Environmental Bullshit: PART #2

What the fuck are we gonna do? In Africa, Drought continues for the 6^th consecutive year. Record Rain in parts of the US, the Middle East, and Japan, have caused some of the Worst Flooding in centuries. New England, and Northern Europe, have recently experienced the mildest winters within anyone’s recollection. It says right here, In Time Magazine. The weather’s gone nuts, and we Humans are to blame. We have Fucked up the Environment, and now we’re going to pay for it. Scientists are telling us, we’re heading into a new… … “Ice Age?” What? But it’s from Time Magazine. Monday, June 24^th, … 1974. Oh Man, I’ve got to stop picking up 30 year old magazines at my dentist’s office. And that’s not a Joke! That’s the real article from Time Magazine from June, 1974. Yeah, 4 decades ago, pretty much everybody thought we had fucked up the earth with carless and selfish fossil fuel emissions. We were heading into an Ice Age! Now those same emissions are causing Global warming. But no worries. You may be a Carbon Sinner, but now you can buy yourselves a clean, green conscience, for Cash. It’s a new craze based on Eco-Guilt, and it’s Bullshit! For those of you who feel guilty about your impact on the planet, or want to reduce your carbon footprint, you can buy “Carbon Credits.” You drive a smog-blasting SUV, buy a few credits, and you are now carbon Neutral.

“In the late middle ages, the Catholic Church thought up a Diabolical way to bring in more Cash. They sent out Professional Pardoners to visit the Sinful, that is Everybody, and tell them that for a bit of Cash, their sins would be forgiven. Fork over the cash and no Penance, and no time in Purgatory. They called these ‘get out of Hell Free’ cards ‘Indulgences.’ And they Sure weren’t Free. The bigger the sin, the pricier the Indulgence. So suffer eternal Agony, Cut back on the fun of Sinning,… or pay the Fun tax. These “Sin Credits” were a big Money Maker until Martin Luther came along, and Cried… ‘Bullshit!’”—Penn Jillette (Bullshit: Episode 6, Season 6) What does this have to do with carbon Credits? If I have to explain the correlation… Oh, Christ.

Go Online, and search “Carbon Credits.” Go Ahead, I’ll wait. Google brings up thousands of Companies that offer the opportunity to buy Carbon Credits. Claiming they will Invest the money you give them in Renewable energy, or environmental projects (like planting trees, etc.). Ok, fine… but be aware that there are no Scientific Standards for determining the cost of your “Credit.” Carbon Credit companies make their own formula, and charge whatever they want. And there are no ‘watchdogs’ to make sure they actually invest that money properly. So basically you give them money, and they can do whatever the fuck they want with it. There is nothing to stop them from pissing your money away on whatever frivolous junk they want. The most Famous of these websites is Run by Al Gore. Yes, you can’t talk Carbon Credits, or the Environment, without mentioning Al Gore. It’s an EPA thing. Not “Environmental Protection Agency.” “Egregiously Pushy Asshole!!” An investigation done in 2006, by the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, revealed that Al Gore uses 20 times more energy than the average person. That’s right. The greatest American Eco-Hero, is an Energy Hog. His 20 room mansion used over 191,000 Kilowatts, as opposed to the average home that uses around 11,000 kilowatts. Every Month, Al Gore uses more energy, than any of us will in 17 months! So, Al isn’t as worried as he says we all should be. When this research was uncovered in 2007, Gore’s people didn’t deny it. Instead they said he was in the process of installing solar panels, and had swapped some of his incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent ones. What a Martyr! To offset the Damage he admits he’s causing to the environment, he buys Carbon Credits… from himself! Al Gore owns the website, and the company that operates it (Generation Investment Management), and makes money when you buy carbon credits through his Company. Gore started that private company in 2004, 2 years before his Oscar Winning movie was released. Kind of an “Inconvenient Truth” eh? So, what was the reaction to the TCPR digging up this information? Well, TCPR received thousands of angry letters, and Dozens of Death threats. To these people Al Gore is a prophet, and by exposing this information by completely Legal and legitimate means, they attacked their prophet. Al has convinced hundreds of thousands of people to buy Carbon Credits from his website, and is making a fortune off your guilt. Ever wonder why he is pushing all this “go Green” crap?! When you feel guilty about your carbon footprint, Al Gore makes a lot of “Green.” With all of Al Gore’s “Followers,” you’d think he’d actually done something, other than a Power-point Slideshow exaggerating the dangers of global warming. Well he did win an Oscar, that’s a “Science” Prize right? And he won the Nobel Prize for peace. Because prophesying Doom is… Peaceful? John Coleman, you may remember him from Part 1 (the guy who announced that “Global Warming is a Scam”), has challenged Al Gore to Dozens of Debates on the issue, but Al will have no part of it. According to Al’s Deputy Press Secretary… “Mr. Gore doesn’t debate Global Warming.” That’s a direct quote!! Hmm, odd. Is his position so weak and flimsy that it can’t stand up to a simple debate, or exchange of ideas? Sounds kind of like religion, doesn’t it. They don’t debate God, either. Wow, the similarities to Religion are uncanny.

