Opus 2026-342: Global Warming Rather Than Tsunamis

As I watch the joy and sense of celebration that has come with Independence Day this year I am encouraged and hoping that we will be able to ride the crest of this to get our country back.  Then I started thinking in metaphors and similes and realize that maybe we don’t want to catch the big wave.  When I used to be young and foolish, we would go to the beach and do body surfing.  It was a lot of fun, but we noticed that the waves tended to come in a series. There would be a big one after several small ones.  You learned the pattern.  You learned to ride the big one in and then maybe take a slight break or relax a little bit until the next big wave came.  If we are going to simply ride the crest of enthusiasm generated by the celebration, then we are going to come crashing down on the sand and have nothing left, but a mouthful of seashells.  I’m thinking that instead of hoping for a tsunami or a tidal wave, we sould embrace the concept of global warming.  In the imaginary global warming scenario, the polar ice caps melt, the glaciers melt, our refrigerators are turned off and all our ice cubes melt, and ultimately the oceans rise.  What people forget and ignore about past times when we’ve had global warming and oceans rising, it’s a better time of life than we have now.  If you go back to the last warm spell around the year 1000 and beyond you had in North America longer, growing seasons, more water, better crops, and a booming population because of global warming.  If you go to what is now the Gobi desert, you would find forests and lakes and rivers.  I’m guessing also that you would find northern Africa was had much less desert and much more sahal and land that could be farmed.  In other words, the global warming brought about a change in the atmosphere that was beneficial, not only for man, but for life in general.

So as we look at our celebrations, we need to somehow anchor ourselves in this and keep the warmth going so that we can raise the political waters and make all the boats float.  We are surrounded by people who are ignorant of their history, know not much of anything and are basically modern pagans.  They need to be reacquainted with the God of the Bible, the principles of liberty that He gives and the standards of morality that He demands.  Let there be moral global warming.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-600: Give Me Gas

Why are internal combustion engines so necessary to our society, our culture and our mental health?  Today is a good example.  I am able to go out and get in my car and drive 40 minutes to see my grandchildren.  If I had to hook up old Bessie to the carriage, it would probably take me all day to get there.  Now in modern times, with all the innovations of technology, I can drive down in about 40 minutes.  That is what I call a blessing.

If you want to go back to total organic and total green, that’s fine with me.  In a free country, you should be able to do that without trying to force me into the same handicap.  So turn in your car.  Buy a horse and buggy.  Learn to hook up all those straps.  Get some curry brushes, shovel and whatever else it takes to muck out the stalls and enjoy.

I for one am blessed by modern technology.

Merry Christmas

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-510: A Pattern of Uniqueness

Somewhere far in my past, I read a statement that told me that in all the history of the universe there have never been two snowflakes that are identical.  I may be overstating that a little bit, but I think that gives you the idea of what they were trying to say.  My question would be, “How do you know?”  That might be followed up with, “What difference does it make?”

For the scientist it’s probably just a speculation that gets his name in print.  Assuming that I accept it to be true, for me it’s an indication of the creativity of God.  Now why God would spend time designing new snowflakes, I don’t know.  Somehow I think that He puts certain processes on automatic and gets on to dealing with the snowflakes that are walking around and calling themselves Christians.

You don’t need to go to snowflakes though.  As I sit looking towards the rising sun, I see it filtered through a wonderful oak tree.  If I look to the left, I see three more oak trees just beyond my porch and I defy you to find much of anything that is similar between them.  Yes, they all have bark, but the patterns on the bark, while recognizable as oak, are totally unique to that tree.  The branches bend and spread and the leaves sprout.  Yes all of that.  And in all of it, I would venture to guess that in the entire world, there are no two oak trees that are absolutely identical.

How do I know?  I don’t.  I would not put that down as an eternal truth.  I think I’m pretty safe in making that accusation though.  Is it because God doesn’t like identical oak trees?  It could be.  It’s possible that He gets offended by too much uniformity.  It’s possible that it’s just an expression of His attributes.

