My Personal Credo

                                                                                           written 20 April, 2025

                                                                                       published 27 April, 2025

    

            I addition to being a life-long scientist, I have a strong spiritual perspective as well.  It is inspired by the philosophies of quantum mechanics and Buddhism, in accord with the mystics of all spiritual traditions.  Some years ago, I wrote a brief summary of my personal credo, consisting of an image of reality, and suggested guidance for living in that reality.

            Image: Unity Consciousness is the transcendent ground of all reality.  This may be called the Divine, but any specific name is inadequate, and limits further understanding.  Material reality, described by physics as space/time, is a 4-dimensional membrane/subset completely expressed within, and shaped by, Unity Consciousness.  Matter can be viewed as the skin of the Divine, like waves on the surface of an ocean, each individually unique in location and duration, yet always arising in the same substance, never inherently separate.  The story of time appears as an increase in material complexity, supporting growth of self-awareness within matter. 

            The foundation of evil is denial of Unity, the first ignorance, an inaccurate perspective which engenders fear.  Resonance with Unity is experienced as Love.  Life challenges and supports each individual to increase awareness of their resonance with Unity Consciousness.

            Guidance: Choose love over fear.  Choose the truth of Unity over the material illusion of separation.  Be happy and laugh often.  Life is good, beneficial, nurturing, and joyous.  As life is whole, massively interconnected, the Golden Rule is not so much a moral commandment, as a relational fact of nature, like gravity.  Love, respect, and honor yourself as the Divine manifesting.  Love, respect, and honor all Others as the same Divine manifesting.  

            Strive to be present and aware in every moment.  The only point of action is in the eternal NOW, and each moment is unique.  Life is a metaphor.  The opportunity for learning is ever present.  Take responsibility for your part.  There are no "accidents".  In resonance with the Divine, we create our own reality, by belief, imagination and intention.  The balance between Being and Doing is inspired intention.

            Be honest (internally and externally) in every action into reality.  Be grateful (internally and externally) for every gift from reality.

            From the above perspective, our current social upheaval appears as the conflict between the selfish, unaware individual and unity reality.  This has been going on for as long as history has been recorded, but seems to be coming to a head, perhaps because we are now more numerous and more powerful than ever before in history.  For the first time, ignorant, selfish human greed has begun to affect the climate of the entire planet, pushing it away from a condition that has nourished human life for thousands of years.  This looks like a disaster, and may indeed crush our species, but it may also be a force of sufficient magnitude to transcend all the tribal warfare and inequitable economics resulting for our cultural belief is separation, ushering in peace on Earth.        

            Despite constant political denial, the scientific community has been ringing the alarm about the climate crisis for decades, monitoring the growing risk, trying to generate social consensus toward action.  Although increasing physical damage sweeps the land, the over-extended economy is much more fragile.  

            In the last 12 months, US regional economic losses due to extreme weather were $625B, closing in on the annual Pentagon budget.  Although less than half of this loss was insured, the insurance industry is being pushed to insolvency, as costs soar far beyond premiums.  Recent updates of flood and hazardous fire maps, reflecting the new reality, are bringing this problem front and center.  When insurance become unaffordable, even if available, the real estate industry, the banking industry, and the funding of state and local governments all become more precarious.

            The changes are measurably accelerating.  Climate is a massive, nonlinear, complex system, which can shift abruptly beyond historic experience.  Climate science is constantly learning about new, previously unknown feedback forces.  In addition, the scientific process of observation, contemplation, and reporting, has a pace of its own.  As the system changes more rapidly, this lag slows understanding.  Furthermore, responding to increasingly hostile political denial, science is reluctant to present low probability/high risk scenarios, so called "black swan" events, leaving us all unprepared or unmotivated.

            Despite the insane climate denial from the current Federal government, the climate crisis is real, affecting everything on Earth, and therefore requires a global effort in response.

Traitor, Crook, Or Just Demented?