A man by the name of Roger Revelle, you have probably never heard of him, is the Grandfather of the Global warming myth.  He also happens to be the personal mentor of Al Gore.  Well, he was.  In the 1960’s Revelle was working as a professor at Harvard University where he would eventually meet his young pupil, Al Gore.  He would Involve Gore, and some of his classmates, in the tabulating of data from a carbon dioxide study.  Gore was so impressed by this, he included it in his 1992 book “The Earth and the Balance” which would later become “An Inconvenient Truth.”  There is no doubt that Roger Revelle had a huge impact on Gore. But there is a twist! In 1988, Revelle was having second thoughts about whether or not Carbon Dioxide was a significant greenhouse gas.  In 1991 he co-authored a report for the new science magazine Cosmos in which he expressed his strong doubts about global warming, and urged more research before any remedial action was taken.  At that point Mr. Gore announced that Revelle was senile and refused to debate global warming.  A refusal he holds onto today.  Later in 1991 Roger Revelle gave what was to be his last speech at very private, very powerful, summer enclave of powerful men and politicians at the Bohemian Grove in Northern California.  There, he apologized for his research and for sending so many people in the wrong direction on global warming.  Revelle had realized that it was a false alarm, and that the science was flawed before he died.  He passed away of a heart attack in late 1991. so, Al didn’t do his homework; he just took what his professor said and ran with it. He may honestly believe in global warming, or he may be totally full of shit (I’m leaning towards “Full of Shit” myself), but regardless of that, it’s still just one man’s opinion, whether he really believes it or not. “Every bit of my Bullshit Detector goes off like crazy over Global Warming, and every fuckin thing Al Gore says. He seems to me like a lying sack of shit who’s wrong about everything. He seems that way to me, but my feeling on that is a ‘feeling’ and if there’s one thing we all believe (referring to skeptics) it’s that that’s not enough.”—Penn Jillette at TAM 6 in Las Vegas, NV.

For some of the poorest people on the planet, our being green can affect their survival. How? Al Gore, and his green Followers, are trying to pass new regulations and Carbon Taxes that will end up raising the global price of fuel. Fuel people in 3^rd world countries need to cook, or pump water. Fuel to get their crops to market, their Kids to school or to a doctor. “When you talk about raising the price of energy to them, you’re going to kill people. Just like the environmentally induced ban on DDT years ago has resulted in tens of millions of deaths.”-- John Charles. But still, all you have to do is just mention Al Gore’s Name, and people will say, and do, just about anything.

John Charles is the President of Cascade Policy Institute, a free-market Think-Tank, in Portland, Oregon. “I don’t see the reason to Demonize Carbon. It’s an essential element In the Earth’s climate control system, and if we didn’t have it, it would be too cold for humanity to be here.” Yes, without Carbon Dioxide, our little Blue-Green Planet would be a little White Ice Ball. “97% of CO2 emitted every year, around the world, is naturally caused, only about 3% are caused by Humans.” All 7 BILLION of us! (Didn’t I mention this before? Oh yeah, I Did. But I felt the need to mention it again!) So if he’s right, and he’s not my only source, India, China, US Factories, Cars, Coal energy Plants, and Hummers (Not those Hummers), are generating only 3% of the Earths CO2. The biggest sources are Decaying Plants, Volcanoes, and Forest Fires. John was the executive Director of the Oregon Environmental Council for 17 years. So maybe he does know what he’s talking about. “If it’s an average citizen, some Mom or Dad, who wants to tell their child that they’re carbon neutral, it’s sort of about feeling good about themselves… to me it’s kind of like buying and selling Pet Rocks.”

