Yet another ramble

I read this article (well, article might not be the right word... it is surely opinion based and placed in the comments section of the telegraph, but it is surely not any more opinion based than any of the other "news" you might read on a day to day basis nowadays) this morning and am pleased to see that the man made global warming marketing myth is being shown for what it really was.

For sure, there were a lot of honest environmentally conscious people taken in by the hype, but the undeniable undercurrent of anti-capitalist, anti-corporate, anti-consumerist propaganda was just too much. And to think some schmuck won the "Nobel Peace Prize" for increasing the hype. Just what that guy did to promote "peace" with that movement, if I don't get it now, I guess I'll never know.

(pardon the slight shift of course and lack of segue here)

The EU is thinking of piping in solar power from Africa. Okay... Can we not forget to help the Africans in the process this time? Africa has oil and Africa has coal, but environmental groups are campaigning against their use in that continent, opting instead for their use of wind and solar. Fine... excellent... out of whose pocket? There's a hospital outside of Nairobi which invested in solar under this great rationale. They were able to get enough money for a couple of large panels on top of their facility. The only electrical items they have inside are lights, and a single small fridge for vaccinations. They have to choose which to run at a time. Both will shut the system down. Until we make these alternatives reliable and inexpensive enough for these people, we must provide an alternative. We cannot keep a people in the dark because we don't want them using the same technologies we use every day. No power, low health, not much to do, do we wonder why there's widespread famine and violence in these rural areas? Yeah, peace prize my arse.

Snow in Vegas
Snow across America

We're causing the earth to warm? Either more people are living green really fast, or were not doing a very good job of warming the earth here.

Live clean people. Keep your community clean and healthy. Let's start there and let's leave the larger things like... oh... the continent and the WORLD to a higher being.

Live, Love, Laugh often (to steal a cliche from a wooden plaque in a country kitchen)

I do not fault people for wanting to live clean. I encourage it. I love that my mom has taken to riding a bike again. It is good for her health and good for her car (reduced wear from short trips and increased idle time) she feels better and is healthier from it. We like to use those "super" bags from the grocery, and J even crochets "SUPER" bags from used plastic bags. As a result, we don't fill up our trash can with trash bags and our food doesn't roll around in the back of the van on our way home from the market.

We recycle. We haven't always. The trash company in Clayton, for instance, wanted to charge us extra for recycling just so they could turn around and resell the product for profit. I'm not going to pay a company to take something I work at (sorting) so they can resell it for increased profit, when they can take it at a reduced cost (unsorted and in the trash) and make nothing extra. That's just a bad business model on their part.

We buy green when it fits in our lifestyle, not because it's chic. Those polar fleece pullovers and throw blankets made from recycled soda bottles... yeah, they work and I digg'em. They're on my acceptable list. Ethanol in the gas... I've got no real choice. I'm not a fan. It's counterproductive. I use unbleached coffee filters only because I don't like the thought of bleach and coffee in the same phrase.

Okay.. that's enough for now... I'll be back very soon.