I for one will enjoy the variety.  I will also enjoy the similarities.  It makes for a great balance in life.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-493: Rule Two

I recently asked someone if they knew what the first law was God laid down for human beings.  I was told that it was to have children . Oh, OK he got me on that one.  That is true.  The first thing that God laid out as a guideline for human life was to create new human life.  Later on He will give us the framework for that in marriage, but the concept of having children is very biblical.

Then you have a second law. 

Genesis 1:28 (KJV) And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

It’s a combination of several things.  You’ll notice that it talks about replenishing, of having dominion, in a word we are to be stewards of the world we live in.  How is that going for you?  Do you litter?  Do you thoughtlessly waste?  Do you allow your pets or farm animals to go hungry and unwatered?  Do you mow your lawn?  You might think mowing your lawn has nothing to do with your spiritual condition but I would suggest that perhaps that’s what it means to subdue and have dominion.

But where this thought is going is really having to do with the whole concept of creation and man’s place in it.  You’ll notice that at the end of the chapter God looks back at everything He’s done and He doesn’t just say it’s good, He says it’s very good.  That’s better than good.  And one of the parts of that goodness is that we are commissioned to finish things off for Him.

Now I know it might go against the grain for you to think that God did not complete the job.  However, if you look at what He told Adam to do, it was to take the rough product and turn it into a finished planet.  That does not mean cut down all the trees and plant roses.  It means too carefully harvest the trees and make conditions ripe for the trees to reproduce themselves.  It might mean cleaning out the under brush.  Now at the very beginning there wouldn’t be much brush to clean out, after all God just got through with his work.  But it would accumulate.

So we are in the process of finishing off creation.  It will be a never-ending job at least until the new Jerusalem and the new Earth.  We will have a continual crop of new children to be disciplined and trained.  We will have weeds anxiously trying to run our lives.  We will have rivers that want to get out of their banks.  The challenges will go on.  God is giving us a commission.  We need to take this second law seriously.  The problem with the green movement is not that they are concerned about the environment, but that they consider the environment, which we are to subdue, as being superior to us.  They reject God and the order that he established.

There are some areas where it’s a good thing to be a legalist.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-365: Firsts: Double the Pleasure

I caught a hint of motion out of the corner of my eye.  Often I ignore such things because of all the floaters I have crying out for attention.  This time I looked out the window and saw a fox carefully making its way across the yard.  He seemed frustrated because I had mowed what we hopefully call a lawn so he could not hide in the tall weeds.

What was even more pleasant was that he was followed by what I assume is a she.  Two foxes visible at one time.  This is the first time I have seen that.  Since we don’t raise chickens and our cat usually knows when to hide, I was not worried about the potential down side.  Next time I want to see a bunch of little ones trailing after.

I can hope.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-321: The Danger in Dams

I think that we went through a time in history where our society thought that building dams to control the flow of water was a good thing.  Look at the advantages.  If you build it correctly, you can put in hydroelectric generators and provide power for your people.  You can regulate the flow to provide irrigation to farmers and ranchers and you can have the water to siphon off to cities instead of letting it run into the ocean. you can prevent floods with all the destruction that they often perpetuate.

I wonder if it isn’t time to rethink this to a degree.  I would accept that there are places where building a dam is nothing short of miraculous and beneficial.  I think of Hoover Dam and all of the blessings that is provided.  There are many other examples.  There are, however, times where I’m not sure that the blessings outweigh the curses.

And here I’m thinking of the Aswan Dam in Egypt.  Yes, it’s true that it probably generates electricity. And when they build it I’m sure that what they thought was they would control the flooding and stop the destruction of that flooding.  I’m not sure they considered what they were losing by stopping the flow of water.