                                                                                       written 13 April, 2025

                                                                                   published 20 April, 2025

  

            Just three months in, we already see what MAGA "leadership" looks like.  Critical parts of the government are being dismantled, with no coherent plan.  People are being "disappeared" in unmarked vehicles.  Fundamental social structures are under assault.  Prices are jumping higher.  The risk of recession, even depression, is increasing.  Fear and despair are rising everywhere.  Consumer confidence has plummeted.  

            Extreme tariff uncertainty has disrupted the entire economy.  The stock market dropped, then rose.  The treasury bond market almost collapsed.  Fundamental western alliances are now in tatters.  The US is threatening to invade our closest neighbors.  It looks like a deliberate attempt to destroy America.

            Consequently, some believe our Mad King is a Russian agent.  Bailed out of several bankruptcies with shadowy money from Russia, he may be beholding to his banker.  While he admires autocratic dictators, his only experience is reality TV and doesn't have the continuity of focus required to be a reliable thug.  It is much more likely he is just a "useful idiot", vulnerable to any suggestion of the moment, sowing disruptive chaos as his mood swings wildly from one extreme to the other.

            Promoted as a "good businessman", he acts like a crook.  Fourteen of his companies failed due to mismanagement, failure to deliver, or outright fraud.  He routinely refused to pay suppliers, choosing to sue instead, initiating over 4,000 lawsuits.  He lies for his own advantage, the goal being increased "brand worth".  He is guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.  During his first term, he used his office to enrich himself on public money, treating public service as a "cash cow".  This time, his economic "policy" is to shut down all social services in order to reduce taxes for the already wealthy, while increasing the national debt.

            But actual business people know prosperity needs a stable economy.  Big projects require big investments, financed over decades.  When the future becomes chaotic, interest rates soar, and everything becomes increasingly risky and expensive.  What we see today devastates the poor, but doesn't help the rich either.

            While a few insiders benefit from stock market swings, the tariff turmoil has caused a global economic slowdown.  This has depressed crude oil prices below the level where most domestic oil production is profitable.  Oil companies, which are supposedly allies of this administration, and should benefit from the "drill, baby drill" energy plan, are instead curtailing new production and even pausing stock buyback plans for their wealthy investors.

            Charles Koch, a Republican mega-donor billionaire, has joined Leonard Leo, the Federalist Society architect of the current Supreme Court, to sue the administration for their tariff "policy".  Contrary to their plans, the monster they created isn't really under their control at all.

            From the first, our "leader" has been described as a "malignant narcissist", which Wikipedia defines with the following traits.  "They use, abuse, and discard people.  They are obsessed with power.  Everything is personal.  They hold grudges and take revenge.  They take pleasure from the suffering of others.  Nothing is ever their fault.  They are ruthless in their pursuit of what they want.  They don’t have a conscience.  They have many enemies."

            The Mad King is an old man, with a terrible diet, under considerable stresses.  Wikipedia describes the following signs of advancing dementia: "short-term memory loss; word loss; difficulty multitasking; repetition; confusion about time and place; changes in judgment". 

            Of the three choices, traitor, crook, or dementia, the truth is probably a little of all three, but dominated by an increasingly unstable mind.  Whatever the internal reality or reasons, we can only judge by his actions.

            My primary issue is the climate crisis.  Extreme weather around the world makes the news every week.  Costs are rising as destruction increases, and insurance companies are pushed to insolvency.  Ignoring this, the administration is adamant the climate issue is a hoax.  They are ruthlessly killing even modest attempts to address the issue, doubling down on pushing obsolete, uneconomical, and harmful energy sources.  They are going so far as to stop all investigation, or even monitoring, of the changes, leaving the entire economy blind to what is happening. 

            The changing climate is a global problem, adversely affecting every political system, every economic system, and every individual.  To completely ignore such a problem is insane, and suicidal.  But here we are.  Our emperor has no mind.  Without a fundamental change, things will continue to fall apart.

 

Electric Home Tours

                                                                                               written 6 April, 2025

                                                                                         published 13 April, 2025

     

            The economic and ecological costs of the climate crisis are growing.  Despite the suicidally insane climate denial from the Federal government, many people want to address the climate issue and leave a habitable planet for our grandchildren.  One important step is to decarbonize our economy, making energy investments to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases we release into the atmosphere.

