Seeding Cloudy Conspiracies

	Some poorly supported Conspiracy Theories have been making their way into the Mainstream Media. Ironically, there might be a deeper, more subtle corrosion beneath this superficial trend!

According to the recent surge of Public and Media interest in “Chemtrails” it seems that the amorphous realm of  ‘Conspiracy Theories‘ is no longer just being limited to the outer fringes of Society. Of course, there’s been an enormous amount of mainstream news coverage for all the officially sanctioned Climate Change issues, but during this time we’ve also been witness to a fracturing and perceptible shift in Public Opinion around the central Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) issue. This has resulted in a dizzying array of new points and counterpoints of discussion around the official stories that come out out of the UN, IPCC, and all the larger NGO’s and Environmental Groups, which invariably resulted in most truly alternative views being largely suppressed, rejected, or at least fully discredited through standard PR and Press (or propaganda?)  methods that offered no real room for rationale discourse or debate, outside the chaotic streams of  pseudo-moderated Comments fields, or obscure online forums. If you prefer to be spoonfed an opinion, or would like to consider a fact-based position on what actually causes the jet contrails implicated in Chemtrails, just click/scroll right down to The True Nature of Contrails

Generally speaking, the Media would certainly not turn against the hands that feed it, but rather than lose the over-stressed attentions of its brow-beaten Audience, certain segments of the Media (as a pandering reflection of its Advertisers first, and of Society as a close second) have been increasingly willing to selectively examine at least some of these more alternative points of view, even if they do verge on the realm of Conspiracy Theory. Not only to bolster flagging public interest, but perhaps to retain some general credibility as a balanced source of mainstream information, after having already whipped the leading Climate Change horses all the way down the backstretch to their disappointing finish in Copenhagen.

Unfortunately it seems that the lack of investigative reporting that we’ve seen for Climate Science is becoming even more obvious now in these fringe subjects as well, and leads us to wonder what the ultimate consequences will be of such Media-inspired lassitude?

In the same way that just a few key trigger points (such as ClimateGate, the failure in Copenhagen, and a cool Winter, etc)  started a right-wing Media landslide from the over-driven buildup of Global Warming issues, we also saw huge segments of both American and European populations get tipped off the AGW fence, and into the clutches of the right-wing media. These were loosely decided segments that might have otherwise remained open to further suggestions, or at least remain pliably indecisive. Can this be seen as a form of ‘statistical housecleaning for undecided remainders, or just a social backfire which will likely set the entire Environmental Movement back by at least a few paces. You can decide.

Anyhow let’s get back to finding some verity behind “Chemtrails” since this seems to better represent the types of environmental issues that people still seem to have a stomach for these days…Just as controversial, poorly defined, and relatively as un-actionable as climate change, yet at least with a strong anti-authoritarian spin to feel like they can finally push back against the “establishment” somehow, just by ‘spreading the word’…Just like in the early days of a easily adopted Global Warming Movement.

Sp let’s look at Chemtrails. The persistent theory is that any jetplane ‘contrails’ (condensation trails) that are observed to linger in the sky, overlap, and/or form clouds are actually ‘chemtrails’ – Which are claimed to not only be a method of Weather Control, but also of Population Control, Global Dimming, and Bio Warfare, or possibly just very expensive waste disposal.  In the true spirit of conspiracy theory though, lets drill down through the alternating layers of confusion and deceit, and interpret the core samples with yet another new twist.

Let’s consider the possibility that this recent Media phenomenon of openly validating and reporting on the subject of ChemTrails, (among other fringe theories) might possibly be part of a very clever strategy for an even more subtle form of mass/media/mind control!  Why hasn’t the Media simply researched and explained the actual physical phenomenon of (polluted?) Contrails instead?  Could the truth actually be, that among all the rather flimsy issues out there, that this alternative ‘climate issue’ has been handpicked (among others?) to achieve higher Media visibility in order to just publicly debunk it, and thus discredit the entire concept of Conspiracy Theory, or worse yet to help derail any public credibility around the existence of an underground railroad for  suppressed information, or any other signs of a growing Alternative Press which might risk having an impact on the Mainstream Media Message, and general Public Consciousness in the event of a genuine crisis?

Science Journals: Purveyors or Gatekeepers?

	Publish or Perish !

