Exclusive: The Dangers of Technological Singularity by Rocket Kirchner

Image by :NFR: via Flickr

by Rocket Kirchner
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Rocket Kirchner (blog)
Rocket Kirchner (youtube channel)
March 20, 2013

Sherlock Holmes said, “When one tries to rise above nature, one is liable to fall below it.” Utopian thought has always been dangerous, and just in case you didn’t know it we are coming face to face with one whopper looming over the horizon in this century. It began with what was considered a relatively harmless ideology known as “Transhumanism” and has been exponentially accelerating toward what Vernor Vinge calls a technological singularity, or “the prediction wall”.

Sheldon Whitehouse: Time to Wake Up: Regional Effects of Climate Change

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Updated: Feb. 8, 2013

by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
Jan. 25, 2013

Image by James Ennis via Flickr

I am here once again to talk about climate change.  Alarms are ringing, including the voices of the overwhelming majority of scientists, and indeed the voices of the overwhelming majority of Americans. But here in Congress, it is still time for us to wake up.

Climate change is not a problem that will go away; human activity is driving global change.  Climate change is not a problem that can wait; we see its effects all around us.  

She’s Alive… Beautiful… Finite… Hurting… Worth Dying for.

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Image by Dandelion Salad via Flickr

Bittu Sahgal on Jun 26, 2011

This is a non-commercial attempt from http://www.sanctuaryasia.com/ to highlight the fact that world leaders, irresponsible corporates and mindless ‘consumers’ are combining to destroy life on earth. It is dedicated to all who died fighting for the planet and those whose lives are on the line today. The cut was put together by Vivek Chauhan, a young film maker, together with naturalists working with the Sanctuary Asia network (http://www.sanctuaryasia.com/).

Ralph Nader: Obama–Prosecutor, Judge, Jury, Executioner and Cover-upper

Image by Dandelion Salad via Flickr

Dandelion Salad

with Ralph Nader

Nov 1, 2012 by TheBigPictureRT

Thom sits down with former presidential candidate Ralph Nader for an extended interview about the 2012 election, and with journalist and author Thomas Frank on our country’s subservience to the billionaire class. In tonight’s “Daily Take” Thom looks at how Republicans are planning to steal the election by disenfranchising voters in Ohio.

Barry Commoner, The Greatest Environmentalist of the 20th Century by Ralph Nader

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By Ralph Nader
The Nader Page
Oct. 9, 2012

Image by Indiana Stan via Flickr

Dr. Barry Commoner, equipped with a Harvard PhD in cellular biology, used his knowledge of biology, ecosystems, nuclear radiation, public communication, networking scientists, political campaigning, and community organizing to become the greatest environmentalist in the 20th century. He died on September 30 at the age of 95, deeply involved in challenging conventional dogmas in the field of the genetic engineering.

Barry Commoner, The Citizen Scientist by Chris Williams

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by Chris Williams
SocialistWorker.org
October 9, 2012

Image by Indiana Stan via Flickr

IN THE same sad week that saw the deaths of several globally renowned revolutionary voices, another intellectual giant of the left passed away at the age of 95: ecologist, activist and scientist Barry Commoner.

A life-long champion of the need for scientific engagement with the public at large, Commoner constantly sought to bring to light the iniquities of industrial capitalism, beginning with his campaign against above-ground nuclear weapons tests in the 1950s, and continuing with his opposition to nuclear power–that is, the transition to more polluting and toxic but highly profitable synthetic compounds in place of natural ones.

Jonathan Trent: Energy From Floating Algae Pods

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Image by SandiaLabs via Flickr

Sep 28, 2012 by TEDtalksDirector

Call it “fuel without fossils”: Jonathan Trent is working on a plan to grow new biofuel by farming micro-algae in floating offshore pods that eat wastewater from cities. Hear his team’s bold vision for Project OMEGA (Offshore Membrane Enclosures for Growing Algae) and how it might power the future.