If you are aware of your history, the Nile river would flood every year.  The benefit of that flood was that it spread a large layer of new, fertile soil across the fields of Egypt.  It saturated the soil with water, at least giving the farmers a head start on the long dry spell.  Those are just the obvious benefits which have been lost now that the dam is built.  Now it is a matter of fertilizer and more pumping of water than was historically necessary.

And think of the cultural benefits of that annual flood.  Geometry was developed.  Who knows what other intellectual advances were developed in order to deal with these floods.  It wouldn’t take a whole lot of planning to work around the damage that might be done.  If you know it’s coming every year at the same time, if you know how far the water will likely go, if you know when it will recede, you can make plans to come out ahead.

And think of what has been lost culturally by building the dam.  The area covered by the water was rich with archaeological treasures.  They rescued what they could, but what about the large number of remains that are irretrievably lost to our knowledge of history.  Was it worth it?

And then there’s times when we need to spiritualized on these lessons.  We look at the difficult times in life and the struggles that we have to go through.  We look at our tragedy.  Look at our failures.  If we focus just on them, it’s a gloomy picture.  If we look at the lessons learned and the strength gained and the hope for the future based on that, then it’s a different picture.  Much of it is based on our attitude and response.  If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, it gives you a perspective where Providence comes in, and your whole view of the potential of the future changes.  The government’s answer is to build another dam.   God seeks to make the soil of your life more fertile.

May the floods of your days enrich the soil of your life.  May you rise to the challenge and emerge triumphant.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-298: Pest Control

The weather is warming up and that tends to mean the bugs get to be more of a nuisance.  In the dark of the morning when it gets above 75 or so mosquitoes tend to come out.  This afternoon I was sitting on the front porch.  It was around 90, and the flies were starting to make my acquaintance.  There must be something we can do about this.  There must be something besides chemicals and pesticides.

One thought I had was drawn from the world of nature.  I think we’ve all seen pictures of alligators with birds picking their teeth and other animals, which would normally feed on these birds, sitting there calmly, while the birds rid them of pests.  Why could we not train birds to sit beside us and nail the mosquitoes as they came around?  It seems doable.  If you can train a dog to bring in the paper, why can’t you train a bird to eat what it normally eats only doing so at your convenience.

Or perhaps there might be some useful application of AI.  What about having tiny little drones or robots, armed with low wattage lasers that would circle around us and zap anything that came close?  It certainly seems possible, and if AI is a smart as they say it is, it could do the job.  Of course that highlights the problem we would run into if the AI drones went rogue and decided that we were a pest to be eliminated.  I understand it already happened when a group tried to turn off a robot and it didn’t want to be turned off.  The Clickbait has it attacked the people trying to turn it off.  I’m sure there’s more to it than that but it makes for a good story.  If you add to that the fact that the green movement feels that human beings are a disease that infests the world and needs to be removed then perhaps the Sierra Club and whoever’s ahead in the AI race could get together and start dealing with the superfluous population under the guise of pest control.  They might recruit Gaia also.

If you believe in evolution, then you might also believe that the mosquitoes would find a way to attack the robots. Maybe that’s a fantasy too far.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-169: On the Street: Clear Skies

As I was returning from a shopping trip I listened to some music.  A song came up that I was not familiar with but the theme was well know, the unclouded sky.  The clear sky scenario went on and on.  They were really excited about not having any clouds in the sky.

I had a different view of the matter.  It was central Texas and the temperature was at least in the mid 90s.  It was hot.  One of the reasons it was hot was the clear skies.  If every day of the year was like this it would not take long to turn the countryside into a dust bowl.  Sunshine is wonderful, in reasonable amounts.  Clouds and rain are necessary for life.  Face it, there are times when you like to listen to the rain on the roof.

Sunshine, like most of life is a matter of balance.  Too much of any good thing becomes an ungood thing.  Be grateful for what I call Missouri weather because that is the first place I heard the statement about waiting a few minutes and it would change.