After after harnessing the laws of Nature, and applying Truth and Reason to triumph over dogmatic Religion, Science now seems to be capable of falling into the same traps of power and corruption that can undermine all great human pursuits and lofty achievements. Hopefully, the same basic principals that allowed Science to persevere and flourish, can also be brought to bear upon its own methods now, in order to redeem itself to the Media and clamoring Masses that have lost their blind faith.

Since we’ve all been raised to believe that Science is based in Truth, and that Justice and Liberty are inalienable rights, it should come as no surprise that the General Public risks becoming(at least temporarily) disenfranchised by the fact that there seems to be some degree of suppressed dissent in the Scientific Community revolving around Climate Science.   From a Layman’s point of view, many people have grown weary of the arguments, and are ready to just “follow the money” when it comes to understanding the causes of the global warming debate. Most intelligent people are also becoming hyper-sensitized to anything that even remotely resembles propaganda, and have started to see past the all political posturing, economic interests, and ethical self-righteousness of the Climate Change movement to realize that we might actually have a more profound and underlying dilemma to consider here. One that is failing to address deeper ecological issues, while still trying to commoditize carbon dioxide through legislation. A dilemma which might eventually stem itself from our Society’s reliance on Science as the primary guiding force in human achievement and evolution. Therefore, in order to proceed into a clarified vision of the Future where environmental issues can be addressed at their root cause, let’s first consider the risks of losing our best guiding force in a world presently ruled by money and politics.

As we risk losing our faith in Science here in the Present, we need to regain a workable trust in what we had hoped were the infallible principals of the Scientific Method in order to move towards a more pre-verified Future outlook.  Since many people believe that Science has indeed supplanted Religion (which arguably supplanted Nature long ago!) as our guiding force in Society and Life as we know it, let’s proceed according to any other scientific or “religious” study by considering the facts as basic articles of faith, and as they exist within the scientific community itself. The first step to redeeming our views of Science would surely be to turn to the ‘scripture’ of Science, as it has been methodically collected and presented throughout the ages by the indentured librarians and peer-reviewed science journals that this community of researchers and trusted professionals places its own trust into.

THORIUM: A Tipping Point in History

- IMPACT REPORT –

	Thorium has somehow survived its early demise… Now it stands poised to fuel a limitless Future if we can change the course of history  !

The nuclear debate continues to put forward large scale alternatives to fossil-fueled Society, but has never included a much better option, when it comes to managing the waste and risks. This tragedy is essentially the result of politics, not science, since there likely isn’t a more misunderstood and overlooked element on the Periodic Table than Thorium.

Despite its enormous potential to safely power both the developing world and our modern societies through the self-regulating energy production of the little known “Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor” (LFTR).  This long-mothballed reactor design is gaining great new attention in other parts of the world because it produces only small amounts radioactive waste (which fully decay in a few hundred years, rather than many thousands), offers no realistic potential for easy weaponization, and in fact enables the destruction of weapons grade materials. Thorium astoundingly still remains an elemental mystery to most people to this very day however. Mainly because it’s early and successful development in the U.S. was nixxed in favor of the Uranium-based weapons programs in the 50′s and 60′s.

Global Warming: Who’s the Real Enemy

- SOCIAL REPORT –

	Political strategy is a moving target in any debate, but can we at least be sure that our Leaders have selected the right objectives in their bid to win the battle against Global Warming?

In the ongoing heavy-weight bout against Global Warming, the tag-team proposals for pricing CO2 emissions (primarily either via Taxes or Carbon Cap and Trade) both took serious blows to the head at the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference and were allowed to drop to the mat. Rather than standing back up in desperation, and vowing to take the fight into the streets, the proponents of these (so-called) “solutions” seemed content to just hang onto the ropes and wait for the bell to end the Copenhagen round. This event has now fallen apart with little to show for it than promises that things will be settled at the next U.N. Climate Change Conference, that nobody can even be bothered to set their forward sites upon at this point. Hell…Even the Copenhagen Conference website was dismantled less than a month after things wrapped up in Denmark, with little of value being forwarded from the defunct address.  Luckily there are still lots of excellent resources out there to explain the functions and perceived benefits of such complex concepts as Carbon Cap and Trade, for example…

One can’t help feel as though the Post-Copenhagen letdown has left us to either take this fight to a more personal level as the Media moves on to it’s next ‘cause celebre’, or otherwise just allow Human Nature to overtake us, and simply focus on our more immediate needs as we sub-consciously recoil from the unknowns of an uncertain Future.

