There are those of us who will gladly give up their freedom at the first sign of trouble. Of course one could argue that these people were never truly free in the first place - they'll simply exchange their bondage to fear for chains made of the illusion of safety.
Others will not so easily surrender to their fear or give up their liberty. How do you reach them? How do you control them?
One way is to create an environment where everyone feels responsible for everyone else - subjugate the individual to the community. When someone feels responsible for their neighbor they often act in ways they think their neighbor would approve of. Sure we're all adults here, but the reality is we all crave approval.
1981 was the year that we began hearing about the end of the world. That was the year that global cooling became global warming. Somewhere in the last 27 years a vital component was added to the fear formula of global apocalypse... Guilt (read the timeline here).
Apparently, we're all responsible for global warming. It's claimed that our use of carbon based fuels releases so much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that we turning the world into a greenhouse with a CO2 roof - at least that's the theory, the consensus of some scientists.
(Sidebar)Meanwhile, another group of scientists are beginning to worry about a very different threat - another ice age. According to these scientists, the sun is entering an 11 year period of drastically reduced sunspot activity. Historically, high sunspot activity has been correlated to periods of warming. When sunspot activity decreases so do global temperatures.
Consensus is no substitute for scientific fact. In science, even accepted fact is subject to challenge. Otherwise we'd still be living on a flat world where man would only fly if he were born with wings.
(End Sidebar)
In the same way that the Earth shivered when sunspots disappeared, the Earth warmed when sunspot activity became pronounced. The warm period about 1000 years ago known as the Medieval Warm Period — a time of bounty in which grapes grew in England and Greenland was colonized — also was a time of high sunspot activity, called the Medieval Maximum. Since 1900, Earth has experienced what astronomers call “the Modern Maximum” — the 20th century has again been a time of high sunspot activity.If you ask us, it's a heck of a lot more likely that a fusion reactor over 100 times larger than the earth with a volume over 1,000,000 times that of earth that literally holds our solar system together is responsible for cyclical changes in the earth's temperature than all of the fossil fuels ever burned. But that's just us.
But the 1900s are gone, along with the high temperatures that accompanied them. The last 10 years have seen no increase in temperatures — they reached a plateau and then remained there — and the last year saw a precipitous decline. How much lower and for how long the temperatures will fall, if at all, no one yet knows — the science is far from settled on what drives climate.
The truth is, even the most timid of us won't buy that government or any politician could protect us from the sun. However, as long as we're responsible for "climate change" government can keep us safe as long as we're willing to sacrifice, and as long as we're willing to give up our freedom.
Make no mistake, this isn't about saving the planet and it's surely not about scientific truth. It's all about the power to tell you what to drive, how much to eat, how much energy to use... how to live. These are all fundamental freedoms that are tied directly to individual achievement.
The answer is simple... Don't be afraid, don't feel guilty, and don't give up your freedom for some ill-defined, unproven, politically created threat. Use your head and demand proof. The liberty you lose will be your own as will the blame for its loss.
5 comments:
It makes no difference to me whether you believe in global warming or global cooling, if you encourage unnecessary consumption just because it makes you feel free then you are a hostile idiot. Visit a strip mine, a stockyard, a ruined river delta; take a big piggish gulp of air and say, "Oh, yeah, I want more of that. That's the smell of fundamental freedom tied directly to my individual achievement." Feel free to be a glutton with no regard for anything but your desires: should we really advise our kids to live that way?
ok, so say that global warming is a farce. We do, however, have a lot of other negative consequences of oil consumption that should make us wary of using it for everything. Such as higher rates of asthma and other lung problems caused by pollution. Such as contaminated water. Such as the destruction of wildlife. You never know when the study of a plant or animal may lead to the breakthrough of science that could lead to new cures or some other advancement of life on this planet. But with our willful blindness, we are willing to destroy it all for the momentary pleasure of driving a vehicle that gets 15 miles to the gallon.
Not to mention the independence we get from the OPEC countries when we dont need to depend on them for our home heating and transportation needs. Do you realize how much the cost of gas affects the economy? Do you realize how much the cost of basic necessities in food have gone up because of the price of shipping? Milk is 21% more expensive then just a year ago. Grains have gone up as well. These are the basic staples making it harder for everyone to get by, having many of us living pay check to pay check.
And oh yeah, the biggest investors in alternative energy are the oil companies. Why do you think that is? Maybe because they wanna be in on the beginning when we all realize that gas is not the best choice? And it doesn't cost more. In the long run, being more cost efficient. But why pay a dime now when you can pay a dollar down the line?
American’s are gluttons! And all of this is no surprise. We could learn well from Europe. Mass transit, small cars, recycling, solar and wind energy is nothing new. It’s been in place for decades.
This green crap is the American politicians feel good play for the day. The petroleum and vehicle industries have very powerful lobbyists. Maybe if the solar and wind energy companies would lobby better we’d see some major changes quick.
We certainly are ruining our environment but it is also up to every individual to do their part. Start with recycling plastics. Before you know it you’ll be recycle everything. Reuse your plastic or paper grocery bags. Better yet use the bags you get at trade shows etc.
I have an SUV I bought it years ago, it’s comfortable and convenient, but I now plan out my errands and appointments to limit my time on the road. I fill up about every 3-4 weeks. I walk or ride my bike when I can and sometimes take the bus and just deal with some very strange people.
What ever happened to trains? Fuel guzzling vehicles were made! The Rail Runner is about 40 years late from Albuquerque to Santa Fe. That stretch of highway is one of the most dangerous in the US. At least once a week, you hear in the news, that there was a fatality(s) and those are only the ones the media reports.
Solar is expensive and may never pay off, but wouldn’t it be worth it to let those Middle Eastern countries suffer the loss. Most of them hate us anyway. Why are we enabling them? Residential windmills are fairly inexpensive (around $5000) not as efficient as solar, but another alternative. Of course Marty would probably make it impossible to get permits without padding his pockets or given to the ever so corrupt ABQ-PAC.
An environment where each of us feels responsible for all of us is the OPPOSITE of an environment of fear.
This manipulation of the populace by fear - Where does that originate? Could it be from the same far-right think tubs that dispute global warming while raking in money from polluting corperations?
"Over 92% of the book length literature denying the seriousness of the major environmental problems was written by authors affiliated with the network of Conservative Think Tanks (CTTs) or actually published by a CTT itself. An examination of the CTT websites showed that environmental skepticism was a major theme in 90%, a sign of the extent to which the environmental movement has become a specific target of the Far Right."
(cf. Jacques, Dunlap and Freeman, "The organisation of denial: Conservative think tanks and environmental scepticism", Environmental Politics 17:349 - 385, 2008).
I for one thinks its pretty funny that someone who supports nutjobs like Darren White and Steve Pearce is talking about the culture of fear. Fear is all thats kept the GOP going since 2001.
How long have they had their ridiculous "terror alert level" stuck at "Orange"? Forcing mothers to throw away their bottles of breast milk is necessary for national security! Oh god they're mailing anthrax be terrified immediately!
"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." - H.L. Mencken
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