Happy Earth Day! (beat you to it Hobofinds!)

Check out "Earth Day predictions gone wrong" on Google. It will make you feel lucky we made it this far. By the way, the world will still be here after we are gone. Have to cut this short, it is time for the global warming hourly update.

aw dang! would of been a good day for a collection site!

I get kinda tired of the various days that we are called upon to "celebrate" things...mostly stuff dreamed up by others who want to impose their perceptions of life onto others, which usually means they want me to change for them. Usually wild eyed hippie types looking for government grants or worse yet, supposed "non profit" organizations who want your donation to save the adorable "fill in cuddly creature here" from extinction or illegal hunting or something. They are the types who show up at a meeting dressed in their wool and homespun stuff, make presentations about minimizing your footprint and live on grasshoppers and rice and--oh, yeah, donate to us!! and then they all drive away, one person to a vehicle, in their Cadillac Escalades.

Didn't we just have a day where we were supposed to turn off our lights or something? And something else equally inane (or insane) before that?

The latest hare-brained scheme I've heard this morning is that a group wants more "wildlife refuges" in BC because they are saying that by being hunted all the time, prey animals like deer and elk need areas where they are not hunted, presumably so they don't get PTSD or ulcers or something. Umh, what about things like cougars and wolves and coyotes who are after these things every day of the week, not just during hunting season? And did they forget about the hunting quotas set up by the fish and game branches of the gov't who are there to make sure that only the correct numbers of game are "harvested" during the hunting season?

I do my part by recycling stuff they wouldn't lower themselves to even touch, let alone wrestle into the back of a truck. I fix and re-use stuff and was doing it long before it became cool for the hoity-toities to do it!

I save energy-by not heating with anything but wood. And understanding how power works and turning off anything that doesn't need to be on. Including those EVIL devices that the homespun types just discovered that still take some power even when you supposedly "shut them off."

It isn't rocket science to figure out how to reduce your footprint. But don't tell me how to do it UNLESS I ask you. And don't try to reduce my freedoms by forcing YOUR point of view onto me.

/...rant mode: OFF.

By the way, this rant is NOT directed at anyone on this site. But you might have noticed that the subject gets to me!!

Jon

In many areas the fish and game people cannot monitor it constantly and many of these animals are illegally hunted, wild hunting wild is different then humans hunting wild because we have laws set up against it, and sadly they do not work all the time, so we need other ways to protect our renewable resources of meat, aka elk and deer. Animals that hunt animals keep overpopulation from happening and all animals are vital to the food chain. Humans overkill animals, and the food chain has a way of staying balanced. This is why they are being protected (not that I agree with you, or agree with these people, just educating what i know.)

I don't think people are trying to reduce your freedoms you may be trying to reduce theirs by trying to keep their freedom of speech of their points of view, but it could also go the other way......


I feel earth day is also very odd, but anything to get people to maybe recycle a bit more or atleast think about it....

We need more hunters in the U.S. More deer are killed by cars and trucks than hunters could ever think about killing. Thete's an overpopulation of deer. Studies have shown that there are more deer in the U.S. than any other time in history.
Don't even get me started on global warming.....the earth has hot and cold cycles that have been going on for millions if years. Could we have an effect on this?....probably....especially if we were all like China; but we're not. How about our wonderful Commander and Chief; he had a meeting of nations a few weeks ago, and wanted countries to come on board with us to agree to a ppercentage pledge to cut emmisions by 2025. Obama pledged an emission cut of 28%. This would mean billions of dollars that companies would have to spend to re-upgrade the already super strict laws that govern manufacturers. Guess where that money is going to come from?....the consumer.....us. Any idea which country didn't agree to these higher standards?........yeah, that one....China. Ever wonder why California smells like fried rice and smog....it's China's pollution blowing across the pacific. Don't believe me?....look it up. Twenty nine, yes 29% of California's air pollution comes from China, but we don't dare pressure them. They have the biggest economy in the world, the largest military, the largest population, and they're our biggest creditor....no wonder our politicians don't mess with them. They hack our networks, steal our secrets, copy our patents, and we still manage to buy their products up and have a annual trade imbalance of negative -$350 billion simoleons. Do you ever look around your house and wonder what it would look like if everything that was made in China suddenly disappeared....probably very empty.

Originally Posted by sawmilleng

I get kinda tired of the various days that we are called upon to "celebrate" things...mostly stuff dreamed up by others who want to impose their perceptions of life onto others, which usually means they want me to change for them.

It isn't rocket science to figure out how to reduce your footprint. But don't tell me how to do it UNLESS I ask you. And don't try to reduce my freedoms by forcing YOUR point of view onto me.

