People will sometimes endure incredible obstacles to practice their faith. Why is religious engagement so important to people? buff.ly/ESnaW3H

Finding a drug that shifts your blood pressure doesn't answer the real question: why is it high in the first place? buff.ly/E9TGv08

Surviving the 21st Century | Julian Cribb | Substack A blog by science author Julian Cribb on the existential emergency facing all humanity, the ten catastrophic threats that comprise it and what we can do about them. Click to read Surviving the 21st Ce...

Surviving the 21st Century
cribb.substack.com?utm_source=n...

Do something for somebody everyday for which you do not get paid | Albert Schweitzer

Civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof | JFK

One of the lamentable principles of human productivity is that it is easier to destroy than to create | Thomas Schelling | Arms and Influence (1966)

California Declares an Emergency Over Bird Flu Officials have discovered the virus in 645 herds of dairy cattle, more than in any other state so far.

www.nytimes.com/2024/12/18/h...

CDC confirms first severe human case of bird flu in U.S. A resident of southwestern Louisiana has been hospitalized with a severe case of bird flu linked to a backyard flock.

A resident of southwestern Louisiana has been hospitalized with a severe case of bird flu — the first case of H5N1 bird flu in the United States that has been linked to exposure to a backyard flock.

IPBES report sees climate, nature and food challenges interlinked A new approach is needed to tackle the interlinked crises afflicting the planet, scientists warn.

“Governments are underestimating or ignoring the links between 5 key areas: biodiversity, water, food, health and climate change”

Agreed! Food production is the #1 global driver of terrestrial biodiversity loss and water use, the #2 driver of climate change, and diets are closely linked to health 🧪

mailchi.mp/yale/new-stu...

Our own @yalesph.bsky.social @colincarlson.bsky.social reminds us that the next pandemic is more likely to start in factory farms, than in wet markets:

Spanish flu
Mad cow
Swine flu
Antimucrobial resistance
… & more 🧪🩺🛟

www.telegraph.co.uk/global-healt...

Mirror bacteria may constitute ‘radical departure from known life,’ scientists warn | CNN Experts sounded an alarm about the potentially lethal risks of creating mirror bacteria, synthetic organisms in which the molecular structure found in nature is reversed.

www.cnn.com/2024/12/16/s...

German Government Collapses as Chancellor Olaf Scholz Loses Confidence Vote Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote, deepening the political turbulence in one of the continent’s most powerful economies.

www.nytimes.com/2024/12/16/w...

Dark Skies, Bright Hopes We’ve been looking for extraterrestrial intelligence for over 60 years. What have we learned?

We’ve been looking for extraterrestrial intelligence for over 60 years. What have we learned? www.vision.org/dark-skies-b... #SETI

Joscho Stephan, Olli Soikkeli, Stefan Berger: Black Orpheus (composed by Luiz Bonfà) YouTube video by Jazz Club Hannover by Gartenheim

One of the finest versions of this beautiful song www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3dD...

The weirdly hyperactive 2024 Atlantic hurricane season ends » Yale Climate Connections The Florida landfalls of Cat 4 Helene and Cat 3 Milton gave the U.S. a record-tying fifth consecutive year with a major hurricane landfall.

Another wacko Atlantic hurricane season is over! Details from @bhensonweather.bsky.social and I. Helene’s landfall gives the U.S. a record eight Cat 4 or Cat 5 Atlantic hurricane landfalls in the past eight years (2017-2024), as many as the prior 57 years.
yaleclimateconnections.org/2024/12/the-...

The world has been warming faster than expected. Scientists now think they know why | CNN Last year was the hottest year on record, oceans boiled and glaciers melted at alarming rates, and it has left scientists scrambling to understand exactly why.

The world has been warming faster than expected. Scientists now think they know why www.cnn.com/2024/12/05/c... #globalwarming

A general should know...

Wisdom from #Bonhoeffer

Do Humans Have a “Moral Sense”? Do we have an inborn sense of morality—some innate understanding of right and wrong—and if so, how far can it take us?

What drives us to treat others as we want to be treated? Is it a skill we must learn, or are we born with some sense of morality?
www.vision.org/do-humans-ha...

Some simple advice...

"I think we're challenged as mankind has never been challenged before to prove our maturity and mastery, not of nature, but of ourselves." Rachel Carson

Nations Fail to Reach an Agreement on Plastic Pollution Talks on the world’s first treaty to tackle plastic pollution will continue in coming months, delegates said.

Diplomats at a UN conference in Busan, South Korea, failed to reach agreement on the world’s first treaty to tackle plastic pollution on Sunday. They said they would reconvene in future months to try again.

The Ideal Man In a society where men often struggle to feel respected, some may want to return to more “traditional” values. Could the manosphere and its communities give them the solutions they’re searching for?

Does the #manosphere have anything to offer?https://www.vision.org/ideal-man-manosphere-9735

Understanding the Gaza Crisis Is understanding the current crisis in the Middle East simply a matter of determining who is right and who is wrong?

As we try to understand the current crisis in the Middle East, we may find ourselves thinking it’s simply a matter of determining who is right and who is wrong. But there’s much more to the story.
www.vision.org/understandin...