Variety is not just the spice of life.  It is a requirement.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-143: The Quiet That Isn’t

Recently I had a discussion where I mentioned how quiet the front porch was before sunrise on Sunday.  It’s so quiet I can hear my ears ringing.  Other days of the week there are brief moments like this, and I find myself enjoying the quietness.  Today I recognize the fact that it’s not as quiet as I think it is.  The bugs are out giving a concert.  I didn’t know what they are. They look like fat grasshoppers.  I thouht they might be katydids.  They might be some other obscure form of life.   It turns out they are called cicadas.  But they make real noise.  It doesn’t get quiet, it just becomes a natural background concert.  And as I think back, before the cicadas started giving a concert, the local animals liked to check in too.  I could hear donkeys braying across the valley.  In normal times I can hear all kinds of other noises made by animals.  And then the birds will join in.  It’s never really all that quiet.  It’s just that the quiet that I experience seems that way.  It seems more natural.

I can’t wait for the cicadas to get over their seventeen year cycle of lust and reproduction.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-078: Prisoners of the Green

As I sit out on the porch in the early morning, I am struck by how the elites of our country want to destroy our liberty by destroying our mobility.

I listen to the traffic and watch the headlights in the distance as people rush to work or whatever it is they have to do in the early morning.  Some may be going home from work.  Some may be out pursuing a special interest they have.  Most are probably going to work and getting ready to earn a living for the day.

Then there are the ones who leave from their homes on the hill and head off to whatever it is they have to do.  I think of the outings we have taken as a family that have involve driving for an hour.  If the elites have their way all of this will die.  If they have their way, we will be confined to the 15 minute cities and we will have to work within 15 walking-minutes of home.  We will have to shop within 15 walking-minutes from home.  We will have to go to church, if zoning allows a church, within 15 walking-minutes of home.  We will have our recreation confined to a walk and 15 minutes from home.  That is the plan of our betters along with bug burgers.

We might be free to take public transit if it’s offered.  We can always call a cab, maybe.  Look what they are doing to Uber.  All of this in the name of saving the planet and green energy.  It will be stifling.  You may have missed it but one of the slogans in California was “Brown is the new Green”.

homo unius libri

Opus 2023-136: Click Bait: Hydrogen Engine

The title was too much to resist.  You Tube was claiming that Toyota had a hydrogen engine.  As is usually the case the title was a bit overstated, but the development is real.  It sounds like they are getting close to production.  I think it is a great possible development.  Toward the end they stated that the only thing that comes out of the exhaust is water.  Everyone breath a sigh of relief.  What a glorious moment.  Of course, if you listened carefully they also said there were other noxious gases but in lower amounts than a gas engine.  It still sounds good.

But wait a moment.  The green movement has not even started working on this.  They want to deny us mobility because we are easier to control if we can’t jump in our car and go looking for a new job or a new place to live.  They have not yet begun to fight on this one.  Remember that they have you afraid of toxic carbon dioxide, the main thing that comes out of a gas engine.  It is going to warm the planet and kill us all.  Actually carbon dioxide is also a harmless substance.  Every time you exhale you project carbon dioxide.  It is a nutrient for plants.  It is necessary for the plants the greens want us to eat to thrive.  They have still painted it as a toxin.  In reality if there is more carbon dioxide the plants around us will be stronger and grow faster.  

Yet it is evil.

They will do the same with water.  I don’t know what their hook will be.  It won’t make any sense.  It will be laughable to thinking people.  In spite of that they will have celebrities telling us how all this water is destroying the planet.  Perhaps all the water produced will raise the ocean levels even faster.  Water vapor will become the new cause of global warming/cooling.  You will hear it so often that you will wonder if you are the only one who notices that the King is naked.

So get ready.  There will be a special sweat tax because it contributes to the problem.  Perhaps we can be fitted with monitors that measure not only the carbon dioxide leaving our lungs but the water also.  We may be fitted with special pouches that will condense and collect our toxic excretions.  It will then be taken to a government facility for recycling.