This whole issue comes down to “do you know?” And the answer has to be “No.” We have evidence that the planet is getting warmer. We also have evidence that it was a frozen ball of ice 15 miles thick at least once in its past. There is evidence of periods of high heat, and full planet Jungles (oh, about 70 million years ago), and Ice ages as recent as 25,000 years ago. The planet heats and Cools no matter what we do. This ball of rock has been around for a little over 4.5 Billion years. And has been capable of supporting life for a little over 2.5 Billion. We’ve been burning fossil fuels for a little over 200 years. 200 years versus four and a half Billion!! I have a feeling the Planet will be just fine. In fact, it will likely be here LONG after we’re gone.

I know what some of you are saying, “Why doesn’t he just grow a dick, and say that “Global warming is all Bullshit’. “ I’d love to, but… I have a confession to make. I don’t know! Sorry, I worked on it, I just don’t know. I know that Feng Shui is Bullshit, and the Bible is total Bullshit, but Global Warming… I just don’t know. There is good evidence on both sides, but we haven’t been looking into it long enough to really get any definable data. There is evidence the planet is getting warmer, but we can’t be sure we’re causing it. And if we did cause, we don’t know if we can fix it. And if we can fix it… we don’t know how. We just don’t Fucking Know! But Cutting back our quality of life is not the right way to fix things. Shit…. I’m not even sure of that. One thing I do know, 100%, is that it won’t do us any good to buy forgiveness from an asshole who is making a fortune off your guilt. You good people who really want to help, if you really feel you need forgiveness for how good your life is, well… you’ve done your penance. You want to help, and that’s good enough for me. By my power, which is exactly the same as the Pope’s, and Al Gore’s, you are now all forgiven!

Credits/Sources: Penn & Teller: Bullshit!. The Tennessee Center for Policy Research, The James Randi Educational Foundation, JunkScience.com, Generation Investment Management (not in a good way), John Coleman http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WmxFkPloaY&feature=youtube_gdata_player(the founder of the weather channel, and the weather man from good morning America in the 70’s), the Weather network, Environment Canada website, Bjorn Lumborg: The Skeptical Environmentalist, Jerry Taylor: Director of Natural Resource Studies at the CATO institute, http://uscentrist.org/about/issues/environment/john_coleman, Cascade Policy Institute, http://www.lomborg.com/.

Environmental Bullshit!

Hey! To my whole 2 followers, I’m Back! I realized I haven’t posted anything thought provoking since October 11th!! Holy crap! The research for this post took me months to gather, and with other posts still ongoing, it has taken a while to put together. But hey, here we go. I hope I’m not alienating my only 2 followers, but this is something I just had to get off my chest. I know damn well I’m probably not going to change anybody’s mind here, but really… this needed to be said. So hopefully it doesn’t piss too many people off.

This is such a big issue, and garners so much attention and media air time that I had to break it up into 2 parts. I will likely post more on this topic at another time, but for now, 2 parts seem to cover it. Like previous posts, I edited it down by a page or two so it wouldn’t be too much to take in. Enjoy Part 1.

Environmental Bullshit: PART #1

Every day, we are bombarded with the news that we are destroying the planet. The Ice caps are melting, Rivers are dying, Polar Bears are drowning, and Trees are doing something. I won’t be traveling the globe to get this information, that would be environmentally irresponsible. Instead I’m going to use the Internet, and my all time favorite tool, You Tube, to search for credited Studies, Reliable scientists, and Documentaries, to try to put it all into perspective.

In 1971, the first official earth day was organized to protest the impending catastrophe of Burning fossil fuels. The Impending Ice Age. Yep, Ice age. But I’ll go into more detail on that later. Now it’s 2011, and that same day is to protest the growing catastrophe of Global Warming. But is it the same catastrophe as it was in 1971? Or is it a different catastrophe? Or is it the same catastrophe, but now it’s REALLY a catastrophe, where as 40 years ago it wasn’t that bad a catastrophe, even though at the time they said it was. It gets really confusing, all this Environmental Hysteria. What I do know is… there’s some Bullshit here.

