DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Happy Earth Day!

When were done logging out the Earth, guess we'll head for Mars.






We all should be careful not pollute and over use our resources, todays a good reminder. Don't litter, use less paper, recycle all that good stuff.

Happy Earth day....quit using energy with your PC and go plant a tree.

I want that truck, to carry around that chain saw.

I'll be sure that I drive my Powerstroke Diesel Excursion all day today and cut down a few trees in my backyard for a little spring cleaning

"Earth Day" Daily Show

"I am declaring April 25th @#$! The Earth Day" --John Stewart

hooray for the trees

April 21, 2008

No heaven on Earth Day
Wintry blast cools global warming fervour

By BROOKES MERRITT, SUN MEDIA



So much for global warming. Earth Day festivities went ahead despite the blast of frigid weather yesterday.

Vendors and presenters from various eco-friendly groups, including Bullfrog Power, CO2 Reduction Edmonton and the local solar energy society, crammed into a lone tent in Hawrelak Park after a blizzard forced them to abandon their original locations.

Organizers crammed over 40 groups in a space that would normally be occupied by half that number. Presenters' booths were initially planned to have been spread out between at least five tents, with far larger displays.

"We're normally here with a lineup of cyclists for our free bike repair service. No bikers came today. Big surprise," said Chris Field of Mountain Equipment Co-Op.

A handful of visitors still took the time to inquire about several solar-powered products on display at the M.E.C. booth and browsed several others before running off toward the lone heater in the tent to warm up.

A lemonade vendor towards the front might as well not have been there.

"Obviously we'll have fewer people than we would have liked, but to cancel an Earth Day event because of weather would kind of be the antithesis of what this is all about," said organizer Janice Boudreau.

"This isn't about celebrating just the parts of the Earth that we like, it's about celebrating all of it."

Eco-Air representative Eric Gormley couldn't convince local kids lobbying city council for an anti-idling bylaw to brave the cold yesterday, but happily stepped up on their behalf, offering stickers and information about greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.

"We're here to raise awareness of the problem, even though on a day like today you don't necessarily think of global warming," he said.

"We especially want to encourage young people in school to join us. It's the youth that have the power to make real change."


http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Edmonton/2008/04/21/pf-5343616.html

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"We especially want to encourage young people in school to join us. It's the youth that have the power to make real change."

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Translation: They are a captive audience, they are very impressionable, they succumb easily to scare tactics and parents tell them to listen to their teachers. They HAVE to believe us.

well, its gonna have to be the youth, because we already know you cant teach an old dog new tricks

Yep, poor things believe everything they are spoon fed. It's sad, but we all know most of them will one day become wiser.

I would have loved the speeches on global warming as the snow pelted them in the faces.

Why I Left Greenpeace
By PATRICK MOORE

April 22, 2008; Page A23

In 1971 an environmental and antiwar ethic was taking root in Canada, and I chose to participate. As I completed a Ph.D. in ecology, I combined my science background with the strong media skills of my colleagues. In keeping with our pacifist views, we started Greenpeace.

But I later learned that the environmental movement is not always guided by science. As we celebrate Earth Day today, this is a good lesson to keep in mind.

At first, many of the causes we championed, such as opposition to nuclear testing and protection of whales, stemmed from our scientific knowledge of nuclear physics and marine biology. But after six years as one of five directors of Greenpeace International, I observed that none of my fellow directors had any formal science education. They were either political activists or environmental entrepreneurs. Ultimately, a trend toward abandoning scientific objectivity in favor of political agendas forced me to leave Greenpeace in 1986.

The breaking point was a Greenpeace decision to support a world-wide ban on chlorine. Science shows that adding chlorine to drinking water was the biggest advance in the history of public health, virtually eradicating water-borne diseases such as cholera. And the majority of our pharmaceuticals are based on chlorine chemistry. Simply put, chlorine is essential for our health.

My former colleagues ignored science and supported the ban, forcing my departure. Despite science concluding no known health risks – and ample benefits – from chlorine in drinking water, Greenpeace and other environmental groups have opposed its use for more than 20 years.

Opposition to the use of chemicals such as chlorine is part of a broader hostility to the use of industrial chemicals. Rachel Carson's 1962 book, "Silent Spring," had a significant impact on many pioneers of the green movement. The book raised concerns, many rooted in science, about the risks and negative environmental impact associated with the overuse of chemicals. But the initial healthy skepticism hardened into a mindset that treats virtually all industrial use of chemicals with suspicion.

Sadly, Greenpeace has evolved into an organization of extremism and politically motivated agendas. Its antichlorination campaign failed, only to be followed by a campaign against polyvinyl chloride.

Greenpeace now has a new target called phthalates (pronounced thal-ates). These are chemical compounds that make plastics flexible. They are found in everything from hospital equipment such as IV bags and tubes, to children's toys and shower curtains. They are among the most practical chemical compounds in existence.