I wish I knew I was joking.

homo unius libri

Opus 2023-135: Should-a-Beens: Killer Vines

I was thinking about Proverbs 31 where it talks about the perfect wife buying a field and planting a vineyard.  My thoughts went to world hunger.

How did I go from a vineyard to world hunger?  The same way that the green vegans go from a field of corn to people starving to death.  The corn is used to feed and fatten cattle instead of feeding people.  Thus, meat eaters are keeping food from the hungry of the world.  Because of that, eating meat is evil and should be done away with.

Why don’t we hear that argument for vineyards?  How many acres are tied up in producing wine and other alcoholic beverages?  Granted, it might be the best use of some marginal land but are you telling me that there is nothing edible that could be grown instead of grapes?  If you have to grow grapes then turn them into raisins instead of intoxicants.  Wine drinkers of the world are starving the poor and needy.  Plow the vines under.  Plant okra or kale.  Maybe focus on bean sprouts.  Drinking is evil and must be done away with.

I guess I have too much leisure time.

homo unius libri

Opus 2023-084: Solution to Overcrowding in Southern California Emerges

Have you been reading about the latest brainchild of Gavin Newsom?  Actually I should say “supposed” brainchild.  In the reports I saw he is planning on phasing out diesel powered trucks and replacing them with unicorns or leprechauns.  Actually he wants to use electric powered trucks but I think he would have more luck with the unicorns.  

About the “supposed”, so far as I looked for anything solid it seems that everything is based on sources who refuse to let their identity be known.  I am surprised that this did not break in the New York Times.  Maybe it did.  Who reads it?  

Also the idea is so retarded that it could be true.  Not only would it be impossible to get the trucks, the range suggested of 100-300 miles, but it also means that what used to cross the country in a few days would possibly take weeks.  That would not matter if we were just talking about new I-phones but we are talking about food and other necessities.  It is an invitation to destroy the industry that moves most of the freight.  It is a guarantee of starvation in the multi-million people in Southern California.

The one advantage for the rest of us is that it will probably make it impossible for more blue brains to move out of California and infect the rest of the country.

I have heard the line about, “Just when you think they can’t get any stupider...” many times but it keeps becoming the lead line for the news.

homo unius libri

Opus 2023-048: Plow and Crown: Got a Light, Buddy?

One of the characteristics of premodern housing for the masses was a lack of windows.  It may be that our overlords want to drive us back to that level.

I have always thought historically it was because there was a lack of glass and when glass became available it was too expensive.  That is part of it.

A more important reason was the difficulty of heating a home with large glass windows.  It would be labor prohibitive, chopping wood is work, and it would be cost ineffective.  Cheap energy transformed our lives.  It makes it possible to live in a world of light and hope.  The Greens want to take that away and drive us back to caves.  I remember reading that one of the great steps forward in American culture came when Rockefeller brought down the price of kerosene so that common people could afford to stay up after the sun went down.  They could now read and discuss what they read after dark.  A simple thing that may be reversed by our modern Lord and Masters.  Kerosene will pollute and electricity will be expensive.  Back to your caves, peasants.

It is more than gas stoves and meat.  It is about the masses having the free time to pursue a quality of life that the Marxist masters don’t want us to have.

It is not about greenhouse gases, it is about political control.

homo unius libri

Opus 2023-015: Undiscussed Methane Source

As I was walking the hall I heard the cat making weird noises.  She does that when she is asleep.  It got me to thinking of cow farts and cow farts got me to thinking about vegans.  That made me wonder if vegans excrete more methane than steak eaters.

Think with me.  No one ever complains about the amount of methane that lions and wolves pass into the atmosphere.  They are carnivores.  They do complain about the grass eaters.  Vegans for all intents and purposes are grass eaters.  By some twisted channel of logic it would seem that the world needs less vegans so we would have less methane, thus we can control global warming.

