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Rolla Peace News June 29, 2023 |
Dear Friends:Editor's notes:In this newsletter is: 1. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) Russian Insurrection: Could have been Worse -- a lot Worse b) Death Toll Mounts from Texas Heat Dome c) Climate Catastrophe Essay Updated d) Favorite Quote Page Updated Russian Insurrection: Could have been Worse — a Lot Worse After capturing the regional military headquarters at Rostov-on-Don, Yevgeny Prigozhin marched his mercenary troops north, toward Moscow. By now, it is old news that President Aleksandr Lukashenko of Belarus brokered a diplomatic solution to this stand-off.“How many times have an attempt by the American government to effect regime change anywhere in the world worked out well? Ask the women of Afghanistan. Ask the people of Iraq. How did that liberal imperialism work out for them? Not very well. Do they really propose to try this out with a nuclear power?” But let's suppose that instead, Prigozhin had gone East, toward one of Russia's military installations containing nuclear-armed missiles. Prigozhin had the element of surprise on his side, so, let's suppose that he had been at least partially successful and captured a few nuclear weapons. We would, then, have had a nuclear stand-off between the Russian military and a powerful mercenary army. Possibly, the stand-off could have been solved through negotiations. Or possibly a resolution by military means. Or maybe even a nuclear exchange. Another possibility would be that one, or both, sides would have decided that it was time to finish Kiev off with a few nukes, possibly leading to global nuclear conflagration. Yes, indeed! Could have been a lot worse. Maybe, it's time to make Peace, before it's too late. Note: In spite of the Russian insurrection, the belated multi-billion dollar Ukrainian Spring offensive continues to fizzle like a wet fourth of July firecracker. Death Toll Mounts from Texas Heat Dome As I write, Rolla, Missouri prepares for 100°F+ temperatures today and tomorrow as the Texas Heat Dome, which has been responsible for killing at least 13 to date, spreads North and East. Meanwhile, Chicago and other US cities suffer under dangerous air pollution from out-of-control Canadian wildfires. Seems like much of the world is experiencing extreme weather. Maybe it is time to finally get serious about cutting emissions of greenhouse gases. Please help preserve the grid by cutting electricity usage during peak hours today and tomorrow, (Thursday 6/29 and Friday 6/30) 3 to 6pm.Climate Catastrophe Essay Updated The ongoing climate catastrophe essay on my website has been updated. Graphs of recent temperature anomalies now use a baseline of 1850-1900, which is often used as a proxy for “pre-industrial times”. Note that, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), we broke through the 1.5°C barrier for two months (February and March) in 2016. With the return of El Niño conditions this summer, it is quite likely that we will break the 1.5°C barrier again this year or next. Favorite Quote Page Updated The favorite quote page on my website has been reorganized and expanded. Hopefully, it is easier to navigate now. Here's one of the latest additions: “Everything in the climate prediction world is wrong to the slow side. Things are happening sooner than anyone thought they would.” Rolla Peace News is distributed by email once a week on Tuesdays (except on rare occasions) and is posted on the web at http://tomsager.org (click on Rollaites for Peace: near the top of rightmost column).Wage peace, Tom yushasager (at) yahoo.com |