'science' is no longer our standard... 3/14/2017 0 Comments   by E.L. Christianson Jr. It is difficult to know where to begin when describing 'stupid' -- having a great lack of intelligence and/or common sense. 'Civilization as we know it' is literally 'on the brink'.  There is a lot of very credible information that has been spread around by a very large number of 'scientists' over a reasonably long period of time that outlines in rather profound detail the end of human existence on planet Earth.  The specifics of the story-line vary from one field of science to another... acid oceans from one branch of science, extended droughts from another branch of science, melting ice from another branch of science, and on and on. The many branches of science that have studied the many fields of knowledge conclude with all manner of estimations that relate to human existence on this planet.  Humans on this planet is what 'it' is all about.  Even when we study the deepest parts of space, our goals relate to us as human-beings, here on planet Earth.  There really is no other subject -- humans here on Earth !!! Over a few thousand years of recorded history, we can observe how the human species has survived, thrived and arrived in the 21st century.   Primarily, it has been knowledge that has separated us from the crowd.  We have learned.  Education has been our most important activity.  Otherwise, we'd still be living in caves and without having learned about fires, we'd be there in the dark and cold. But, we have advanced through the things we have learned.  Along the way, we have tried many different systems in our attempts to know the truth.  We have gone through many phases of pseudo knowledge including various beliefs, or practices such as astrology, alchemy, medical quackery, occult beliefs, superstitions, pseudoscience, and religion. And then, over the course of thousands of years, we advanced to landing people on the moon, to replacing human organs... we advanced to "Science". ​Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Contemporary science is typically subdivided into the natural sciences, which study the material universe; the social sciences, which study people and societies; and the formal sciences, which study logic and mathematics. The formal sciences are often excluded as they do not depend on empirical observations. Disciplines which use science, like engineering and medicine, may also be considered to be applied sciences. From classical antiquity through the 19th century, science as a type of knowledge was more closely linked to philosophy than it is now, and in the Western world the term "natural philosophy" once encompassed fields of study that are today associated with science, such as astronomy, medicine, and physics.  However, during the Islamic Golden Age foundations for the scientific method were laid by Ibn al-Haytham in his Book of Optics. While the classification of the material world by the ancient Indians and Greeks into air, earth, fire and water was more philosophical, medieval Middle Easterns used practical and experimental observation to classify materials. In the 17th and 18th centuries, scientists increasingly sought to formulate knowledge in terms of physical laws. Over the course of the 19th century, the word "science" became increasingly associated with the scientific method itself as a disciplined way to study the natural world. It was during this time that scientific disciplines such as biology, chemistry, and physics reached their modern shapes. That same time period also included the origin of the terms "scientist" and "scientific community", the founding of scientific institutions, and the increasing significance of their interactions with society and other aspects of culture. And now, we are going to abandon "Science" because "Science" is telling us a truth that our oligarchy does not want us to hear.  "Science" is telling us that we are on the brink of extinguishing human existence on planet Earth and the oligarchy doesn't want us to know this, doesn't want us to have this information. The oligarchy wants to make as much money as is possible on the 'downhill slide'.  Keeping everyone ignorant is a money making scheme. Certainly the leaders who lead, but even those of us who follow, must understand something of the future we are creating for ourselves.  "Science" is trying to let us know what is there in front of us... "Science" may not be perfect which is why it is testable and reverses field with updated information. Those preaching from the other side are only in it for the money.  It is easy to see the connection to the money... big tobacco and lung cancer... big oil and climate denial... That the leaders themselves will lose everything as will all of the rest of us, calls into question the qualities and qualifications of leadership... it doesn't seem to be a draw-back to have a lack of intelligence and/or common sense. After all of these years of steady human advancement through the use of knowledge and 'Science', we are going to go back to alchemy, quackery, occult beliefs, superstitions and witch-craft.  So, we are going backwards on knowledge and marching to extinction because the wealthy elite want to make more money.   All things considered, our leadership represents the very definition of 'stupid'... and that's the truth !!! Guess Which Word the EPA Just Deleted From Its Science Mission Statement "Science" is out. "Technologically achievable" is in. from Mother Jones by Emily Atkin This story was originally published by the New Republic and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. ​ When President Donald Trump took office in late January, his administration began tweaking the language on government websites. Some of the more prominent changes occurred on Environmental Protection Agency pages—a mention of human-caused climate change was deleted, as was a description of international climate talks. The shifts were small, but meaningful; many said they signaled a new era for the EPA, one in which the agency would shy away from directly linking carbon emissions to global warming and strive to push Trump's "America First" message. The EPA's Office of Science and Technology Policy no longer lists "science" in the paragraph describing what it does.Those initial tweaks were documented by the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative, a group of scientists and academics who spend their free time tracking changes to about 25,000 federal government webpages. On Tuesday, they shared their latest finding with the New Republic: The EPA's Office of Science and Technology Policy no longer lists "science" in the paragraph describing what it does. "This is probably the most important thing we've found so far," said Gretchen Gehrke, who works on EDGI's website tracking team. "The language changes here are not nuanced—they have really important regulatory implications." The EPA's Office of Science and Technology has historically been in charge of developing clean water standards for states. Before January 30 of this year, the website said those standards were "science-based," meaning they were based on what peer-reviewed science recommended as safe levels of pollutants for drinking, swimming, or fishing. Since January 30, though, the reference to "science-based" standards has disappeared. Now, the office, instead, says it develops "economically and technologically achievable standards" to address water pollution. Screenshot courtesy of EDGI Gehrke said she thinks these changes speak to a long-running debate over how polluters should be regulated. Environmentalists often argue for performance-based regulations, where air and water is required to meet a certain standard of quality, no matter how companies choose to meet that standard. Gehrke says removing "science" from OST's missions and replacing it with "technologically achievable" means the EPA is moving toward more technology-based standards, where polluters just have to install certain types of technology. EDGI argues these changes signal the EPA's new direction—one that prioritizes business interests over public health and science—under new Administrator Scott Pruitt, who has close ties to fossil-fuel companies. Pruitt didn't mention public health once in his first speech to agency employees, instead focusing on improving the EPA's relationship with private interests. In a tweet after his speech, Pruitt said he was committed to working with several types of "stakeholders" on environmental stewardship. He did not mention environmentalists as one of those stakeholders. The Union of Concerned Scientists, a science advocacy organization, shares EDGI's concerns. "The role of the EPA is to protect public health and safety," said Andrew Rosenberg, UCS's president. "So what you want a science office to do is make sure you're using the best science available, and what's safe for the public. That's a pretty critical role." ​ Rosenberg said it would be a "major change in direction" if the EPA stopped prioritizing the best science and focused instead on what's most "economically achievable" for businesses. "I think we have to be very mindful," he said. "It seems like this EPA and this administration broadly seem to view their job as being a support for business as opposed to safeguarding public health." The EPA did not return our request for comment.