Category: Current Events

Burning the rain forest to make room for Brazilian cattle industry

Posted on | by Robert | Leave a Comment on Burning the rain forest to make room for Brazilian cattle industry

Cattle ranching is “the largest driver of deforestation in every Amazon country, accounting for 80 percent of current deforestation rates,” according to researchers at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

Greenwashing, political influence, destroying the Amazon – This story has it all.

The Amazon is being burned down to make way for the cattle industries to meet the demand for Brazilian beef, and it’s backed by a major investment firm that touts Corporate Social Responsibility, BlackRock investments, and is a huge backer of Joe Biden.

JBS, the exporter of Brazilian beef, is mainly responsible for this. JBS is backed by not only BlackRock, but other investment firms such as, Capital Group, Fidelity Investments, and Vanguard.

So let piece this together, the Amazon is being burned to satisfy the markets demand for beef.

Is it possible that if the demand for beef didn’t exist, that maybe JBS wouldn’t be killing the rain forest?

Don’t complain about environmental regulations being pulled back: Just go vegan

Posted on | by Robert | Leave a Comment on Don’t complain about environmental regulations being pulled back: Just go vegan

Our president has been successful in pulling back all kinds of consumer and environmental regulations and protections. It was expected. He promised this all along.

He is sacrificing long term stability for short term gains. This will come back to haunt everybody in the end.

He will continue doing this. He will also continue to attempt to gut access to adequate healthcare. No need to complain. He is proven to be above the law and is just ignoring the world’s cries.

So – what are you going to do about it?

It’s simple: money talks – go vegan. By going vegan, you will invest in products, and live a lifestyle, that considerably reduces harm to the environment and to yourself.

This will send a true environmental message and give a big middle finger to the White House, and to the corporations manufacturing and processing items that are ultimately killing us, and the environment.

What’s that saying? If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the …….

 

A global switch to diets that rely less on meat and more on fruit and vegetables could save up to 8 million lives by 2050, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by two thirds, and lead to healthcare-related savings and avoided climate damages of $1.5 trillion (US) , Oxford Martin School researchers have found. (Source)

 

Using Big Data as a Weapon

Posted on | by Robert | Leave a Comment on Using Big Data as a Weapon

We’ve blindly accepted Facebook terms and conditions for a long time. We are conditioned to just accept them at this point. We want to like things, they want our data. Ever wonder what happens to the data you provide as you continue to use the service?

Click on the vid below for a snapshot into how one company has used personal data that’s been harvested to manipulate the way we think.

Reddit and parameters of “Free Speech”

Posted on | by Robert | Leave a Comment on Reddit and parameters of “Free Speech”

Reddit gets it.  They do not ask for your private information upon signing up, nor do their cookies follow you around the internet when you are looking for a recipe. Reddit is organized by topic, so you’re not going to see political posts when all you want to see are cute cats. And truthfully – it’s a happy place to visit and their alien is cute.

They have a feature in the New Yorker this week. The article highlights how the company is putting forth a real effort in cleaning up the conversation that takes place on the platform. Unlike other social-internet companies, the company isn’t claiming to be a bastion of “free speech.” They have rules and aren’t afraid to ban communities that violate those rules. On their approach to free speech:

“Does free speech mean literally anyone can say anything at any time?” … “Or is it actually more conducive to the free exchange of ideas if we create a platform where women and people of color can say what they want without thousands of people screaming, ‘Fuck you, light yourself on fire, I know where you live’? If your entire answer to that very difficult question is ‘Free speech,’ then, I’m sorry, that tells me that you’re not really paying attention.”

Maybe, just maybe they are on to something. Using the “Free Speech” shield doesn’t give the internet soldier the freedom to be a jerk or a perv. As we (the collective we – internet companies included) continue to work towards a healthier internet, maybe we should take out a page here and re-evaluate the concept of internet “free speech.” It’s surely not free in real life, maybe we should also acknowledge its parameters on the interwebs as well.