COP15.dk is History!

MEDIA & IMPACT REPORT:

	The official website for the Copenhagen Climate Conference has been taken down, and traffic is being redirected to : “The Official Website of Denmark”

Near the end of the proceedings at last months U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, news was posted to the official Conference website (COP15.dk) that capturing Carbon Dioxide (CO2) at the source (of industrial emissions) and storing it underground is not likely to become a measure supported by the UN-backed Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) this year. A committee under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has discussed the issue, but delayed any decisions until future summits.

Please don’t bother clicking on the above-mentioned COP15.dk link though, because less than a month after the conclusion of the conference, this newslink is now unavailable, along with all the rest of the COP15.dk website! Instead, all traffic is being directed to “The Official Website of Denmark”.

What we’re left with, as a reference on this historic event less than a month later, is a mere footnote that states: “this page contains a selection of some of the most popular content from Denmark’s Host Country website for UN Climate Change Conference 2009 -  cop15.dk “

What possible reasons could there be for taking down this official site so quickly? What benefits could possibly be derived from removing this enormous resource? Most importantly, what are the perceived repercussions of such an obviously hasty demise of what should have our greatest reference point on Climate Change at the end of 2009, if not an actual public launchpoint as we move forward through the Post-Copenhagen letdown, and proceed with all the work adn understanding that still needs to be accomplished?

Sightings: Irony Falls Like Snow in Copenhagen

- SIGHTINGS REPORT –

The Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen is getting precipitously close to it’s closing remarks, and we’re now learning what we’ve already suspected, which is that the best we should hope for from COP15 is just a few pages of a framework to be further negotiated and ratified at the NEXT COP conference…We would hope! The irony of making positive forward statements on the effects of Future climate talks, even while a disappointing cause is still unfolding, is further emphasized by the following video fragments…

As World leaders were arriving in Copenhagen on December 17th, we were treated to a decidedly inopportune time for Mother Nature to show us her hand, with a solid covering of up to 10 cm. of heavy snow falling on the city just as the world turned it’s eyes to Denmark to see how this conference can manage to produce something of value at the 11th Hour. In a time when legions of dissenters and skeptics are seizing upon every conspiracy imaginable, perhaps this is a chance for Climate Change supporters to suggest that it is the Imperialistic interests of Big Oil and Coal that have seeded this snow for maximum effect! After all…Russian officials have allegedly claimed that they can prevent snow from falling in Moscow this winter, and China has already had some seriously damaging results from it’s own efforts to seed precipitation in it’s drought stricken regions!

While we possibly consider just how far some people will go to assure an orderly progress to establishing a New World (uhm) Order….Here’s a quick roundup of some of the other bitter ironies that unfolded during this same 24 hour period:

Let’s start with a couple of serene and peaceful moments…

…before facing the ironies of fighting against Global Warming, while shoveling through any of the heavier consequences that follow:

IR: Subtle Effects of Global Warming

IMPACT REPORT: More Subtle Effects of Global Warming

We all know the Earth is warming, but it’s getting harder to get a clear reading on exactly what the causes and effects are of Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) because of all the polarized rhetoric in the Media around the “man-made” aspects of this question. Obviously decisive precautionary actions must be taken to immediately reduce greenhouse gases while we sort out the rest of society’s environmental ills, but what if the Science behind AGW has somehow become too skewed by political or funding pressures? What if the need and desire to create a unified and global movement against Climate Change has now also became a leveraged force that can be managed to produce new political alignments, financial vehicles, and world banking results as well? As Environauts, we can start our search for answers by looking at the Present for signs of possible Futures. Let’s begin the process in Copenhagen.

