Easy prediction (given current developments): Get ready for more, (organized) citizen actions such as this↓; ref. the (2014) video below. Those represented below -- plus many more -- have not "gone away". Nor will they...



(YT video link)

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12/16 insert. (No affiliation.):



(YT video link)

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↓(Previously written:)↓
Post-U.S. presidential election, 2016: Three items to (try to) keep front-and-center (article links below), if/when a U.S. administration generally hostile to the environment takes form. Off-site article links, no affiliation. New windows open:
http://time.com/4573414/climate-change-americas-cities/?


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-25/clean-energy-jobs-surpass-oil-drilling-for-first-time-in-u-s


http://www.lowcarbonusa.org/


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5/4/16, Fort McMurray, Alberta, CN. (No affiliation with posting org.)

More info. here (off-site link): https://twitter.com/hashtag/FortMcMurrayhttps://twitter.com/hashtag/FortMcMurray

..Off-site news story excerpt (linked): "...Unseasonably hot temperatures combined with dry conditions have transformed the boreal forest in much of Alberta into a tinder box. Fort McMurray is surrounded by wilderness in the heart of Canada's oil sands..."

--> More about this (off-site article link, new window opens): http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/11/science/global-warming-cited-as-wildfires-increase-in-fragile-boreal-forest.html?

More: (8/16 off-site article link) http://time.com/4456011/california-wildfires-natural-disasters/?

More: (10/16 off-site article link) http://time.com/4525178/climate-change-forest-fires/?

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7/26/16 off-site article link, new window opens:



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5/16: Hey...way, way more people check in with Jimmy Kimmel than this tiny blog. So, pls. have a listen (if you can get past Sarah...(Unnecessary bad language near the end of the video)):







(YT video link. No affiliation.)




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Climate change is not 'theoretical'. Effects are already occurring, in the United States. Today:

(Off-site 9/3/16 article link. New window opens. No affiliation:)



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4/16 must-read: More fact than fiction...?

Off-site article link, new window opens: http://www.theonion.com/article/exxonmobil-ceo-relieved-it-finally-too-late-do-any-52732

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3/16: Wake-up call ...yet another. ((If such projections are bolstered via add'l research:) Kids! 'Let's play pack-up and move to higher ground' (someday).):

(Off-site 3/30/16 article link, new window opens)

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/31/science/global-warming-antarctica-ice-sheet-sea-level-rise.html?

(3/31/16 editorial. Off-site link, no affiliation: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/01/opinion/the-danger-of-a-runaway-antarctica.html?)
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(↓Previous blog entries:)


(Update (warning: contains facts/inevitable facts): 2015 is Earth's hottest year on record (off-site news article link). 2011-2015 is the warmest five-year period recorded (off-site article link).)
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(YT video link. No affiliation.)


>>>>Oh, please: ..How can puny mankind's activities possibly alter the Earth's environment..??




(YT video link)


... on a global scale?? --> (one off-site link:) http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/11/141118-nasa-video-carbon-dioxide-global-warming-climate-environment/


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10/2015: 'Surprise'...Exxon understood about climate change -- through their own research -- back in the 1970s; supported misinformation about the concept for years after. Off-site 10/26/15 article link:


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(Related 11/30/15 article (link))


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- "Against logic there is no armor like ignorance." - Laurence J. Peter
- "It is much easier at all times to prevent an evil than to rectify mistakes." - George Washington

- "97 percent of American scientists say that climate change is happening..." (link, new window)

- "Each of the last ten years features in the top 11 warmest years recorded in all [primary monitoring agency] datasets." (12/10 article link, table)

- "How hot was it? 2013 joins the top ten for temperatures..." (link)

- "... 'Flat Earth Society'? - Kerry slams climate change skeptics" (link)

- Risk management: "Even if it somehow could be determined that it is a coin flip -- 50/50 -- that 97% of climate scientists are (essentially) correct re climate change (link), don't present-day inhabitants (still) have the (moral) obligation to effectively address as much of the issue as is safely possible?
I.e.: Too great of a risk to future generations to ignore.. Or to paralyze with excessive deliberation." -- Anonymous



- "I'm not sure what the 'height of insanity' might be, but this seems a candidate: Modern, advanced societies ignoring - or deliberately distorting - principal findings of climate scientists -- who the same civilizations train and educate to become experts ..." (P.S. If it needs stating, we know what one of the 'rea$on$' (i.e., for denying) is...)
-- Anonymous





and,

- "...I have a better idea: do something, Congress. Do anything to help working Americans. Join the rest of the country. Join me, I'm looking forward to working with you...." --- President Barack Obama (7/2014)

9/2014: Also..."BP Plc Held Grossly Negligent for 2010 spill..."(article link). Appeals will be coming, but (if interested) you'll find a few older posts from a few years ago here, discussing the 'negligent ones' and certain attempts to deflect blame/responsibility.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Exec "kings and queens": Two views

Columnist Maureen Dowd's column in today's New York Times pillories Northern Trust of Chicago, as the latest big bank to have taken TARP money -- only to be subsequently found "partying like it's 1999". (Link to her article is below.)

There is a LOT of anger about out-of-touch actions such as this apparent one. At the end of the article, New York's attorney general Andrew Cuomo describes insensitive ex-"masters of the universe": "They think of themselves as kings and queens."

Likely so, in some cases. No doubt.

Link to 2/24/09 NYT article: "I Ponied Up For Sheryl Crow?" , by Op-Ed Columnist Maureen Dowd

However, I also found a few of the article's readers' comments to be enlightening. The one clipped below reminded me that (as always) there are at least two sides to every story. The comment was signed: "Dan, Los Gatos, CA"

(Note: A few additional words (apparently for Ms. Dowd) from the end of the comment are omitted. (Not enough space to copy them.)) Here's a link to the full comment.
people don't seem to understand is that the Fed DEMANDED that all major banks, Northern Trust included, accept TARP funds. It wasn't really optional. The rationale was that if only the weak banks took the TARP money, it would be a signal to the markets of who the failing banks were, decimating their stock value and potentially causing a run on deposits.
Northern Trust hasn't posted a quarterly loss yet, and has one of the lowest levels of non-performing assets in the industry. This event wasn't a party for executives, but rather as a marketing event for customers (yes, it is a perk for employees who attend). Northern Trust customers aren't like most of us, but rather like our Senators and Congressmen; multi-millionaires. Their avg. customer has over $2m (excluding their home). To those people, they do expect fancy parties and concerts. Offering them is just good business.
So, if banks like Northern must cease these events, then where is the outcry at other banks taking out TV ads?

blog it
And: Link follows to another good reader comment from the story, describing "stealth layoffs", which have been touched upon here in an earlier post. Comment link
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