Views From the Ranch
Thoughts, writings, and updates from Colusa County, California
The Doomsday Clock is ticking – clock’s hands move closest ever to midnight and catastrophe
Today, due largely to the mounting dangers of Russia’s reckless invasion of Ukraine, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Science and Security Board moved the hands of the Doomsday Clock closer to midnight than they’ve ever been.
On the Downbeat
Joan Didion was gentle in person, and quiet-spoken, but ferocious in her honesty.
Washington’s Crackpot Realism
Framing the China threat as irredeemably antagonistic misses the reality that in order to survive, both countries must cooperate as well as compete.
Spending $2 trillion on new nuclear weapons is a risk to more than just your wallet
A generation after the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act empowered farmworkers and calmed the turmoil in the fields, the law is now under threat.
A law has empowered farmworkers for 46 years. The Supreme Court must let it be.
A generation after the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act empowered farmworkers and calmed the turmoil in the fields, the law is now under threat.
Our advice to President-elect Biden: Break the dangerous pattern of nuclear competition with Russia
Mr. President-elect: After the most bizarre presidency in US history, you are now about to take charge and begin restoring a sense of normalcy to our troubled nation. But these are anything but normal times, and your task will be enormous.
Biden’s first task should be working with China on climate change
Despite the real and profound differences dividing China and the U.S., Biden and Xi can rise to the challenge and embark together on a path of global transformation.
5 Steps for the Next President to Head Off a Nuclear Catastrophe
Tragically, Trump’s incompetence extends beyond Covid-19 and climate change to another existential danger, rarely debated in Washington or covered by the media: the chance of a nuclear blunder.
The View from Colusa County
America is facing a serious challenge to its position as the leader of the “rules-based” world.
Open Letter: It’s Time to Rethink Our Russia Policy
U.S.-Russia relations are at a dangerous dead end that threatens the U.S. national interest. The risk of a military confrontation that could go nuclear is again real.
The world is two minutes from doom
It is two minutes to midnight, but there is no reason the Doomsday Clock cannot move away from catastrophe. We must turn back the clock.
Why the world is closer than ever to Doomsday
The danger we face cannot be overstated. We now face a true emergency — an absolutely unacceptable state of world affairs that has eliminated any margin for error.
Even without the Trump administration, the U.S. is upholding its commitment to the Paris climate agreement
Rampant wildfires in the West, record high temperatures in the Arctic Circle, severe hurricanes in the Atlantic and the Pacific: Unless we reduce greenhouse gases now, these kinds of destructive “natural” disasters will only get worse.
We're keeping our Paris climate change commitments and our economies are booming
Trump’s climate retreat has catalyzed leaders in America and around the world to stand shoulder to shoulder and press forward with climate solutions.
A Stark Nuclear Warning
While many complain of the obvious dysfunction in Washington, few see the incomparably greater danger of “nuclear doom” because it is hidden and out of public consciousness. Despite an election year filled with commentary and debate, no one is discussing the major issues.