Dino Gas

Rough NotesOh, here we go again. Another hurricane, another round of opportunistic claims about climate change, as if Hurricane Helene is a direct result of humans meddling with the weather. Yes, because clearly, we have complete control over every gust of wind and every drop of rain. Never mind the fact that nature has been dealing devastating blows to the planet for ever, long before we even thought about lighting our first campfire. It's fascinating, really—scientists now admit for example, that space dust and viruses float around in the vast universe, sort of spook, right? And yet somehow it's always us poor humans, who drink coffee, drive vehicles, have families, and enjoy the occasional movie at a theater, who get the blame for every natural disaster. It’s that gosh darn pop corn. Stop eating the pop corn and there would be more corn for the ethanol to burn for the turbines to make electricity for a Musket Electric hot rod. Of course, Helene must be yet another sign that we're all spiraling toward doom due to our supposed mismanagement of the Earth. But hey, let's conveniently forget that the dinosaurs were wiped out without any human intervention. Big rock go book is no big deal, like cows, it was Dino gas, as in passing gas, that killed the rock haulers off in Bedrock and put Fred and Barny out of work.And my oh my, of course, humans are responsible for hurricanes, because we’ve personified hurricanes with names and thus the blame game begins because it can’t be just a weather event, it has to be a man, not woman, but man made accident? Makes sense, right? Well, if you don’t cotton to the blame game, you are not alone, but your voice is being drowned out. The people who are supposedly "open-minded" will tell you that fractals—the endlessly complex patterns that repeat in nature—will twist the theory and say Helene proves this is all connected to human behavior. Because nothing screams "scientific accuracy" like twisting the theory of fractals into some pseudo-environmental argument.And for good measure, let’s throw in a bit of Occam’s Razor. The simplest explanation is often the best, right? Except in this case, where we need to do this or that to raise taxes to benefit that faceless former bureaucrat over there, when the simple answer is, well, bad things just happen. Hurricanes have been around long before we started measuring carbon footprints, but go ahead, slap a climate change label on it and call it a day and make me pay, where pennies on the dollar hit the streets. Look, it’s much easier to blame human behavior than to admit that sometimes, nature is just destructive for reasons that have nothing to do with us. Nadda, Zip, Zero. No correlation what so ever.But what's really interesting—and this never seems to get any attention—is the areas hit hardest by Hurricane Helene aren’t exactly hotbeds of rioting or looting. Funny how that works, isn't it? Instead of pointing fingers, the people impacted by the storm are getting on with the business of rebuilding, sleeves rolled up, without waiting for someone else to step in. To them, Move On, has a personal and productive meaning.  Now think about that for a few.  Meanwhile, the political circus rolls on, with every candidate, from local leaders to Washington insiders, looking to turn the tragedy into a platform. The scams, of course, will come thick and fast, with promises of "relief" that are more about winning votes than helping people.So, while some are busy blaming humanity for the wrath of Mother Nature, others like the Alachua County Republican Executive Committee are focused on actually doing something about it. Maybe instead of flying off to some tropical getaway, the rest of us will stick around and help rebuild and do whatever we can. You know, it’s just a thought. Silly me, common sense isn’t that common, so I’ll lower my expectation. I think not.Ah yes, let the grand political theater commence, where every political wannabee hack will valiantly engage in talk, yes talk, as if talk will save the day, all while profiting on the backs of those suffering. Of course, because what better stage for election-season heroism than someone else's misfortune? Endless empty promises, well, isn’t it time to vote them out of office. From the local back room dealer of the political circus to the DC circus of donkeys galore. I won’t say jackass, I’ll be nice and say donkeys and, well, Marxist rhinos.