Dirt! The Movie

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Jamie Simko

Image by Dandelion Salad via Flickr

http://vimeo.com/17797689

DIRT! THE MOVIE is an astonishing, humorous and substantial look at the glorious and unappreciated ground beneath our feet. Dirt feeds us and gives us shelter. Dirt holds and cleans our water. Dirt heals us and makes us beautiful. Dirt regulates the earth’s climate. Why do we humans ignore, abuse, and destroy our most precious living natural resource? Consider the results of such behavior: mass starvation, drought, floods and global warming.

Elation At Mission Control As Mars Rover Curiosity Successfully Lands On The Red Planet

Image by NASA Goddard Photo and Video via Flickr

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Congratulations to NASA!

Note: replaced first video Aug. 8, 2012

Aug 6, 2012 by RussiaToday

(Touchdown! 0:40) Robotic rover Curiosity has successfully landed in Mars’ Gale Crater. The landing, described by NASA as “seven minutes of terror,” proceeded smoothly – READ MORE http://on.rt.com/d0rbeb

Bernie Sanders takes on Jim Inhofe: Global Warming is Real + Richard Muller: Humans are almost entirely the cause

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by Bernie Sanders
July 30, 2012

Image by Dandelion Salad via Flickr

In a summer of record heat, severe drought, extreme storms, melting glaciers and raging wildfires, Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday challenged claims by a leading Republican senator who dismisses global warming as a “hoax.” Sanders rebutted what he called “myths” espoused by Sen. James Inhofe, the ranking Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “Many who take climate science seriously dismiss Sen. Inhofe. I believe that is a huge mistake,” Sanders said of the Senate panel’s former chairman. “For better or worse, when Sen. Inhofe speaks, the Republican Party follows.  And when the Republican Party follows, it is impossible to get real work done in the Congress.”

Medieval Warm Period: Fact vs. Fiction

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Image by Matt and paul nine-o via Flickr

Jul 28, 2012 by potholer54

This video looks at the scientific research to answer three basic questions: 1) Was the Medieval Warm Period global? 2) Was it warmer than today? 3) And what does this all mean anyway? I examine the internet feud over the hockey stick and the various myths and misinterpretations about the Medieval Warm Period that seem to be rife on the Internet. My sources for the myths are blogs and videos; my sources for the facts are scientific papers.

Seeds of Freedom

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Suggested by David Llewellyn Foster. Thank you, David.

Image by entheos via Flickr

by The ABN and The Gaia Foundation

http://vimeo.com/43879272#

A landmark film narrated by Jeremy Irons. Find out more at seedsoffreedom.info

The story of seed has become one of loss, control, dependence and debt.

Climate Change: Lines of Evidence

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Image by janet.powell via Flickr

Jul 2, 2012 by nationalacademies

The National Research Council is pleased to present this video that explains how scientists have arrived at the current state of knowledge about recent climate change and its causes. You can also watch the video in seven separate chapters here on the National Academies YouTube channel.

Josh Fox: The Sky Is Pink

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Image by ProgressOhio via Flickr

Jun 22, 2012 by TheMrSirCharles

Josh Fox on fracking.

Mirror from http://vimeo.com/44367635

Also: http://sites.google.com/site/frackingireland/the-sky-is-pink

Annotated documents featured in the film can be found here: http://www1.rollingstone.com/extras/theskyispink_annotdoc-gasl4final.pdf

“This Is Just the Beginning”: Forest Fires, Deadly Storms, Record Heat Reveal a Changed Climate

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Image by Official U.S. Air Force via Flickr

Jul 3, 2012 by democracynow

DemocracyNow.org – The past two weeks have witnessed the worst forest fires in Colorado history, a deadly Mid-Atlantic storm that left 23 dead and four million without power, and a record shattering heatwave across the East Coast and Midwest that has not seen since the Dust Bowl. More than 2,000 heat records have been broken in the past week.