Scientists can “Confirm” Global warming all day long. Hell, I’ll even say it… “Global warming is happening.” But it’s not for the reasons you think it is. The issue isn’t that the planet is getting warmer, because it is. I won’t argue that the planet isn’t getting warmer. I’ve seen it for myself; the weather is changing over the last 30 years. The issue that keeps coming up is whether or not Humans are responsible for Global warming. I don’t believe we are. The planet goes through cycles of heating and cooling. In the 1970’s scientists were convinced, and the data showed, that the planet was getting colder. They predicted that by 2020 we would be entering an Ice age. Then in the early 90’s, they flipped on us, and began the “Global Warming” debate. Stats showed that in the 80’s and 90’s the planet was getting warmer, and everyone shifted their views. Now, since they can’t decide if it’s Global warming, or global cooling, it’s become “Global Climate Change.” That covers everything. That way no matter the situation (because it will change again), they’re covered.

“Most of the environmental movement is composed of white, middle class people, who are incorrectly telling people in the rest of the world what to do. Where people don’t live in nice houses, don’t have clean drinking water, and good health standards. I think the Environmental movement is basically ‘Elitist.’” – Patrick Moore—Ecologist, Environmentalist, & former President, and one of the Founders of Greenpeace. “Basically they are using sensation, misinformation, and scare tactics. The environmental movement was basically High jacked by political and social activists, who came in and very cleverly learned how to use ‘Green rhetoric’ or ‘green language’ to cloak agendas that had more to do with Anti-corporatism, Anti-Globalization, Anti-Business, and had very little to do with Science or Ecology. That’s when I left.” He left Greenpeace, the organization he founded, because they were no longer about environmentalism, but completely Anti-Corporation, Anti-Globalization. That should tell you something about the movement. When one of the founders of Greenpeace leaves the organization, there is something horribly wrong!! “It makes no sense to be against Globalization, when their main tools are Cell phones and the Internet.” Guess what, you’re a part of Globalization. You’re against globalization, but you use it every day. Cars and Airplanes to get to their rallies. Cell phones, Facebook, My-space, Twitter, to organize rallies. Banks to store funds. It’s incredibly hypocritical. You’re part of Globalization, so how can you be against it? “No one’s going to Listen to you if you say the world’s not coming to an end, but if you say it is coming to an end, You get Headlines. And so, sensationalism, especially when it’s combined with Misinformation, leads to a situation where people send gobs of money to these groups for campaigns that are actually totally misguided.”

It’s important to note that if you are “Pro Socialism”, or “Anti Globalism” or “Anti Corporation,” those are all very fine, Debatable, Ideas. But cloaking them in Environmentalism is Bullshit. Just say what you mean. Don’t say ‘Corporations are bad because the water is worse today,’ because the water isn’t worse today. I’m not going to say there are No good arguments for socialism, but the Environment, isn’t one of them.

“The Campaign against Forestry is a classic case of absolutely, and totally, misleading the General public. It’s true that we are losing forests in the tropics of this world, but it’s not because of Logging Companies. It’s because of poor people, millions of them, who are trying to make a living and grow some food for their families. The fact is, in North America, there is still as much forest as there was 100 years ago, and the reason there is so much forest is because we use wood, because cut trees down to make our houses. But the environmental groups have got people thinking that when you go into a lumberyard to buy wood you’re causing the forest to be destroyed. But in fact what you are doing is ordering new trees to be planted. It is something we have to do to in order to feed and house the 7 billion people on this Earth.” -- Patrick Moore. “There’s a tendency among Environmental groups to resort to Emotionalism, kind of 100%. To talk about how the tree is ‘alive’, and has ‘feelings’ and that ‘it hurts it when you cut it down’, and that sort of stuff. I mean, that’s pretty well Kindergarten talk. It’s not true. Trees are plants, just like carrots and cabbages.” But it’s tough to get money to save carrots.  One of the things about Environmentalism is that for years and years and years, these people have been guilt tripped for having a nice car, a big house, for sending a kid to a nice school.  I think that’s what environmentalism is today, it’s a way for people to get rid of guilt feelings they have about the way they live.

