Another drop in the ocean

"Scientific studies" is a loaded term nowadays, bandied about without much thought given to the actual validity of the studies themselves.  I doubt that scientists as a rule are a money-grubbing lot; there are easier ways for them to make money than getting bogged down in the tedium of research and documentation of their areas of study.  Just because 4 out of 5 doctors recommend Camels for their patients that smoke does not mean that their research has met any rigorous standards of peer review.

But funding is always a problem for scientific studies; who is paying for it?  Often, it's the government and it's a good use of tax dollars.  But business and industry also fund a lot of research, especially at the university level and sometimes the results are skewed or presented in a way that suits the needs of the corporate sponsor.  Remember all those studies that blamed dietary fat for heart attacks and other major health problems?  They were funded by Big Sugar, with the result that low fat diets were promoted for improved health.  Problem is, a lot food flavor is provided by fats, and when people decreased their fat intake they increased their sugar intake.  I think it has to do with how the brain signals satisfaction of food cravings. Anyhow, the nationwide surge in obesity began around the time people lowered their fat intake.  Now the latest studies indicate that sugar is the evil culprit and fat is actually healthier for you.  The research is ongoing, some of it funded, no doubt, by Big Bacon.

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Scientists are no less competitive with each other than other professions, so when they overwhelmingly agree on a topic such as global warming you know something is up.  To deny climate change based on human activity is foolish, at best.  The data is there.

More troubling than the chaotic weather we are experiencing is the temperature rise in the oceans' waters.  Higher temperatures are killing many coral reefs, completely destroying their vast ecosystems.  Lobster colonies on the east coast are moving northward, along with many kinds of the fish we eat.  Warmer water holds less oxygen, so who knows what the hell the final impact on the oceans will be?  And because the oceans are the great drivers of the weather we should expect crazier weather in the future.  The deep underwater conveyor currents will shift direction bringing unknown results and there is nothing that can be done about it.

Can't ignore the other problems in the oceans...man-made pollutants at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, radioactive water from the Fukushima meltdown washing along the west coast, and microscopic plastic particles in the seafood we eat.  It's not looking good for the oceanic food chain.

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With such compelling issues I find it astounding that the current regime is gutting the EPA, with plans to relax pollution standards for the automotive and other industries.  And hey!  Let's increase military spending, maybe add more nukes, too!  Who does this guy want to fight?  I think he's a big fan of Teddy Roosevelt, but he keeps forgetting the part about "speaking softly."

Well, he won last night with the fiasco by Rachel Maddow and the old tax returns.  She got played, and badly.  He is playing his new game much better than his opposition, so I have to give him credit for that.  Trouble is, when he's winning we will all lose.