Maybe we need a federal agency or a phone ap that will regulate a minimum amount of meat each person has to eat and limit the amount of greens.  I know it would be an imposition on our liberty but it would be for Gaia.

You do care about Gaia, don’t you.

homo unius libri

Opus 2022-308: Thought Walks: It Started with the Clouds: Part 4 of 4, Pagan Science

5.  Global warming is based on pagan logic not science.

Understand, the Arctic melting would not raise sea levels.  Go back to your basic geography and remember that the Arctic is floating ice.  Do an experiment with ice cubes.  Put them in a large cup, fill it to the rim and let the ice melt.  It will not overflow unless you  bump the table.  Remember that ice floats because it expands when it freezes.  It will take the same volume melted as it displaced while floating.  Logic panics, science investigates, Christianity investigates with assurance.

The Antarctic melting would be another situation but would need to be examined with square miles and volume if it all melted at once.  Of course it would not all melt at once but what if it did.  I did a little research on the internet.  The following is based on what the internet tells me and we know it is true because it says so.  I asked, “How much ice is in the Antarctic?”  The answer it gave me was 30 million km3.  They then proceeded to tell me that would raise the ocean levels 70 meters or about 230 feet.  Impressive.  I then asked what was the surface area of the earth and was told 510 million square kilometers.  Being a skeptic, I did a little math.  I divided 510 by 70 and came up with 17.  While 17 is still a big rise it is nothing like 70.  My thinking continued.

6.  Science is ignored when it comes to global warming.  One of the considerations of a good experiment is to limit the variables so you know what you are measuring.  Consider that warm air holds more water vapor which means global warming would suspend billions of tons of water in the atmosphere.  Then you have the phenomenon of phase change.  Phase change from solid to liquid would cool the air and ocean.  Then you have sublimation.  That is where the ice goes directly directly into the atmosphere without going through the liquid stage.

Antarctica is a continent.  What does that matter?  If the ice melted you would have some of it retained in lakes.  How many?  I have no idea what the actual surface would look like.  In addition there would be water retained in whatever served as soil.  With less weight would the continent rise and change the entire equation?  

Have all these factors been figured into the theories or is it just a matter of how much money was given to the researcher?

By this time my rabbit trail of thought was beginning to talk to itself and I was nearing the end of my walk.  I think Plato would have been proud of me.  I did a survey of all my straw men and they said I did a marvelous job.

Until next time Plato needs an outlet,

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-189: Headlines: First the Cows, Now the Trees

One step in my morning involves scanning the headlines and click bait on several sites that act as news aggregators.  One of the simplest is Citizen Free Press.  They don’t distract you with pictures and videos.  They simple have a list of link titles.

Usually I just get an overview.  If something obviously important shows up I might click on it but often find out it is just a catchy title.  Recently though I found it impossible to ignore a link.  

“‘Tree Farts’ are the next environmental catastrophe…”

I ask you, “How can you resist that one?”  I clicked and did some reading.  Actually, “reading” may not be the best word.  I scanned or skimmed.  I got the gist of the story.  One reason that I did not read in detail was that I soon realized that the author was on board with man made global warming.  Still it was an interesting concept.

It seems that swamps along the coast with a lot of dead trees have wood that is decomposing.  You don’t need to be a scientist to figure that one out.  In the process they give off gas.  One paragraph caught my fancy.

“A team of ecologists went sniffing for tree farts in ghost forests, which form when saltwater from rising sea levels poisons a woodland, leaving behind a marsh full of standing dead trees. These phantom ecosystems are expected to expand with climate change, but it’s unclear exactly how they contribute to the world’s carbon budget.”

First, the picture of ecologists sniffing tree farts is a great comment on the state of science today.  Then you get the standard lines about rising oceans and climate change.

I don’t know that I recommend you read it but it might lighten your day when you think that government money for research is well spent.

