Sticky Notes

Thought I’d scour my Sticky Notes to see what I’ve been hanging onto for future consideration. So here they are (in no particular order).

Gun Deaths

As of January 6 of this year, there have already been 157 deaths by gun violence –10 of them children under the age of 11 — in the U.S. By the time you read this, that number will have grown.

Extreme Weather Wiped Out a Tenth of the World's Cereal Production

By Michael Casey

January 7, 2016 | 2:55 pm

The fragile state of the world's food supplies has become increasingly apparent in recent years, as extreme weather events have been linked to spikes in commodity prices and food riots, bringing into sharp focus the threat of climate change. Now, researchers say they have a much better quantitative understanding of the role of extreme weather in disruptions in food supply — and their conclusions are raising eyebrows. Looking at cereals such as wheat, rice, maize, and barley between 1964 and 2007, researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC), University of Sussex, and McGill University found that droughts and heat waves reduced global production up to 10 percent. In contrast, the researchers found little or no impact on production from either cold weather spells or floods. The worst effects of these weather disasters were in the developed world with the hardest hit regions in Australia, North America, and Europe. Production levels in North America, Europe, and the islands of Australia, New Zealand, and New Guinea dropped by an average of 19.9 percent because of droughts — roughly double the global average. "We have always known that extreme weather causes crop production losses," said UBC's Navin Ramankutty. "But until now we did not know exactly how much global production was lost to such extreme weather events, and how they varied by different regions of the world.

Overfishing causing global catches to fall three times faster than estimated

(From The Guardian in England) Landmark new study that includes small-scale, subsistence and illegal fishing shows a strong decline in catches as more fisheries are exhausted. Global fish catches are falling three times faster than official UN figures suggest, according to a landmark new study, with overfishing to blame. Seafood is the critical source of protein for more than 2.5 billion people, but over-exploitation is cutting the catch by more than 1m tonnes a year.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Things are changing rapidly and it’s going to get ugly. I’m thinking it’s already started.

Not Sure Where This Is From

All religions are nothing more than man-made contrivances of domination and submission, exploited by humans for mundane ends, and accoutered with sundry superstitious rituals meant to ensure tribal loyalty and generate animosity toward outsiders.