Sunday "Delta is Ready" Funnies

Which brings us to this piece of gaping idiocy, and I’m not in the habit of expressing my disapproval in quite such stark terms, but we are, after all, talking about Ben Garrison, who delights in over-the-top attacks and who has not only failed to read Don Quixote but hasn’t even grasped the concept of “tilting at windmills.”

Which failure, Derf Backderf points out and documents, he has demonstrated over and over, because, if you’re going to act the fool in public, why not repeat your folly?

And Garrison hilariously follows up: "When a Quixotic Analogy is Wrong but Still Right".

Please support the work of (lefty, intelligent) cartoonists here.

The Environmental Round-Up, Part 1

Long promised, finally delivered.  It's not all about Texas, as most of my blogging this year has been; the state of the planet -- as much as our Great State's contribution to the climate crisis -- is what's been on my mind.

And the news is bad for any of you who may not have been paying attention.  I decided I'd just embed a few Tweets from the past few weeks to convey that, and keep them in some kind of loose chronological order, unless there was a point to be made by skipping a few days forward or back.

If you're like me, you won't be able to read to the end.  That's okay.  It's a lot to absorb.  Come back later when you feel stronger, or bookmark for weekend reading.  Just don't bury your head in the sand, or in your hands.

We're past the point of mourning.

As meteorologist @EricHolthaus described the record heat: “We’ve left the era of fucking around, and we’re now entering the era of finding out.”

— Tim Dickinson (@7im) June 29, 2021

And Congress was warned *in 1957* that this would be a consequence of burning fossil fuels. https://t.co/z7BBWvwLqm

— Brad Johnson (@climatebrad) June 11, 2021

NEW: High-elevation forests in the Rocky Mountains are burning more now than any time in the past 2,000 years amid extreme, climate change-induced drought.

"After 2020, it's clear we're in uncharted territory," study's lead author @PhilipHiguera told me. https://t.co/uuUux3iNK3

— Rachel Ramirez (@rachjuramirez) June 14, 2021

Incrementalism doomed us allhttps://t.co/yCurq0ym8I

— Nick is a Fred Hampton Leftist 🥋 (@SocialistMMA) June 17, 2021

BREAKING: climate change will drastically reshape life on Earth, according to draft UN @IPCC_CH report aquired by @AFP - This is easily the starkest warning yet of how humans are transforming the planet, and threatening millions of lives
https://t.co/bnkIwLkBwX via @YahooNews

— William Brangham (@WmBrangham) June 23, 2021

A "retirement plan?" Or do you mean a Plan B? Such as, what to do when they're "out-of-work plan?" Or like a "survivalist plan" when sovereign governments collapse amidst climate chaos? Maybe they have some kind of "how-to-die-with-dignity-plan?" https://t.co/LX6zGaESSe

— JoAnn L Chateau (@JoAnnLChateau) June 23, 2021

Terrifying UN Draft Climate Report Urges Total Transformation of Our Way of Life https://t.co/WGPjsjORr1 via @truthout

— gaijingirl2004 Bronx Progressive/Green. 🦺 🇵🇸✡️ (@gaijingirl2004) June 25, 2021

Did you know we're over 415 ppm of atmospheric CO2 for the first time in 23 million years which means dire consequences for life on Earth?

Climate justice action could limit the damage, protecting people and species, but that won't happen if journalists remain shamefully silent. pic.twitter.com/jWTKMEXOVR

— Ben See (@ClimateBen) June 26, 2021

A leaked UN report warns of coming unlivable heat waves, widespread hunger and drought, rising sea levels and extinction. https://t.co/bUeAsJ6tqo

— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) June 27, 2021

I can't believe I am writing this.

Canada 🇨🇦 has obliterated its national all-time heat record *for the second day in a row*.

