Today, I woke up angry.
In fact, I went to sleep angry after my day yesterday and it didn't subside even after a full night's sleep. Why you may ask? Because of the environment and the idiots that threaten in every day.
Last night, on the late news, I saw that the Province of British Columbia has signed a deal with the Nisga'a first nation to fund a study of the economic, social and environmental impact of tapping into the reserves of offshore oil off the coast of this beautiful province of mine. Are they insane? Do they need an study to know what the effects are? If so, they all need their heads examined!
I probably shouldn't have stayed up and watched the news considering that I went to see An Inconvenient Truth last night. Has anyone else out there seen this film? I'd be interested to hear what you think about it.
While watching the film, I couldn't help thinking that if people were shocked by this or that they were surprised by some of the facts & figures, then they really have had their heads up their asses. None of this was really new for me, being the environmentally-aware person that I am, and I just felt that, while the film definitely had a message that people should listen to, there are far more sources of this accessible information out there. And, looking around at the people who were watching, it was very much a case of preaching to the converted.
In Canada, we have this scientist named David Suzuki who has a television show about science that has been on for years. From the age of 14, I have listened to him speak and watched his show and found that he speaks in layman's terms to get his message out there. In grade 9, I saw him speak and was totally blown away - which is a lot to say when you know that I wasn't a science geek at all. From that first encounter, Suzuki had this message about the environment and the planet. That was over 25 years ago and I have known about it from then.
So why is it that the average person doesn't know this stuff?
I am beginning the think that is because they don't remove their head from their ass except perhaps to watch an episode or two of American Idol. This information is available on television, in the newspaper and by word of mouth. Yet, it doesn't seem to be reaching the masses which makes me think that there is just nothing at stake as far as the average joe is concerned.
The truth is that there IS something at stake. It's the planet and as residents of that planet, we have a personal responsibility to protect it. Instead, we ride around in our SUVs, supporting multinationals that are out there to make a buck or ten from us (who give little thought to the state of the planet) and are not paying attention to what's really important.
I think that Al Gore's film has an important message for those who go day-to-day and do not put much thought into the effects of global warming. It seems that this is an important film for many Americans because they may not have access to these sources of information in that the media there does have a definite closedness to it. Kind of like it is very one-sided and alternative opinions are not provided. (This is just an observation by one who visits there from time to time and notices differences between the US and my country). However, no one really has an excuse not to know the effects and the current levels of devastation of global warming unless they live somewhere that has no tv, newspapers or word-of-mouth.
In my opinion, this film should be free, having the costs covered by those who produced it and Mr. Gore and that the 5% of the proceeds that was being collected by the film should become a small required donation by the patrons of the film. That said though, if you are going to see it, then you should. I hope that, if you do go to see it that you take someone who isn't already one of the "converted". You might help them learn something.
The message is clear. Human consumption patterns, big industry and the lifestyles we live today are causing global warming. The effects are, and will continue to be devastating to the planet. Hurricane, tornados, flooding and many other natural disasters are a direct effect of global warming. It's your responsibility to learn about it and do your best to stop it.
And for those idiots out there who are toying with the idea of offshore drilling here? Forget it. Why don't you spend your time, money and energy investigating how we can curb our addiction on fossil fuels and leave the earth alone. (Hey, anyone else out there think that, once they start drilling, we'll have more frequent and more violent eartquakes along the three fault lines we live around?)
In fact, I went to sleep angry after my day yesterday and it didn't subside even after a full night's sleep. Why you may ask? Because of the environment and the idiots that threaten in every day.
Last night, on the late news, I saw that the Province of British Columbia has signed a deal with the Nisga'a first nation to fund a study of the economic, social and environmental impact of tapping into the reserves of offshore oil off the coast of this beautiful province of mine. Are they insane? Do they need an study to know what the effects are? If so, they all need their heads examined!
I probably shouldn't have stayed up and watched the news considering that I went to see An Inconvenient Truth last night. Has anyone else out there seen this film? I'd be interested to hear what you think about it.
While watching the film, I couldn't help thinking that if people were shocked by this or that they were surprised by some of the facts & figures, then they really have had their heads up their asses. None of this was really new for me, being the environmentally-aware person that I am, and I just felt that, while the film definitely had a message that people should listen to, there are far more sources of this accessible information out there. And, looking around at the people who were watching, it was very much a case of preaching to the converted.
In Canada, we have this scientist named David Suzuki who has a television show about science that has been on for years. From the age of 14, I have listened to him speak and watched his show and found that he speaks in layman's terms to get his message out there. In grade 9, I saw him speak and was totally blown away - which is a lot to say when you know that I wasn't a science geek at all. From that first encounter, Suzuki had this message about the environment and the planet. That was over 25 years ago and I have known about it from then.
So why is it that the average person doesn't know this stuff?
I am beginning the think that is because they don't remove their head from their ass except perhaps to watch an episode or two of American Idol. This information is available on television, in the newspaper and by word of mouth. Yet, it doesn't seem to be reaching the masses which makes me think that there is just nothing at stake as far as the average joe is concerned.
The truth is that there IS something at stake. It's the planet and as residents of that planet, we have a personal responsibility to protect it. Instead, we ride around in our SUVs, supporting multinationals that are out there to make a buck or ten from us (who give little thought to the state of the planet) and are not paying attention to what's really important.
I think that Al Gore's film has an important message for those who go day-to-day and do not put much thought into the effects of global warming. It seems that this is an important film for many Americans because they may not have access to these sources of information in that the media there does have a definite closedness to it. Kind of like it is very one-sided and alternative opinions are not provided. (This is just an observation by one who visits there from time to time and notices differences between the US and my country). However, no one really has an excuse not to know the effects and the current levels of devastation of global warming unless they live somewhere that has no tv, newspapers or word-of-mouth.
In my opinion, this film should be free, having the costs covered by those who produced it and Mr. Gore and that the 5% of the proceeds that was being collected by the film should become a small required donation by the patrons of the film. That said though, if you are going to see it, then you should. I hope that, if you do go to see it that you take someone who isn't already one of the "converted". You might help them learn something.
The message is clear. Human consumption patterns, big industry and the lifestyles we live today are causing global warming. The effects are, and will continue to be devastating to the planet. Hurricane, tornados, flooding and many other natural disasters are a direct effect of global warming. It's your responsibility to learn about it and do your best to stop it.
And for those idiots out there who are toying with the idea of offshore drilling here? Forget it. Why don't you spend your time, money and energy investigating how we can curb our addiction on fossil fuels and leave the earth alone. (Hey, anyone else out there think that, once they start drilling, we'll have more frequent and more violent eartquakes along the three fault lines we live around?)
3 Comments:
I know what you mean. But, I think that we can only keep trying!
Thanks for dropping by!
it is going to be very difficult to stop the money machines from drilling....look what the loggers have done. very sad business.
I can still put my energy into that fight... It's worth it as far as I'm concerned however, I do know what you are saying Mister Anchovy!
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