Monday, April 04, 2011
Shooting The Messenger
What happens when you go off the conservative script. Just a few weeks ago Anthony Watts, who runs a prominent climate denialist Web site, praised the Berkeley project and piously declared himself “prepared to accept whatever result they produce, even if it proves my premise wrong.” But never mind: once he knew that Professor Muller was going to present those preliminary results, Mr. Watts dismissed the hearing as “post normal science political theater.” And one of the regular contributors on his site dismissed Professor Muller as “a man driven by a very serious agenda.” Of course, it’s actually the climate deniers who have the agenda, and nobody who’s been following this discussion believed for a moment that they would accept a result confirming global warming. But it’s worth stepping back for a moment and thinking not just about the science here, but about the morality. For years now, large numbers of prominent scientists have been warning, with increasing urgency, that if we continue with business as usual, the results will be very bad, perhaps catastrophic. They could be wrong. But if you’re going to assert that they are in fact wrong, you have a moral responsibility to approach the topic with high seriousness and an open mind. After all, if the scientists are right, you’ll be doing a great deal of damage. But what we had, instead of high seriousness, was a farce: a supposedly crucial hearing stacked with people who had no business being there and instant ostracism for a climate skeptic who was actually willing to change his mind in the face of evidence. As I said, no surprise: as Upton Sinclair pointed out long ago, it’s difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it. I'm paraphrasing here, but I recently read somewhere that the Republicans deny basic science for political reasons. AS its been said before, you are entitled to your own opinions, but you are not entitled to your own facts.
Labels: climate change, enviroment, global warming
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Dirty Old Street
I make it a point to try and pick up at least one piece of litter a day. I figure if everyone did this, we wouldn't have a litter problem. As part of my effort, I decided to document (and pick up) the litter on my street. I managed half a block before my medium sized plastic garbage bag was filled. Guess I need either a bigger bag, or take more bags with me (and my street is only 2 blocks long).
All litter is unsightly, but in some cases, these litterbugs are literally throwing money away. Aluminum cans, for example. About 22 empty aluminum cans equals a pound, and I get anywhere from 60 to 75 cents a pound for cans at my local scrapyard. A large plastic yardbag filled with crushed aluminum cans nets me anywhere from 18 to 20 dollars once I fill it, and I keep a large trash can out back just for cans.
So there's some incentive. If you don't like looking at what the pics below represent, your efforts can yield a little extra pocket cash. Grab a bag, and start picking up!
All litter is unsightly, but in some cases, these litterbugs are literally throwing money away. Aluminum cans, for example. About 22 empty aluminum cans equals a pound, and I get anywhere from 60 to 75 cents a pound for cans at my local scrapyard. A large plastic yardbag filled with crushed aluminum cans nets me anywhere from 18 to 20 dollars once I fill it, and I keep a large trash can out back just for cans.
So there's some incentive. If you don't like looking at what the pics below represent, your efforts can yield a little extra pocket cash. Grab a bag, and start picking up!
Labels: enviroment, garbage, litter, trash