Another thing these Environmentalists will try to convince us of, is that we are heading towards “massive species extinction” in the next 20 years.  Greenpeace, and the World Wildlife Fund actually try to convince us that 50,000 species are going extinct every year in this world, when there isn’t a single shred of evidence for that.  99% of all the creatures that have ever lived on this planet are extinct.  It happens!!   They say that it’s all because of Logging, of course they love to blame Logging for just about everything bad in the world.  But, it’s absolutely preposterous.  There is no evidence for 50,000 species going extinct; the best science tells us that less than 1% of the species in this world will go extinct in the next 100 years.  People care more about species now than they used to, so when species go towards the brink of extinction, we generally put programs in place to help them.  That’s a good thing.  But to scare people into thinking that half the worlds species are going to die off in the next 50 years is absolutely irresponsible!!  The really is no need to spread guilt and fear about the environment, the solution side is to try to figure out how to do things better.  Not to have campaigns against everything in the world, but rather to have campaigns in which you are shifting from the way you did things before, into a new way that still provides the goods and services we need but do so at less cost to the environment.

Another point to be made about these protestors is “Do they really understand what they are protesting?” To answer this question, “Penn & Teller’s Bullshit” played a little prank on Protestors in Washington DC in 2006. They Hired an actress, and a film crew, to go around collecting signatures for a petition to ban Dyhydrogen Monoxide. H2O. Water. Yeah, plain old water. The protestors at the rally eagerly signed the petition without even thinking about it. The petition collected over 2000 signatures in a single day. When the actress finally tipped them off to what they were signing, they all had a good laugh and walked away. But, it’s important to note that they signed… without even asking what Dyhydrogen Monoxide was. They didn’t even ask! They just wanted to be “Joiners.” And that’s a sad fact about the environmental movement. Most people are just joining in order to feel less guilty.

“If you read any paper, you can read a lot stories about environmental disasters. But what you have to understand is Bad news sells! “--Bjorn Lumborg. Lumborg is Public enemy #1 among environmentalists. His Book “The Skeptical Environmentalist” pissed them off more than a Ford Excursion carrying only 1 person. I haven’t personally read it (I’m still working on ‘The God Delusion,’ and ‘God, No!’), but it’s on my list of books to read in 2012. “It’s important to get the record straight. If our understanding is Based on Myths, then we’re likely to make bad judgments.” And it happens to all of us. We get indoctrinated from about Grade 2 to believe that Recycling will save us from ourselves. We’re told that Garbage will bury us alive, and that we’re destroying our Planet. You tell children that the sky is falling, and they will believe it. And if they are never taught to look into it themselves, they will hold those ideals well into adulthood. It’s the same with Religion. You indoctrinate children to believe in God, Hell, the Devil, etc. and they hold onto that long into Adulthood, regardless of all evidence to the contrary. The Evidence is there, but people refuse to look at it because they are holding onto what they were taught as a child without looking at the data themselves. “What I’ve done here is tried to look at the data that we’ve taken for granted that says ‘Everything is going downhill.’ As it turns out… No it’s not.” His extensive research shows that right now, the health of the planet is improving on almost all fronts. And in areas where it’s not getting better, it’s getting worse at a much slower rate than in years past. So this guy looked at the same Data, and came up with the opposite conclusion. And that’s not the end of Bjorn’s heresy, he’s raised the ire of his critics because he doesn’t believe in just throwing money at environmental problems. “A lot of the environmentalists will tell us ‘if this is a good cause we should do it. It shouldn’t matter how much it costs.’ Using a cost- benefit analysis is somehow Immoral. It somehow put a price tag on Life, or a price tag on Birds singing, and that seems immoral. I can certainly understand that emotional response, because I feel exactly the same emotional response. But, my argument is to say the danger of the ‘doomsday is waiting around the corner’ is that we are prioritizing incorrectly.” But to even suggest a lowering of the Volume makes the environmentalists even more hysterical. “We need to get the debate back to a level where we say ‘hmm, this is a good idea, this might be a little better, this is certainly not worth doing right now, this is a very important issue.’ That way we can discuss this in a fairly level headed manner. That’s the only way we can ensure we get correct, and good, prioritization in a democratic debate.” A serious ‘Level Headed’ Debate. Unfortunately these things don’t happen because to Environmentalists, the Environment is like a religion. And saying anything to the contrary is tantamount to Heresy, or blasphemy. So a levelheaded debate on the environment is almost impossible. I know from personal experience. My closest friends, family, and co-workers have talked down to me simply because I was asking the same questions I’m asking here. “Is this all worth it?” And “Is this really going to help?” If it is 100% un-debatable, then why is the data so scattered, and why do so many people disagree? If this issue is infallible, why is there still debate? Because there always has to be Debate.

