kev@frames wrote:… shoot the effing hippies.
(Note to self: buy Kevlar catsuit asap!)
kev@frames wrote:b*llocks to the planet, it'll be here for millions of years after us...
Tree-hugging Hippie I may be (I
like trees!): propaganda-swallowing brain donor I am not.
I agree with you wholeheartedly, Kev, that it is unlikely in the extreme that carbon dioxide emissions resulting from human activities are putting the planet under threat! My understanding is that current global temperatures are similar to those of mediaeval times, that it actually dropped for a period in the mid-twentieth century, and that more significant planetary cooling was the likely cause of such relatively recent events as the Irish Potato Famine.
Paleoclimatological research appears to support the theory that global warming – and subsequent cooling – is cyclical, and is ultimately affected in the main by Earth’s relative proximity to the Sun. The most significant of the greenhouse gases is plain ol’ water vapour. What’s Al Gore going to do? Stand ‘Canute-like’ on the shores of the Pacific and command water molecules not to evaporate into the atmosphere? Pl-eeease!
Given that I can’t see into the future, FWIW my money would be on the empirical – and inifinitely more extensive - evidence from ice, rocks and trees than any amount of politically motivated, media-driven, hysterical fear-mongering.
IMHO there is one very 'inconvenient truth' that should be concerning us more: we’re going to exhaust the world’s fossil fuel reserves, and that’s going to have relatively imminent politico-economic effects for humanity. (Hopefully you’ll have a bio-fuelled bike by then, Kev. I’m still trying to decide who I’d feel sorrier for: you, or the wasps?)
The planet
can and will look after itself, thank you very much, and realistically there is sweet FA we can do to prevent climate changes. However, we do have the choice to adapt or die. Hopefully the Live Earth event will inspire people to learn more about global climatology
for themselves, and start developing strategies for adaptation to changes. And you never know, it might help some of them to finally twig what crocks of how’s-yer-father we are being fed by the politicians and media moguls. I can dream …
kev@frames wrote:… anyone who thinks we can make a difference …
For right or wrong, I do believe that - as a species - we can have a deleterious effect on the environment (e.g. destruction of natural habitats of other creatures, hunting species to the brink of extinction, river pollution, smog); I hope I’m not an arrogant person (I don’t consider arrogance a desirable personality trait) but I also believe that - in certain areas - we as individuals can make a positive environmental difference, too. I’m completely in favour of moves to improve how we interact with our environment that come from an informed, balanced perspective, and not from one driven by out-of-control, sensationalist hype.
A case where I think the individual can make a difference is recycling: the planet has finite raw material resources, and IMO it makes sense to use them wisely, and there’s less mess to clear up after us. Direct benefits! Win situation! (I dislike wasting things in general.). I think it makes perfect sense to turn off appliances I’m not using and to buy energy-efficient products: it saves me money! I also believe in seeking out and using alternative, renewable sources of energy (e.g. solar panels for heating water), particularly in view of rising fuel prices. I love my home heating system the way you love your bike, Kev (I remember only too well the days when central heating wasn’t commonplace – brrrrrr!), and these replacement technologies may help to keep me in the manner to which I have become accustomed when fossil fuel prices become prohibitive for mere mortals such as myself.
I’ve been musing today on why I perceived Live Aid and Live Earth differently, and I think it was the political dishonesty underlying the Live Earth event that engendered my feelings of disappointment. IMVHO, and at perhaps a rather naïve level, I think that our glorious political leaders strive to keep us in a more or less permanent state of fear to distract the masses from thinking for themselves, and to perpetuate their own existence. Back to the Nanny State again! That said, some consider that fear is a great motivator. Maybe the event will inspire more people to become more conversant with how climatic change will affect our lives in the longer term and inspire us to meet those challenges creatively and with honour. And maybe to demand better from their political representatives in the process???? I wish.
BTW, Kev. I’ve got a start-up framing business.
Of course I don’t have a
real life!!!! (Tongue planted firmly in cheek).
What next? Sex or Religion?
If I could have got away with it, my "average time per customer" would have been long enough to say: "Not now! Go away!!!!" 
