Sunday, April 22, was Earth Day. It came and went, and did anything change. Probably not.
No, I did not celebrate Earth Day, but that does not make me a bad person. Let's say there is some big celebration in a park where they have food, balloons, speeches and games to celebrate the Earth. It seems a bit non-Earthy to do so.
I have been listening to the "global warming" debate, and on Earth Day, I thought more and more about it. I don't want to debate the subject – because both sides seem to me to be unreasonable.
Here is my take on things. I don't believe humans will doom the planet, but we are doing things that definitely are bad for the planet. Does this cause global warming? We really don't know. In the early 70s, we thought we were going into a global cooling phase, and now, many experts say that we are in a global warming phase. Well, when I was conscious in my geology1 class, I learned about global warning. How the Earth goes through periods of global warming and cooling – that geologists saw this in ice or tree rings or whatever.
Personally, I like minimizing my impact on the world. I like recycling (no curbside yet, but that doesn't bother me). I just throw the recycling in the car, and the next time I am near the drop-off, I drop it off.2 But really, recycling does not lessen the impact as much as reducing.
You know, I have tried to start and start this entry, and I am boring myself. Not a good sign. I know Reduce – Reuse – Recycle. And over the years, these ecological concepts have become habits. It does not feel like sacrificing.
We have the environmentalists on one side that say we need to sacrifice, and sacrifice equals pain. Then we have the conservative wackos3 who believe that polluting is something we ought to do because (1) it shows nature who is boss, (2) it pisses off liberals, and (3) there is something in Genesis about it.4
Personally, I just want people to be a bit more reasonable. We may or may not be causing global warming. I do know we are polluting the planet, and are not good stewards in doing so. I just wish the environmentalists would be a bit less doom and gloom, and that conservative wackos would be more reasonable about what we know we are doing to the planet. Having fresh water is nice. But I guess being reasonable does not drive talk shows and it sells few books. Me, I am going to a used bookstore today – I want to give new life to a well-loved book today. And maybe, just maybe, I will walk to the bookstore on my lunch hour. What the hell; I won't use fossil fuels and I will be reducing my rump at the same time.
1I did not really take geology. All rocks look the same to me, and I knew I would have been horrible at that class.
2This sort of would be silly to waste gas in order to recycle.
3Not all conservatives are whacko, but I did not know of how else to categorize these people.
4God said to them, 'Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'" (Genesis 1:28)
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3. My Stories. Yeah, I have a few erotic stories here. I know, they are not all that good, but they were fun to write. Don't read them if this offends you (and they represent less than 1% of the content here). These stories have elements of truth and fantasy, some more true than others. Complain about something that is a bit more substantive if you must complain. I have lots of faults.
9 comments:
Exodus 23-12: "Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the slave born in your household, and the alien as well, may be refreshed. (this pertains to man not abusing his animals, just one of many environmentally friendly verses)
Frankly, IF you dont subscribe to ANY religious dogma, then look at nature as to what it is, the provider of all things that maintain our lives. We cannot live without nature, and we must maintain it, nourish it, protect it.
As the resident EPA person of Leesa's blog, let me leave you with this ditty,
Think globally, act locally.
Good post. So many people fail to realize the impact their lifestyle has on the environment. Debating the impact does nothing, doing your part does.
What do you think bout new youtube assistant at www.mxnu.com? :-)
I started buying reusable grocery bags- you know- the canvas kind. Anyway, I suppose the next step would be to actually remember to take them out of my car and into the store with me when I go shopping.
Your view of the issue is very much like mine and, ego driven bastard that I am, that makes you a very, very wise person in my esteem.
Ian
I couldn't agree more. There has to be a balance somewhere between the two extremes.
But your girl has got a point
We should not need to ring fence or protect nature (from us)
We are part of Nature!
Concrete jungles, living in shoeboxes in Japan, the consumer society (consume & pollute is good)
Begs the question Good for Who?
and Good for What?
Are World War I & II good because they recycled millions of humans, and reduced population growth.
Imagine what the population of Europe would be today had we not had World War I and World War II
Well imagine what the population of Europe will be in 2052, even at allegedly zero or low% population growth rate.
And yes there are some very conservative (whacko?) people, who are literally intent on inheriting the earth
I loved the video. Girl had spunk and some great points. Thanks for sharing, sweet leesa. :)
larry: I love acting locally.
brea: I like that about acting. Wish I would have written it.
anonymous : never heard of it.
pitt: I have two bags, one in the car all of the time.
ian: I actually have a robot monitoring your computer activity and steal your thoughts. Just saying.
rwa: I am all about balance.
quasar: I thought Dick Cheney said, "Damn, the guy didn't die. How the hell am I supposed to explain this."
kathi: I love her as well.
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