John Coleman, the weatherman from “Good Morning America” in the 1960’s, and the founder of the Weather channel, is a bit less friendly about the whole situation. He has gone on Record calling Global warming “a Scam!” He has put together a graph that compares our use of oil & Gas over the last 100 years, and compared it to the temperatures and the Sun’s energy output. Oil & gas continues to rise, but the temperatures are perfectly in concert with the Sun’s output, and the solar cycles.. “I’m only concerned about the frenzy, and hype, about something that’s a total Myth. That concerns me a lot. People are going hysterical about it. It amazes me how upset some people are, and how many Billions of dollars our governments spend of our tax dollars to combat something that isn’t real.”—John Coleman. “There is absolutely global climate fluctuations. We have little ice ages, we have warm-ups, historically the Earth as vacillated through all of these, solar cycles change dramatically, ocean currents change, and all of that has a significant impact on Climate.” “ The Sun is the source of all energy on earth. Obviously nothing happens here without the Sun. “ We were taught in school about the “Great Solar Constant,” as though the sun were a big Light bulb with a consistent output. That’s just not so. It’s a big ball of Hydrogen, exploding, churning, atoms are being fused together, and new elements being formed. This process has ups and downs; it’s never uniform. So it’s obvious that since everything on earth is reliant on the sun, our temperatures would increase as the output increases, and Vice Versa.

Let’s have a quick science lesson, shall we? The Sun’s energy output is never constant. It expands and contracts, several times every few hundred years or so. It does this during its normal process of burning hydrogen, etc. As it does this, it puts out more, or less energy. Evidence for this heating and cooling cycle has been found in rocks and glaciers all over the world. Yes, global Carbon emissions contribute to a “Greenhouse Effect.” But not nearly as much as you would think. All human emissions contribute only 3% of all Greenhouse gasses. ALL 7 BILLION OF US!! 3%!! The biggest culprits are Volcanoes; forest Fires, and Decaying plants. A single volcanic eruption anywhere will easily produce 1000 times the amount of CO2 all humans contribute at any given time. Add in, decaying plants and animals, Forest fires, Volcanic gas vents, etc. and the Methane, and CO2 levels go up, and down based on the planets natural activities, with very little influence from us. As our sun expands, it’s energy output increases sending more heat our way, warming the planet. It’s done it before, and will continue to do so for another 7-8 billion years. That, we have ZERO control over. As it contracts, and energy output lets off a little, the Earth cools down slightly. Every now and again, a bunch of factors come into play all at once, and we have an Ice age. A few volcanoes erupt, sending ash and sulfur gas into the upper atmosphere, blocking the Sun’s rays, right when the Sun is at a low energy output state, and … Temperatures Drops drastically and the planet freezes. It happened 25,000 years ago, and will happen again.

Stats show that we’ve had a 1-degree average temperature rise over the last 100 years, Globally. Yeah 1 degree. And data shows that, at worst, we may have a 2-3 degree average rise in temperature over the next 100 years. Seems pretty manageable. If humans with no Technology can handle an ice age 25,000 years ago, I think we can handle a little rise in temperature, seeing as how in the last 100 years we’ve seen the greatest increases in the standard of living in the planet’s history, greatest environmental improvements, and greatest productivity in the history of mankind over that time. “You mean my Kids will never experience -30, because they’ll be basking in a balmy -28? Oh, scare my Canadian Shorts Full!!” Daryl Makk (Comedian).

Trying to eliminate all Global CO2 emissions caused by Humans is like taking one kid out of a crowded swimming pool to reduce the pee! It’s Pointless. If the planet decides it wants to cook us, it’s gonna cook us. If it decides we need to be frozen, it’ll freeze us. And there is nothing we can do about it. So why are we wasting our time and energy trying to stop something that, for all intents and purposes, can’t be stopped?? It’s a waste of precious life! All this crap is just taking away the joy of being alive. Sure, there are things you can do to make things better, but it’s economical, and time freeing, more so than anything else. Don’t have grass in your yard, unless you need it. It uses a ton of water to keep it alive. That’s fresh water we could be drinking. And your lawn mower probably runs on Gas, right? That shit’s expensive! Instead of running your AC full blast every day, if it’s not too hot, turn on a few fans and open a few windows. A natural breeze will drop the temperature in your house a few degrees. Wash your clothes in cold water. Your water heater uses a lot of energy. It will save you money. A few ideas like that. But, that’s all. A few cost saving measures, but not “Planet Saving” measures.