            Change is difficult and expensive, but the status quo is increasingly unsustainable.  Fossil fuels are finite, and the cheap reserves are already gone, assuring increasing costs.  Fossil fuel combustion increases atmospheric carbon dioxide, risking complete economic collapse.  Natural gas is methane, almost 100 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide over a decade.  

            The natural gas pipeline infrastructure is old, and expensive to upgrade.  PG&E, our natural gas supplier, is on record stating they are getting out of the business, and will add no new natural gas infrastructure.  The City of Ukiah has a general plan element to eliminate natural gas in the city by 2045.  

            Sonoma Clean Power supplies 88 percent to 100 percent carbon-free electricity.  City of Ukiah Electric Utility supplies 70 percent carbon-free electricity.  Even PG&E provides 47 percent non-nuclear carbon-free electricity.  Every move we make toward electrification, and away from fossil fuels, decreases our risk of climate induced economic collapse.   

            Toward this goal, the city of Ukiah Electrical Utility, in conjunction with Climate Action Mendocino, will host a free, self-guided Electric Home Tour on Saturday, April 26th, from 1-4 pm.  Tour registrants will receive a map showing five homes, and an apartment complex, which have a variety of technologies to decarbonize our lives.  Each location will include some, or all, of the following. 

            Rooftop Solar: With good solar exposure, you can power everything electrical while using less electricity from the grid.  Solar energy is free, and the hardware to collect it is a fixed cost, warrantied for 25 years, but lasting even longer.  

            Battery Storage: Solar energy peaks in the midday, but household loads extend throughout the day.  Battery storage allows midday sun to be used at night, reducing your impact on the grid by avoiding using the more expensive evening electricity.  With battery storage, your home is more power resilient to grid blackouts.

            Heat Pump Heating and Cooling: Heat pumps move heat, rather than producing heat, much like a refrigerator moves heat from inside the appliance into the kitchen.  Consequently, this technology is 3 times more energy efficient than any form of combustion or resistance heating.  

            Heat Pump Water Heaters: Heating water is one of the most energy consumptive appliances in a house.  Heat pump water heaters, like heat pump house heaters, are 3 times more energy efficient than traditional water heaters, electric or gas. 

            Induction Cooktop: Induction cooktops use an electromagnetic coil to induce an electrical current in your cookware, heating the cooking utensil and contents, and nothing else.  Induction heating is as precise as cooking with gas, with less air pollution and more energy efficiency.  

            Electric Car Charging: As transportation shifts from fossil fuels to more energy efficient electric vehicles, one of the benefits is being able to charge your car at home.  In SCP/PG&E territory, traveling 100 miles will cost about $11 in electricity.  In Ukiah, the cost is half that.

            Certified installers will join each homeowner to answer questions about costs, installation, and incentives.  Installers participating in the tour are: Jim Apperson (retired), Apperson Energy Management; Fernando Arcilas, Ultra Air HVAC; Rod DeWitt, American Refrigeration Services; Ronnie Dodd and Justin Foster, All In Heating and Cooling; Pete Gregson, Advance Solar, Hydro, Wind Power Inc.; Jonathan McChesney, Radiant Solar Technology; Jim Purcell, Pardini Appliances; and Laurent Richard, AC&R.  For those who want to see heat pump products, another stop on the tour is AC&R Heating Cooling & Solar in downtown Ukiah. 

            Ukiah offers rebates to its electric utility customers to help offset the cost of energy efficiency upgrades, including $500 for a heat pump water heater and $150-$500 for whole house heat pump.  These are in addition to possible state tax credits and rebates.   

            Upgrading our homes and community makes sense economically, and environmentally.  This is a complex issue, but every incremental change is a step in the right direction.            

            Register for the Electric Homes Tour at climateactionmendocino.org/events.  Registrants will receive a map with addresses, a glossary of terms, and information describing what appliances and installers will be at each stop.  