Phthalates are the new bogeyman. These chemicals make easy targets since they are hard to understand and difficult to pronounce. Commonly used phthalates, such as diisononyl phthalate (DINP), have been used in everyday products for decades with no evidence of human harm. DINP is the primary plasticizer used in toys. It has been tested by multiple government and independent evaluators, and found to be safe.

Despite this, a political campaign that rejects science is pressuring companies and the public to reject the use of DINP. Retailers such as Wal-Mart and Toys "R" Us are switching to phthalate-free products to avoid public pressure.

It may be tempting to take this path of least resistance, but at what cost? None of the potential replacement chemicals have been tested and found safe to the degree that DINP has. The Consumer Product Safety Commission recently cautioned, "If DINP is to be replaced in children's products . . . the potential risks of substitutes must be considered. Weaker or more brittle plastics might break and result in a choking hazard. Other plasticizers might not be as well studied as DINP."

The hysteria over DINP began in Europe and Israel, both of which instituted bans. Yet earlier this year, Israel realized the error of putting politics before science, and reinstated DINP.

The European Union banned the use of phthalates in toys prior to completion of a comprehensive risk assessment on DINP. That assessment ultimately concluded that the use of DINP in infant toys poses no measurable risk.

The antiphthalate activists are running a campaign of fear to implement their political agenda. They have seen success in California, with a state ban on the use of phthalates in infant products, and are pushing for a national ban. This fear campaign merely distracts the public from real environmental threats.

We all have a responsibility to be environmental stewards. But that stewardship requires that science, not political agendas, drive our public policy.


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120882720657033391.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries

George Carlin's "The Planet Is Fine"

We're so self-important. So self-important. Everybody's going to save something now. "Save the trees, save the bees, save the whales, save those snails." And the greatest arrogance of all: save the planet. What? Are these people kidding me? Save the planet, we don't even know how to take care of ourselves yet. We haven't learned how to care for one another, we're gonna save the planet?

I'm getting tired of that. Tired of that. I'm tired of Earth Day, I'm tired of these self-righteous environmentalists, these white, bourgeois liberals who think the only thing wrong with this country is there aren't enough bicycle paths. People trying to make the world save for their Volvos. Besides, environmentalists don't care about the planet. They don't care about the planet. Not in the abstract they don't. Not in the abstract they don't. You know what they're interested in? A clean place to live. Their own habitat. They're worried that some day in the future, they might be personally inconvenienced. Narrow, unenlightened self-interest doesn't impress me.

Besides, there is nothing wrong with the planet. Nothing wrong with the planet. The planet is fine. The PEOPLE are IN TROUBLE. Difference. Difference. The planet is fine. Compared to the people, the planet is doing great. Been here four and a half billion years. Did you ever think about the arithmetic? The planet has been here four and a half billion years. We've been here, what, a hundred thousand? Maybe two hundred thousand? And we've only been engaged in heavy industry for a little over two hundred years. Two hundred years versus four and a half billion. And we have the CONCEIT to think that somehow we're a threat? That somehow we're gonna put in jeopardy this beautiful little blue-green ball that's just a-floatin' around the sun?

The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been through all kinds of things worse than us. Been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drift, solar flares, sun spots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles...hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors, worlwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages...And we think some plastic bags, and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference? The planet...the planet...the planet isn't going anywhere.

WE ARE!

We're going away. Pack your bags, folks. We're going away. And we won't leave much of a trace, either. Thank God for that. Maybe a little styrofoam. Maybe. A little styrofoam. The planet'll be here and we'll be long gone. Just another failed mutation. Just another closed-end biological mistake. An evolutionary cul-de-sac. The planet'll shake us off like a bad case of fleas. A surface nuisance.

You wanna know how the planet's doing? Ask those people at Pompeii, who are frozen into position from volcanic ash, how the planet's doing. You wanna know if the planet's all right, ask those people in Mexico City or Armenia or a hundred other places buried under thousands of tons of earthquake rubble, if they feel like a threat to the planet this week. Or how about those people in Kilowaia, Hawaii, who built their homes right next to an active volcano, and then wonder why they have lava in the living room.

The planet will be here for a long, long, LONG time after we're gone, and it will heal itself, it will cleanse itself, 'cause that's what it does. It's a self-correcting system. The air and the water will recover, the earth will be renewed, and if it's true that plastic is not degradable, well, the planet will simply incorporate plastic into a new pardigm: the earth plus plastic. The earth doesn't share our prejudice towards plastic. Plastic came out of the earth. The earth probably sees plastic as just another one of its children. Could be the only reason the earth allowed us to be spawned from it in the first place. It wanted plastic for itself. Didn't know how to make it. Needed us. Could be the answer to our age-old egocentric philosophical question, "Why are we here?" Plastic.

