to random
@TonyStark@progressivecafe.social avatar

Not a DeSantis fan, obviously, but when is the MAGA cult going to want to hear an economic plan, health care plan, a plan to save Social Security, an educational plan outside of book and history banning, an infrastructure plan, etc.? I watch what I can tolerate of videos from these rallies and nobody brings this up.

Almost like they care about something else. /s

Trump rally Florida: He reiterates that DeSantis was disloyal-
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/trump/2023/10/11/trump-in-west-palm-beach-speech-tells-desantis-to-forget-about-2028/71140639007/

MarkBrigham,

@TonyStark Probably not. They’re blinded by the culture wars and blame game. #gop strategy working perfectly.

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