Jon

I'm NOT defending the Granolas but to some degree or another we're all guilty of trying to remake the world in our own image. It's also a basic human need to have something to believe in. For the longest time it was organized religion but more recently that's given way to rational thought and the new religion of science. People go to the high priests & priestesses of the faith to find the truths they seek now. Guys like Einstein & Tesla, along with a host of noted scientists, mathematicians, and physicists are the rock stars of the modern age.

Times may change but human nature has remained a constant all through the ages. Fifty years ago it might have been that evangelical Christian that believed they were on a mission from G-d to save your soul. In this age it's extremist Granola on a mission to save the planet and mankind. ~ It's the same breed of cat. ~

Then ... you get the posers. There's a sh*tload of power and money to be gained from *ahem* "Fleecing the flock." Any half decent shepard knows that the sheep they lead are some of the dumbest animals ever invented.The sheeple have that need to believe and that's easily exploited. Just put "green" somewhere on the product label and they will happily pay double. ~ Again, same breed of cat.~

There's also the dogma of the faith. When science has conducted a survey and a study the result must be gospel truth ! The scientific community of great thinkers reached a consensus that global warming was a fact. The few heretics in their community that dared challenge that assumption had their careers ruined and were excommunicated. Back in the day it was a bit more honest. They either put you up on the cross or burned you at the stake as an example to others who might be thinking of challenging the power of the church.

Of course ... if you have a religion and you're on a mission to remake the world in your own image then you must make your "beliefs" the law of the land. Up until about the 1950's or 1960's our system of law was based on biblical law. In the Muslim world it's law based upon based upon the Koran. In the modern age our system of laws have changed to reflect the views of the scientific community. That's particularly noticeable in some of the environmental law that's been put into effect.

Just seems like the more things change ... the more things stay the same.

< Gentle laughter > Just for fun check out the earth based fertility religions and the mighty morphin power pagans. Now those guys are on a mission !

Originally Posted by AdmiralAluminum

WOW! Way to highjack my happy thread you Gloomy Gusses! I only posted it as a poke at Hobofinds and because you guys all pat each other on the back for all the other holidays! I'm not a fan of xmas or that stupid bunny but I didn't rain on your parades as you traded recipes! LOL

It's nothing personal Bro. Just calling bull on it.Their heart is in the right place but they keep falling into the same old traps.

It's just human nature.

Religious talk is a touchy subject, and if In one way or another against the rules I think.

Originally Posted by DevinThaScrapper

Religious talk is a touchy subject, and if In one way or another against the rules I think.

It is a touchy subject so i try to be as respectful as possible and bring it up only when it's pertinent to the thread. This is really more a discussion of political science & sociology. That's a study of how groups of people go about doing things. The patterns have repeated themselves all throughout human history because basic human nature hasn't changed much in all that time.

Admiral: I'm sorry Bro. I didn't quite get what you were trying to say and got distracted by the crucifix.

I think what you were trying to say is that you feel like your message is being suppressed. It's not my intention to bury what you have to say and put you down. Just disagreeing with you on some things. The environmentalism movement used to have a lot of support but it's got credibility problems now. The extremists and the posers out to line their pockets gave the whole thing a bad name.

You're right in that it would best be a grass roots effort with everyone doing their part. Got a question :

What is the one thing that everyone on the planet could do to resolve almost all of our environmental problems within fifty years ?

Nailed it !

It's a tough sell because it's contrary to human nature but that one simple thing would do the trick.

Ohh gawd no ... you give me too much credit Admiral. I struggled through high school and dropped out of college in the first six months. Nah ... i've just been fortunate enough to have a string of good mentors in my adult life. If you happen to get in with the right crew, and you're willing to learn, they can teach you things about how the world works.

I totally get what you're saying about China and North America having different political systems. With their form of government it's all about what's best for the group. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Here in the states it's all about freedom of choice and the inherent human right to self determination. It's probably the single most important principle that our government was founded upon.

Funny thing is .... both systems have proven to work when it comes to controlling population growth. Population growth here in the states has almost flat lined. People are choosing to have smaller families all on their own. Maybe i'm wrong... but i think if you lay it out for people, and explain the situation, they will try to do the right thing. It's only rarely that you have to shove something down their throat by force of law. A good idea will take on a life of it's own.

You know ... there really is no North America, Asia, Europe, or Africa.

It's all the same place.

It's a closed ecosystem where everything is interconnected and balanced in ways that aren't always easy to grasp. Maybe i'm wrong but it looks like resources are dwindling and with over seven billion people running around the competition for what's left is heating up. It's getting harder and harder to make a living these days.