No one can agree on what causes Global warming, or even how bad it is. There are some scientists that say it is not happening at all. If the science is that inconclusive, if it’s possible that the weather changes in the world are a natural process, then what the fuck is all this hysteria about?

So, the big issues for me when it comes to Global Warming claims are 1) Are we causing it? I think not, but let’s say we might be. 2) Can we fix it? Well, we don’t even know if we can. We still don’t know exactly what is causing it. We need to find that out first before we jumping to any conclusions. Without all the valid Information, you can’t make a rational decision. And, 3) Even if we can fix it, we don’t know how. But I’ll tell you one thing for sure, cutting back our quality of life is not the answer. We are not going to save the planet, if indeed the planet needs to be saved, or can be saved, by Driving Slower in smaller cars. That is not the answer. I really believe that in 30 years we’re going to look back on the environmental movement like Hoola-Hoops. It’s going to just look F**kin crazy, and we’re going to wonder, “What the F**k were we thinking?”

I’m going to end part one with a quote that I particularly like:

“Is passion supposed to replace common sense? We understand the desire to join up and do something important. It’s Sexy to save the world. But, you gotta spend a couple of minutes to find out if you’re really saving the world and not just being herded around by some politically motivated assholes who may not really care that much about the environment, but see this as some chance to raise money for whatever they think is a good idea. No end justifies the means of lying. Of course there are real problems with the environment. It’s a Natural thing to want to save the world. To be the Hero. To purge the corruption. To Lead the Revolution! And revolutions are essential. Revolution gave us freedom. Revolution gave us Science. Without Revolution we shrivel, we die. But when we feel the ‘Sexy’ instinct to save the world, we’re especially vulnerable. If we don’t stop, and do our homework, we can waste our noblest instincts on Bullshit. It’s easy to feel like a hero… it’s a little harder to be one.” – Penn Jillette.

The only time of year I actully enjoy Commercials!

With the super bowl right around the corner, I figure it was time to reminisce about the best of all time.  No, not the games!  Who watches the game anymore??  I’m talking about the best Super Bowl Commercials!  In no particular order, here are the links to some of the best from the last 10 years.
 
Bridgestone Tires Aired this one in 2008.  The Screaming Squirrel!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkvI4NoUX6E&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
 
Ozzy Osbourne is classic in this ad for Best Buy.  “What the F**Ks a Beiber?!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS9sUm5Y0sg&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
 
Snickers has had some good ones over the years.  Lately the “You’re not yourself when you’re hungry”  ads have starred some very famous actors and actresses.  Here’s a few of the best Snickers ads.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbpFpjLVabA&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO_uJVL8KkA&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
Prior to that, Snickers used the “Not going anywhere for a while” bit.  It’s a classic.  Here’s a couple of my faves.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffN9jcVcH_o&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoX-HkOcEuE&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
 
The Budweiser Clydesdales are a Super Bowl Tradition.  Without a Clydesdale commercial, it’s just not the Superbowl.  This year we’re expecting a new Spot from Budweiser, so here are some of the best from years past.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veQAJ4qlltU&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qccLJ-slFI&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7FdJZQD5fM&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
Some of the greatest spots in Superbowl history have to go to Reebok for their “Terrible Terry Tate: Office Linebacker” spots.  Some spanned over 3 minutes long and took the entire commercial break.   Some of the best ever.  Check them out.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU1jra7RKCQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEr3W1SccEo&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EHhwxRls2Y&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
Pepsi has had some great ads in the past, here are a few of their best.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkgZFI4ZT0I&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRYZPXG3eBk&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N1aOZTTA-c&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyMTSr8hbow&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
 
Here’s a few Randoms that I just couldn’t leave out!
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDTZCgsZGeA&feature=youtube_gdata_player
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_zPMdJSy9w&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STb6ZSo5CPw&feature=youtube_gdata_player
(and that’s why dogs are Man’s best friend!)
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
 
Best Volkswagen Commercial ever!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R55e-uHQna0&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
 
Two of my All-time favorite commercials aired during the super bowl in 2010.  Boomdiatta!!
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at_f98qOGY0&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0jZzBEKIMc&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
Ok, well that’s some of my favorites.  I hope you enjoyed them.  Enjoy the Super Bowl everyone!!  Go Patriots!!