It's Getting Hot In Here
Not certain I fully agree or disagree, but I do believe as habitants of our great planet Earth, we do have a certain responsibility to be responsible. However, our challenge is to define "responsible."
Saw "An Inconvenient Truth" today. It's the Al Gore documentary that aims to make us all aware about global warming. For the most part, I liked it. A bit slow at times, but still very interesting. The song Melissa Etheridge recorded for the movie is good.
Hard to not walk out of the theater feeling alarmed. Maybe even full of despair. No need for one to be a crazy, liberal Democrat to experience these emotions. There are several factors in the movie that would be hard to argue against. It a bleak outcome as a result if behaviors don't change.
There are steps each of us can take to encourage "responsibility." For instance, through my AC issue I learned that upgrading to a higher energy efficient AC unit I will be consuming as much as 35 percent less energy than the prior AC unit. Plus, I am eligible for a $300 tax credit for the upgrade thanks to a provision in the Energy Policy Act enacted in 2005 by the U.S. Congress. Recycling, carpooling, utilizing mass transit, driving cars that get a higher mileage, planting more trees ... there's all kinds of other things each of us can do.
2 Comments:
Even though I do not dispute the fact that human beings CAN sully their own environment, I would have to mistrust Al Gore on simply that he is a politician. I am always leery of politicians in general that put out these "documentaries", because the nature of most politicians are to get elected. I know that he's retired, but he's pretty much immersed into the political realm still. Personally, when I get my information about the environment and especially fossil fuels, I turn to mechanical engineers. One of them linked me to this site of which I find great dissenting scientific analysis on. http://www.junkscience.com/Greenhouse/
The issue I have with the people that bring the environment to light is that there is only one point of view publicly known in the media. There are other dissenting scientific conclusions out there, but the one most potrayed to induce fear are used by environmentalists to change public policy into a world of their own. Instead of them actually putting EVERYTHING out there, and people making conclusions for themselves, they just put out the information that best suits their purpose. For example, ethanol actually runs at about 50% less efficiency than fossil fuels, and it being more of an alcohol derivative, it can be corrosive to the eyes and it will emit other emissions. Would it be better if we had more water in the environment? Perhaps not. What are the long term effects? I have never seen an environmentalist answer that question in regards to their own pet projects. Also, with the silly ethanol mix program that the government enacted, and thankfully the President delayed, the ethanol has to be TRUCKED in, not mixed on-site. This lack of supply has upped the cost of fuel already. Combined with the 50% less efficiency, you'll be going to the pump more often.
I just figured that you love information and since a mechanical engineer referred that to me, I thought that website would be great in at least adding to your information base. They even have government database links. They're pretty thorough.
That is great information. You are right, I do love information. Thanks for taking time to comment.
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