SR: Global Warming is just the Beginning

-  SOCIAL REPORT  -

Recent events around the uber-hyped Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen may be overshadowing the entire Green Movement, and casting a pale pallor of doubt over our entire outlook on the Future of our Environment. The faint silver lining to these looming storm clouds however, is that by now we should all have a much more realistic sense of what we can expect from the political processes and backroom shenanigans involved in addressing Climate Change via the United Nations. What we can also take away from things (after the DanishText leak, and ClimateGate scandals, right-wing Media backlash, etc..) is a more personally resolved understanding of Global Warming, that isn’t dependant on spoon-fed Media pablum for it’s vitality. We might also feel ready to resign any false expectations that we may have placed in the dubious value of Eco-Stunts, Public rallys, citizen marches, internet petitions, and other publicity hungry fabrications built upon good intentions, and amounting to little more than fodder for the Media, and some personal catharsis.

Instead we’re now better prepared to at least accept (if not undertake) an ongoing, and longer-term outlook on the real and genuine grass roots solutions that will be required, long after everyone has flown back home from Denmark and unpacked their souvenirs. Unfortunately, the road map to sustainable change is no less clear now, than it was when we embarked on what we had collectively hoped would’ve been a much more visible and direct route to the more immediate resolutions we’d all hoped for in Copenhagen.

Let’s first consider how we got here, as we re-plot our course towards a more sustainable Future. One where we don’t just wait for politically driven bureaucratic processes to come to the rescue, and somehow reduce one particular (CO2) by-product of an unhealthy civilization. Rather, let’s shelf the idea of simply delegating our environmental responsibilities to representative politicians long enough to consider what would happen if we were to personally hold established Environmental and Ecological principals as our highest standard in forging a better Future for us all

IR: ClimateGate May Burst AGW Logjam

This IMPACT Report supports the following Repair Mission:

A Serious Data Leak in the AGW Model

Bref: The infamous “East Anglia Files” have combined with the Danish Text leak to become causative events which have empowered Climate Skeptics with Media visibility, and thus raising a significant new public profile for their contrary positions on Anthropogenic Global Warming(AGW). These events also enable a semi-legitimate stance for further questioning of the Science (and thus the Economics) behind AGW. The Impact of these events must be explored since they produce and empower an enormous variety of other causative events by introducing radical and chaotic new elements into an already rather unstable setting fro the Future, as we’ve already seen with easy fluctuations of Public Opinion on AGW and/or the current “CarbonTax” approach to Climate Change in some parts of the World. The causative events behind this (so-called) ClimateGate issue have provided cohesion to Climate Skeptics, and allowed the semi-suppressed, scattered, and often easily discredited or radically contentious points of opposition to the current AGW based Climate Change movement to, in fact, more clearly coalesce into a formidable influence on Public Opinion and therefore the Future of the Environment.

Climate Change: Gaming the Odds

Go ahead...Take a spin...but only ONE spin

Much like the frog who will happily sit in a steadily warming pot until he boils to death, a recent survey from the Pew Research Center, finds that 3/4 of Americans think that Climate Change is an important issue, but don’t perceive it as an immediate threat. This Washington D.C based think tank tasks itself with gathering data and providing correlative info behind the issues, trends that shape attitudes in the United States and thus affect the rest of world. Unfortunately for the rest of the world, it turns out that Climate Change has ranked at the very bottom of a list of 20 issues that included Terrorism and the Economy.

The Environment rated abit better in this same 2009 report, at 16 out of 20, but also saw a 15 point decline from 2008.

Of course it stands to reason that building a better future requires a solid foundation, and it’s understandable why Americans would want to get their own household affairs in order before trying to reinvent the wheels of their economy and social fabric. But before a greater vision of the future can even begin to be shared, let alone put into motion, it seems that there are basic credibility issues to be ironed out on the subject of Climate Change.

Americans seem rather divided on the whole issue of Global warming with only 49% believing that it is the result of man-made factors and activities.

36% say warming is occurring “mostly because of natural changes in the atmosphere.” About one-in-ten (11%) say “there is no solid evidence that the earth is getting warmer.” There’s also a strong correlation between the results and respondents political ideology, with only 21% of conservative Republicans saying the earth is warming due to human activity, compared with the nearly three-quarters (74%) of liberal Democrats who see humans as a root cause of Climate Change.

Is this a cognitive disconnect caused by a partisan political outlook? Or are there other more deeply rooted Sociological or even Psychological issues at play here? Could there be a tendency for humans to cower in denial at the prospect of issues that they feel powerless to change? Or are we just incapable of grasping the big picture long enough to see alternate possibilities, and deeper causes ?