Presidential Election 2016

Trust - who do ya?

Trust - what makes U a real lover?

Trust - I put this question to ya

-- Prince

I like song lyrics. As a teen, I found a lot of peace in music - partly because of the rhythms, partly because of the words. Some songs brought peace through both and I listened to those songs more.

This year the United States elected a new president. The election campaign started nearly two years ago when the Ted Cruz announced he would be running. This is the longest election season I've experienced. At 46, I've really only seen seven election cycles and I've not paid much attention to them. Until now.

Going into the election, I had thoughts about values. I value my family. By extension, I value my job, the economy, and the environment. I also had thoughts about integrity, common decency, and effectiveness. Looking at the candidates this year, I sought a candidate who shared my values on all these fronts. That candidate did not exist. While one candidate was strong on effectiveness, they were weak on common decency. While another candidate shared my values on the economy, they did not share my values on integrity. These are my values. Yours are likely different. I was faced with presidential choices that left me cold in several ways. In the end I decided that one candidate was the best match for my values and voted my conscience. That candidate did not with the race. Now questions are coming up.

Was I wrong to believe what I believed about my candidate? Was the information I accepted as truth not true? Were the issues that concerned me as important as I thought? Did I waste my time and energy this year getting pulled into a media show which was low on information and high on visceral content?

This is a question of trust. Do I trust myself to spend time on things that really matter? Do I trust myself to hold fast to my beliefs without being blinded by them? Do I trust the people around me to provide valid and relevant information? Do I trust that the decisions I make will continue to provide the lifestyle I've become accustomed to?

As of today - a mere 5 days after the election - I don't have strong trust on many of those fronts.

I learned something this election year about handling the bad and the good in life. It is often hard to remove the bad. It is easier to displace the bad with good. For example, when I find myself eating too much sugar, I eat a pice of fruit.

To help me rebuild trust in those areas I mentioned, I plan to start simply. I plan to spend more of my time doing things that rebuild trust and less time doing things that erode it. I will spend more time building and sharing my talents so I'm clear on my strengths.

Music continues to be a source of peace for me. I played my guitar more this year than I have for decades. I even learned a few new songs.

Adding more peace and reason to my life will go a long way to displacing the loss of trust.

Climate Change FAQ

 Climate Change FAQ

For several years I've been curious about solar power. In elementary school I used a magnifying glass to ignite leaves on camping trips. In high school I learned about solar cells and the ability to get electricity from them. In college while earning my degree in electrical engineering I was intrigued by the work of an on-campus solar startup that later went public and hit it big. Now, well into my 40s, my neighbors started putting solar panels on their roof. As a homeowner, I am cautious about incurring risks to my house. So I wanted to know whether the neighbors installing solar shared my concern for their investment or perhaps were drawn by other interests.

During a several month research effort, I discovered three things. First, rooftop solar is economically viable in our community and on my house. In fact, I will earn back nearly twice my investment in less than 20 years. Perhaps sooner, depending on how much electricity we consume. Second, installing rooftop solar adds wear and tear to your roof. I might have looked more carefully at replacing the roof before installing. Alas, that ship has sailed. And, third, there are many people with passionate opinions about solar energy and climate change.

Intrigued by this passion, I decided to do some reading, some asking, and some more reading. My first discovery was climate change is an area with very passionate opinions. My second discovery is that the science is obtuse. So I read some. In fact, I bought four books and read them all.

Given all this reading, here is my own, highly simplified, climate change FAQ. I had fun gathering this information and hope you find it useful.

1. Is the climate changing? 
1. Yes. Findings in my readings put this at "very likely". Very likely is a statistician's phrase meaning "there is a 99% chance that the climate is changing".
2. Is the change due to human activity?
1. Yes. Again, my also readings put this at "very likely". There is a 95% chance that human activity has a large contribution to climate change.
3. Should I worry about it?
1. No. The economics of continuing human activities that contribute significantly to climate change are becoming too expensive. People are choosing some climate friendly alternates now and will choose more alternates as costs come down.
4. Is there anything I should do?
1. It's up to you. Here are three easy ones.
1. Use less energy. This will translate to lower utility bills.
2. Use green energy. Install solar if it is cost effective for you. 
3. Get informed. Conversations and information help a lot.
5. Where can I learn more?
1. I went to a book store and found several current books. Find one that you agree with and find one that makes your skin crawl. If you want to know what books I started with, drop me a line.

Beyond all the scientific, environmental, and political information I gathered through this research, I have a renewed interest in exploring complex - some would say "wicked" - problems. I believe that using research, conversation, and collaboration, people are very good at solving complex problems. I also believe that persistence has rewards.