Before yesterday, greater than 45°C had never been recorded. As far as climatology is concerned, this is deeply shocking. pic.twitter.com/X9WJgtHgss

— Scott Duncan (@ScottDuncanWX) June 29, 2021

New data are in: Global average sea level is now rising at a rate of 3.4 millimeters (about 0.13 inches) per year as a result of global warming. That's like covering the U.S. in water over 6 inches (about 16 centimeters) deep annually. #NationalOceanMonth https://t.co/f8Cpqopsft

— NASA Climate (@NASAClimate) June 29, 2021

(1/2) South America Cold Spell: Historic low temperatures on 30 June in some areas of Bolivia and Paraguay.Some records broken:
-Pozo Hondo -7.4C lowest temp. in June in Paraguay
-Nueva Asuncion -5.4C previous -5.0C 18-7-1975
-Base Aerea Jara -2.8C previous -1.4C 29-6-1996 pic.twitter.com/T4BivF0gRU

— Extreme Temperatures Around The World (@extremetemps) July 1, 2021

Taken one event at a time, it’s easy to cling to the idea that climate change is happening somewhere else, to someone else. But listening to the growing chorus of people adjusting to this new “normal” tells us one thing:

The frontlines of climate change are everywhere. pic.twitter.com/PfCInsiWk7

— grist (@grist) July 1, 2021

The deadly heat in the Northwest is another reason to call the climate emergency the climate emergency https://t.co/CPml9no90P via @sciam

— Laura Helmuth (@laurahelmuth) July 1, 2021

No, you didn’t misread the headline; it’s 118 degrees in the Arctic. https://t.co/oBurQPJ45A

— Climate Reality (@ClimateReality) July 5, 2021

⚠️"Tipping could be imminent"

'Tipping found in models of the Gulf Stream and North American mid-latitude wind systems add to the growing concern that anthropogenic climate change might be abrupt and irreversible'#ClimateEmergency #ClimateCrisis #NEWShttps://t.co/cS1QhcJp34

— Jim Baird (@JimBair62221006) July 6, 2021

We've known that climate change was loading the dice against us for a long time, but now we know by how much. The west coast heatwave was "virtually impossible" without climate change. Analysis by @wxrisk @gjvoldenborgh @SISeneviratne @FrediOtto et al. https://t.co/828X2w9gj1

— Prof. Katharine Hayhoe (@KHayhoe) July 7, 2021

North America just had its hottest June on record, according to the EU’s climate monitoring service.

A heatwave amplified by the climate emergency broke all-time high temperature records in the Pacific Northwest and killed at least 107 people in Oregon, say officials. pic.twitter.com/Qdxy7W8c04

— AJ+ (@ajplus) July 7, 2021

This crime has displaced or killed untold numbers of people around the world, caused countless billions of dollars in economic damage and ravaged vital ecosystems and wildlife. https://t.co/6RQPRBn20s

— DeSmog (@DeSmogBlog) July 8, 2021

Where should we start playing the blame game?  Sixty-four years ago, as referenced above?  Fifty?

50 years ago scientists warned of dangerous climate change. @AllegraCOP26 @AlokSharma_RDG https://t.co/4dLyPnjIJB

— COP26 Climate Action Plan (@Cop26P) June 25, 2021

More recently?

'In 1979, an Exxon study said that burning fossil fuels “will cause dramatic environmental effects” in the coming decades.

“The potential problem is great and urgent,” it concluded.'https://t.co/I8hiC5hYWE

— Climate Clock (@Tav_assoli) July 1, 2021

Among the many frustrations here: the Biden DOJ is just repeating the legal arguments *of an administration that didn't believe climate change was real* #StopLine3 https://t.co/1lTHPEXwR2

— Bill McKibben (@billmckibben) June 25, 2021

No excuse to subsidize any form of fossils, including LNG+carbon capture

Subsidizing CCS is directly subsidizing fossil mining, air pollution, infrastructure & CO2@JoeBiden subsidies for LNG could doom international climate goals https://t.co/1P7hCtbaHf @AlleenBrown

— Mark Z. Jacobson (@mzjacobson) June 21, 2021

Your Democratic chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, ladies and gentlemen. https://t.co/ElauxiaMu7

— Alyson Metzger (@AlysonMetzger) June 21, 2021

The USA is stricken by megadrought and record heat with the coming wildfire season likely to be the worst on record.

