Beam me to Planet Gore !
Posted on 01/03/2009 4:50:04 PM PST by crazyhorse691
As we begin a New Year, please join me in taking the Climate Change challenge personally. By resolving to get active in your community and make small but important changes in your daily life, you'll not only get to know your neighbors better, but you'll also get connected to a global effort to keep the world a beautiful place for future generations.
While there's been a lot of discussion about Climate Change and its effects, I believe there's enough scientific agreement around how and why the Earth's climate is changing to begin taking action. No matter what happens, climate-wise, we need a longer-term vision and a more sustainable, global strategy of stewardship.
When starting a campaign to combat Climate Change, the same question often arises: "What can' I possibly do in my life to affect the world's climate?" Well, for a start, you and your neighbors can reduce your community's collective "Carbon Footprint." I know what you're thinking: "My carbon what?!" Well, as U.S. residents, we each generate about 6.5 tons (15,000 pounds carbon equivalent) of greenhouse gases per person, per year. More than 80% of these emissions are from burning fossil fuels to generate electricity, heat our homes and power our cars.
By that by making some simple changes in our daily lives, we can make a big difference. For example, the two areas that give us the most Climate Change "bang-for-the-buck" are: how we use energy to heat and power our homes and how we make daily transportation choices.
With that in mind, here are three ways to consider focusing your personal Climate Change effort in 2009:
1. Is This Trip Really Necessary? - Saving fuel means saving money, so consider combining your physical and fiscal resolutions by walking or biking more as you fight Climate Change. You can also try other Carbon Footprint-shrinking strategies like: carpooling or taking mass transit; choosing a hybrid or "greener" car; keeping your car maintained and tires properly inflated and avoiding "race car" starts. For more transportation ideas, take a moment and check out our EPA SmartWay http://www.epa.gov/smartway/ website for more ideas. To go a step further, encourage your community's planners and elected officials to adopt SmartGrowth development principles http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/ to reduce landscape-gobbling sprawl, which means less vehicle-miles-traveled and smaller Carbon Footprints!
2. Power Down - by insulating your home, upgrading to energy efficient windows and lighting and lowering your thermostat, you can reduce your power bill and shrink your carbon footprint at the same time! Shop for Energy Star http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home.index qualified appliances, since they're up to 40% more efficient than their non-qualified counterparts. Remember: "Saving drops, saves watts," so look for the WaterSense http://www.epa.gov/watersense/index.htm logo when installing faucet aerators, low-flow showerheads, and low-flush toilets to cut water use. Finally, by re-energizing our "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" efforts, we can see real energy cost reductions from consumption and disposal.
3. Join Forces - look for a local Climate Change action group in your area and join or support their work. In the Portland area, the Oregon Environmental Council is leading the charge to reduce the city's Carbon Footprint with their "Global Warming Solutions" Campaign http://www.oeconline.org/our-work/climate. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality's Climate Change website http://www.deq.state.or.us/aq/climate/index.htm can also help jumpstart your neighborhood campaign.
Join the global movement to protect our home. Make this your year for personal Climate Change action. It's the only resolution that will reap a planetary reward.
Miller is regional administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in Seattle.
You might wish to ping everybody to this one.
Nope, no fires.
Sure. That's what Algore does -- isn't it?
“Progressives” is not the correct name for these whacked out morons. “Primitives” would be more appropriate. Maybe we could appease the weather gods by building another Stonehenge or something.
“Nope, no fires.”
Thats why he said pictures of fires.
Coming soon to a theater near you. How to make a teepee without killing an animal or using any wood.
I’ve had it up to here with these a—holes (points to top of head). Have this guy stop and see me, I’ll show him a carbon footprint.
Assimilate. Assimilate. Resistance is futile...
The best things liberals can do is sit in their dark unheated unlit homes and do nothing. Certainly no TV or no computer. Reading a book during the daylight hours is acceptable. But any physical activity which causes you to breath more is out of the question.
Perhaps we should nickname Gore 'Sasquatch' since his footprint is so large.
Problem is, the first 2 reccomendations make sense, and should be adopted by any wise steward of this earth God has given us. But to couch it all in carbob footprint-climate change malarky makes me want to buy a Hummer and leave it idling in a jungle, er, rainforest just out of spite!
"I don't know whether to laugh or vomit."
-Hank Hill
Mr. niteowl77
And just what does all of this “conservation” mean?
In reality it means you need permits and tons of paperwork to put in so much as a drainage ditch. That is “environmentalism.”
Oh and here in NH the state government took private property five miles from a highway project because of EPA mandated wetlands “mitigation.”
Also, see tagline.
How is all of this going to affect the formation of sun spots, which are the real engine of warming and cooling?
By all means, let’s all freeze together, and then let’s all suffer heat stroke together — misery loves company, and Gaia demands it.
4. Shoot yourself.
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