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-154: Headlines: “Science” Now Says No Carbon Dioxide

I kept seeing memes and posts about how John Kerry, America’s Traitor, was declaring that we had to get all the CO2 out of the atmosphere.  I tried to do a search on that and could come up with nothing.  I kept wondering if John Kerry could really be that stupid.  That was a rhetorical question.

I finally came across what looked like a video clip and had a few moments so I clicked and watched.  He was involved in some kind of Covid Fear interview and talking to I don’t know whom.  What he actually said was to the effect that we need to get carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.  He did not say “all”.  It makes a difference.  What he said would fit in with his kindergarten science.  It simply goes along with the panic about global warming caused by too much carbon dioxide.  Too much carbon dioxide is cause by too many people with too many cars and too many air conditioners....you get the idea.  The only solution is to kill of most humans and their cows and go back to living in caves.  I am not sure what they would use to heat the caves but that is a logical question so it has no place in the discussion.

So, no, he did not say remove “all” the carbon dioxide.  Whether he knows the difference is open to speculation.  I am sure your opinion will depend on whether you believe he was a hero in the Vietnam war and deserved him purple hearts or he was a dirty, no-good, commie traitor even then.

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-120: One in a Million

It has finally happened.  I heard something that the Biden administration might be getting right.  I found it in the March 10-16, 2021 edition of the Epoch Times.  It has to do with the way in which China is trying to use something called “rare earths” to bring American industry to heal.  It seems that China produces 80% of these metals that are necessary for much of the high tech products that are made here.  They cut them off from Japan in 2010 and are now threatening us.

Evidently the “rare earths” are not rare.  They are plentiful.  The only specific element I found mentioned was tungsten.  It used to be part of every light bulb in the world, so it is not actually rare.  The issue is in separating and refining them.  Like so many manufacturing and production industries, this has been driven out of the United States because of EPA regulations.  The jobs don’t go to China just because they work for less.  They go to China because China has no OSHA or EPA regulations making it either prohibitively expensive or impossible to comply.

Which brings us to the “might be getting right” part of my opening statement.  Biden’s handlers see the problem.  They are aware of it and have acknowledged it.  The problem is the same problem we have in so many areas of our economy:  The tail that wags the dog.

“While rare earths are critical to the economic and national security of the United States, it’s unclear whether the Biden administration may promote ramping up domestic production and processing due to environmental challenges.”

Rare earths are a part of our life.  They are used in rechargable batteries, the ubiquitous electronic gadgets that run our lives, ceramics and jet engines to name just a few things.  Our modern way of life depends on them.  The question is can we depend on China to supply them?  

It seems the decision is up to the current administration.

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-093: Should-a-Beens: Location, Location, Location

I wrote about the Big Freeze Out.  Part of the adventure was talking to the repair men trying to get the water running on our hill.  They finally showed up and we walked over to see what the diagnosis was.  I asked if they knew the problem or were still trying to figure it out.  They knew what was wrong.  The line that transports the water from the well to the tower was frozen solid.  This was at least the second day they had been aware of the problem and they were hoping that above freezing temperatures would make a difference.  While we stood there we heard what sounded like falling water in a big drum and realized that things were beginning to improve.  Before we left they had the water flowing into the tank again.  They said 2-5 hours.  

In looking at the situation my son asked why they had put the feeder pipe outside where it could be frozen instead of down the middle like they would in cold climates.  They had no answer.  I also asked why the feeder pipe was on the west side where it would only get the evening sun when, if it were on the south it would get sun all day.  They had no answer.  All we could come up with is that Texas may be tough but they don’t know how to deal with the cold.  They could not imagine it would ever get so cold that an exposed pipe would be a problem.  I am wondering if the Alamo had been attacked by a blizzard instead of Santa Ana the Texans would have surrendered.

We need more refugees from the frozen states and fewer from California.

And as I mentioned a few days ago, the previous owner had lived here 30 years without realizing he didn’t have auxiliary heat.

Let’s hope Texas can live and learn.  

homo unius libri