 

Firewise Communities

                                                                                        written 30 March, 2025 

                                                                                        published 6 April, 2025

      

            In 2004, the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council was created "to inform, empower, and mobilize residents to survive and thrive in a wildfire-prone environment, through education, preparation, and collaborative action."  There are now 74 local Fire Safe groups in the county, representing about 15 percent of the population.  The Ukiah Western Hills Fire Safe Council formed in 2018.  

            The hills west of Ukiah haven't burned since the middle of the last century, but inexorable heating from the changing climate increases the odds.  CalFire recently released an updated map of Fire Hazard Severity Zones, and the entire western edge of urban Ukiah is in the "Very High Hazard" group.  For more information visit: http://osfm.fire.ca.gov/FHSZ.

            While some still deny climate change, most people know someone affected by fire storms.  A fire chief in LA recently said "When the wind is less than 10mph, we can fight the fire.  When it is over 30mph, we can only help with evacuations."  The recent LA firestorm had steady 55mph winds, gusting to 100mph. 

            Fire insurance costs are increasing everywhere.  In the last decade, fire claims at Lloyd's of London increased a factor of 3, and expenses increased a factor of 5.  Insurance companies are leaving California, and those remaining are increasingly unaffordable, forcing homeowners into the California FAIR plan, which is more expensive with less coverage.

            The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), founded as a non-profit in 1896, has the mission "to provide information and knowledge for the elimination of death, injury, and economic loss due to fire, electrical, and related hazards."  They have been promoting safe building practices ever since.

            NFPA runs the Firewise USA program, for communities to enhance their wildfire resilience, in collaboration between residents, local fire departments, and state agencies, to bolster the fire resistance of homes and surroundings.  Firewise encourages communities to document their volunteer hours, expenses, and vegetation removal each year, including such tasks as mowing your lawn, trimming trees, and clearing debris from your roof and gutters, thus increasing community awareness of the growing fire hazard.

            Responding to uncertainty in California homeowner's insurance, standards are evolving for best practices for home-hardening and defensible space.  Fire hardening your structure can double the chance of it surviving a fire.  State regulations require "Zone 0", five feet around structures and at least 6" up the side, be ember-resistant.  California Department of Insurance requires insurers to offer discounts for such homeowner mitigations.  Living in a recognized Firewise community provides potentially greater discounts for homeowners who do more to reduce their risk.  

            Last year, the Western Hills Fire Safe Council voted to join 11 other Mendocino county Firewise communities.  This new Firewise community in the western portion of Ukiah includes everyone west of Dora, extending the full length of Ukiah, a total of 2000 home.  The goal is for each household to annually record at least one volunteer hour (valued at $31.80 per hour) or an equivalent amount in expenses.  Everyone is already included, and all are invited to participate, but no one is required.  

            Through education, planning, and action, Firewise communities work together to minimize the vulnerability of homes and communities to wildfire damage.  In addition to potential discounts on insurance premiums, benefits include: increased safety through implementing proven risk-reduction strategies to protect both residents and first responders; strengthened neighborhood connections; improved access to grant funding for projects; and increased peace of mind throughout your neighborhood.

            A letter is being sent to all homeowners included in the new Ukiah Western Hills Firewise community, explaining Firewise, and listing several sources for more information.  The two co-chairs are: John Rodgers (JohnRogers8200@gmail.com) and Jeanne Chinn (JeanneChinn@gmail.com).  There is a Western Hills newsletter (whfirewise@gmail.com) and a Facebook Group (Western Hills Firewise Community).  For more information about the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council go to: FireSafeMendocino.org.

            Part of the Firewise program asks communities to make goals and a plan for the next 3 years to help prioritize actions to become more wildfire-prepared.  Some highlighted goals for Ukiah's first year include: encourage registration on wildfire alert systems, promote the Free Defensible Space Program offered for income-eligible seniors, educate on the importance of removing vegetation within 5 feet of a home, promote use of a free chipper program to reduce vegetative fire fuels, and partner with the Ukiah Valley Fire Authority to identify areas for fuels reduction.

            Wildfire doesn’t recognize property lines, so the more we work together, the safer we all are.