So, the plastic is here, our job is done, we can be phased out now. And I think that's begun. Don't you think that's already started? I think, to be fair, the planet sees us as a mild threat. Something to be dealt with. And the planet can defend itself in an organized, collective way, the way a beehive or an ant colony can. A collective defense mechanism. The planet will think of something. What would you do if you were the planet? How would you defend yourself against this troublesome, pesky species? Let's see... Viruses. Viruses might be good. They seem vulnerable to viruses. And, uh...viruses are tricky, always mutating and forming new strains whenever a vaccine is developed. Perhaps, this first virus could be one that compromises the immune system of these creatures. Perhaps a human immunodeficiency virus, making them vulnerable to all sorts of other diseases and infections that might come along. And maybe it could be spread sexually, making them a little reluctant to engage in the act of reproduction.

Well, that's a poetic note. And it's a start. And I can dream, can't I? See I don't worry about the little things: bees, trees, whales, snails. I think we're part of a greater wisdom than we will ever understand. A higher order. Call it what you want. Know what I call it? The Big Electron. The Big Electron...whoooa. Whoooa. Whoooa. It doesn't punish, it doesn't reward, it doesn't judge at all. It just is. And so are we.

For a little while.

That's an interesting article, Jules. But I wish he hadn't brought up whaling in the 3rd paragraph. Do you think he thinks it SHOULDN'T be stopped?

I'm not the bleeding heart, "tree hugger" type, but I think whaling is absolutely disgusting and unnecessary. And I could care less about cultural differences.

No, he is saying that is one of the issues that brought him to Greenpeace, I'm not sure what you are reading into that.

To celebrate Earth Day, I walked to work this morning. Then again, I walk to work every day. So......I guess it's like any other day.

Maybe I'll rewear some underwear to save a cycle in the washer and dryer. That might benefit the Earth.

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Maybe I'll rewear some underwear to save a cycle in the washer and dryer. That might benefit the Earth.

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your family might beg to differ.....

On a positive note, I planted 13 bushes, 6 ground cover plants, and a floral tree Saturday. I did my part.

I try and save trees every fall, I shoot a buck in deer season.

The extremist envrio's are so incredibly dumb its quite sad, global warming involves almost no science....they claim a 1 degree rise in the planet temps over 100 years spells out humans as the cause. Nevermind that 1 degree is the margin for error in planet temp readings. Nevermind that the greenhouse effect is a theory and not proven to be the cause of anything but smog.

These same people bash to major energy companies that produce oil and coal, they blame them for the lack of alternative engergy sources, yet they are the only ones commiting billions to find new energy resources. Oil companies are greedy, they are ruining our economy but alternative energy doesn't change that one bit.

The energy companies will charge just as much if not more for new energy resources down the road, I love how enviro's assume and advertise new energy resources will be free, and that big companies won't be intrested in them.

The whole thing is a total political, money making scam that is working like mad. It's making billions, and most of that money is being pocketed by the heads of these groups, then spent on their jets, suv's, huge houses, boats...etc.

I'm going to do my part. I'm going to dig a hole and pour the oil from my oil change into the ground so as to put it back where it came from.

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I live in Edmonton...Its been snowing for 3 days non-stop.... One week ago, it was almost +20 (not sure what that is in Fahrenheit.) It *$&# sucks.

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I believe 2.5 degrees fahrenheit is somewhat close to 1 degree celsius. So that would be 82 degrees or so?

If I'm wrong I'm sure someone will correct me.

http://www.wbuf.noaa.gov/tempfc.htm

68 F.

Tc = (5/9)*(Tf-32);

Tc = temperature in degrees Celsius,
Tf = temperature in degrees Fahrenheit

earth at night

I think I see Jules.

I'm the one with the lights on.

They HAD to take the picture the night I was having a little party.

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I think I see Jules.

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Are you saying she's the flickering light in a world of darkness

Yea, let's go with that.

but this is Earth Day... get a new photo.

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"Why are we here?" Plastic.

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Just another reason that Africa is called the "dark continent".

on the subject, I was thinking the other day, why dont office buildings have windows that open and close? Jay leno actually did a skecth about this last night. That would have to take a huge portion out of an bulidings heating and cooling costs.

What would the reasons be that your average office building does not have windows that open, at least partially?

The only reasons I could think of would be people opening and closing windows when they shouldnt, allergies or possibly affecting employye production?

Anyone else have an idea with this one?

Partly for security, partly for energy efficiency, partly for employee comfort.

Employees may open the window, then forget to close it before they go home.

Employees who may not be in the same temperature comfort level as others may open the window while the A/C or Heat is running to suit their own needs.

And as you said, for reasons of air quality, etc.

It is generally easier to assume the building is sealed and run the A/c or heat than to assume people will open and close windows as needed. Not to mention skyscrapers have wind issues to deal with. Wouldn't you be ticked if that report you spent days working on, just blew off your desk because the guy across the way opened his window.

Then add in cost effectiveness. That a non-operating window is cheaper and less maintenance than an operating window.

i knew there was a reason, nicely played