Democrats control the presidency and both chambers of Congress.

And still no serious action on climate.

Now or never?

System change or collapse? pic.twitter.com/1Eww5Xek7u

— Extinction Rebellion (@ExtinctionR) June 28, 2021

President Biden and Treasury Secretary Yellen have both called climate change an "existential threat" that necessitates a bold government response.

So why are they backing two ExxonMobil insiders for senior leadership roles at the Treasury Department? pic.twitter.com/LZdhHtvdyN

— Revolving Door Project (@revolvingdoorDC) June 29, 2021

We already know ExxonMobil bought these guys off.  Let's maybe fault the actual source of the greed and corruption.

"There is no America. There is no democracy. There is only IBM, and ITT, and AT&T, and DuPont, Dow, Union Carbide, and Exxon. Those are the nations of the world today."

-The late Ned Beatty (1937-2021) in "Network" (1976) pic.twitter.com/fMQHDMGUGk

— Venus Barrington (@CrossEyedBear) June 13, 2021

Oil companies got $8.2 billion in pandemic bailouts then laid off 60,000 employees.

The biggest is Marathon Petroleum, which got a $2.1 billion bailout then laid off 2,000 people.

But yes the real moochers are the people getting $300 in unemploymenthttps://t.co/FEIaUv0Z7q

— Dan Price (@DanPriceSeattle) June 21, 2021

These 100 companies are responsible for 71% of all CO2 emissions in the world. This is where we need to start. It's that simple.

There is no planet B. There is no time to waste. #ActOnClimate.#ClimateEmergency #ClimateAction #climatecrisis #climatestrike #GreenNewDeal pic.twitter.com/nH05ao7Jqb

— Mike Hudema (@MikeHudema) June 21, 2021

The IEA couldn’t have been more clear: a net zero pathway means no new gas supply and gas plants retired everywhere by 2040

But the @WorldBank is trying to tell the world it’s a climate champ that still finances gas in 2021

Ugly look for Glasgow guyshttps://t.co/dtawRtQRQb

— Justin Guay (@Guay_JG) June 23, 2021

In 2013, #Chevron was to pay $9.5 Bil to 30,000 indigenous for contaminating Rainforest land & streams. Instead, theyve been manipulating the courts to ruin the lawyer, #Donzinger In his 23 mo of his 6 mo house arrest, case has been found unconstitutional
https://t.co/kiMlnnFZLm https://t.co/ytU4R3LWgK

— Green Party US 🌻 (@GreenPartyUS) June 24, 2021

ExxonMobil is the greatest single-use plastic waste polluter in the world, contributing 5.9m tonnes to the global waste mountain.

Since most plastic is made from oil and gas the production of plastic is becoming a significant driver of the climate crisis. https://t.co/DXe80maOSy

— Paul Dawson (@PaulEDawson) June 25, 2021

#oilandgas has NEVER been regulated. EVER.

Regulation is voluntary: the criminal reports the crime.

It should be no surprise to anyone that the @EPA has underestimated #methane gas by as much as 76%. Industry gives them the numbers 🤯https://t.co/TmkQLmHGNr

— TXsharon (@TXsharon) June 30, 2021

Four EPA whistleblowers have come forward to expose corruption in the division that assesses the safety of new chemicals. They told me about the intense pressures they faced to erase evidence of neurological effects, brain damage and cancer https://t.co/aS7e8iAifz

— Sharon Lerner (@fastlerner) July 2, 2021

😷 pic.twitter.com/9C64cY6qGF

— Whirled Peas (@GetARealCoffee) July 8, 2021

That's it for now.  More bad news, some good news, some local (i.e. the Permian, coastal Texas and even poor, forsaken Lake Charles, La.) coming in Part 2.