First off, the light bulb is not burned out, and even if it was,
it is not MY fault so why should I change it?
Besides, it is far too expensive for me to change a light blub.
Why are light Nazis always trying to get me to change my bulb?
Also, we are not taking into account all of the wonderful benefits of living in the dark!
Oh, and you don’t see the Chinese changing THEIR light bulbs do you? Well do you?
I have come to the conclusion that the majority of our world governments are run by sociopaths, defined by the American Psychiatric Association’s as, “a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others.” At the same time another segment of our representatives are delusional… meaning “a disorder characterized by the presence of recurrent, insight to see that anything is wrong with the way they are thinking or functioning.”
What should be considered a global crisis is being viewed as yet another money maker for the oil industry. Recently Green Peace International sent the crew of the Arctic Sunrise ship to draw public attention to the melting of the Arctic ice caps. They were arrested by Russian authorities and are accused of “piracy” against an oil platform. Greenpeace International Executive Director Kumi Naidoo said in a statement, “The Arctic is melting before our eyes, and these brave activists stand in defiance of those who wish to exploit this unfolding crisis to drill for more oil.” Russia views its huge fossil fuel deposits under the Arctic as vital to its economic future, which is why it takes any threat to their exploitation very seriously”, the BBC’s Daniel Sandford reported from Moscow. The Arctic seems to be the next “gold rush” with Russia being the first to stake their claim in 2001.
Russia is not the only country to blame for the mess we are in. The United States, China, The UK and Europe are all to blame, or at least the sociopath leaders of these countries are the ones who allow the polluters to continue. Scientists have warned of this looming catastrophe for decades and world leaders have turned a blind eye to the problem, however they do seem to listen to the naysayers, whose agenda is to continue using the planet as their own atm machine and toilet. For them its business as usual, whether its drilling for oil, fracking, spewing coal into the atmosphere or nuclear energy. These leaders have no regard for the rights of anyone else except those who send them fat checks during election time. Corporations now have more rights — thanks to Citizens United — than citizens of the world and don’t get me started about what they are doing to the wildlife habitat.
To Hell with all of us, money is the name of the game and the one who ends up with the most at the end …wins! Money is more important than living in a healthy environment. The ones who are destroying our environment portray themselves as good businessmen while the ones with the courage to expose them are treated as criminals. The polluters should be the ones in jail, not the other way around.
It doesn’t matter if the government leader is democratic or communist, both are run by the rich and both have no consideration for anyone but themselves. Both are consumed with the desire for endless money and power. When disaster hits home they wring their hands, while saying they have things under control, when the opposite is really true.
Just look at Fukushima. Their crippled nuclear reactor is still dumping radioactive waste into the Pacific Ocean after its meltdown 2 years ago, and are you aware that our oceans will be affected in less than a year? Their environmental disaster could soon become our problem, especially if you eat fish. As of now, there is no solution to stopping the leaking radioactive waste. Isn’t that comforting?
2006 it was BP that made headlines with their Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The spill wasn’t contained for a 100 days and to this day Louisiana has not fully recovered. It could take decades for the deep sea eco system to recover. How many more environmental crisis’s will it take before we stop our behavior?
Our world leaders have no desire to really do anything except occasionally give “lip service” about the problem, then its right back to business as usual. Will they finally stop this madness when its their own homes flooding or their own kids dying from environmental illnesses? They certainly don’t seem to care about the future of our kids.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) just released their report and agreed that human activity are the cause for climate change and that even if we stopped releasing carbon emissions into the atmosphere today, we will still feel the effects for a long time to come…meaning continued erratic weather patterns and rising sea levels. Below is a photo of a street in downtown Miami. Its not raining, the streets flood twice a day due to high tides! Can you imagine dealing with that on a daily basis? And the streets will continue to flood as seas continue to rise from the ice caps melting.
The state of Texas has experienced severe drought since 2010. The state also has a high number of fracking sites which are fighting citizens over the precious water rights. It takes a great deal of water to frack and when there is severe drought, who gets the water? You guessed it; big oil and gas. The corporations get what they want while farms are left bone dry with dead cattle. What happened to our priorities? We can’t eat oil or maybe no one sent Governor Rick Perry that memo. Its not just farms that are suffering, whole towns will be soon be out of water.
Even though there is now scientific evidence that proves climate change there are the naysayers like Rush Limbaugh, who said on his radio show, “See, in my humble opinion, folks, if you believe in God, then intellectually you cannot believe in manmade global warming … You must be either agnostic or atheistic to believe that man controls something that he can’t create.”
Colorado pastor and radio talk show host Kevin Swanson blamed the floods in Colorado on abortion, the legalization of marijuana, and “decadent homosexual activity, ” not climate change.
But it isn’t just delusional talk show hosts who spew this nonsense, according to an article by “Opposing Views,” many Americans have failed to take action about climate change because they believe that the world will be coming to an end anyway. In their study, titled “End-Times Theology, the Shadow of the Future, and Public Resistance to Addressing Global Climate Change,” David C. Barker of the University of Pittsburgh and David H. Bearce of the University of Colorado argue that citizens who believe in the end of days “often resist policies trading short-term costs for hypothetical long-term benefits.” (And this is where it gets really scary)… “[T]he fact that such an overwhelming percentage of Republican citizens profess a belief in the Second Coming (76 percent in 2006, according to our sample) suggests that governmental attempts to curb greenhouse emissions would encounter stiff resistance even if every Democrat in the country wanted to curb them,” Barker and Bearce wrote in the study.
There is one religious leader who has the guts to stand up for the environment and that’s Pope Francis. The 76 year old described the church’s mission as “respecting each of God’s creatures and respecting the environment in which we live.” But he seems to be the only one among a sea of thousands who deny anything is wrong.
Its one thing for talk show hosts and fundamentalist religious groups to deny climate change or see it as a sign from God, but when the ones who make laws believe this nonsense we are in trouble! Last April, Republican Congressman, Joe Barton told at the Subcommittee on Energy and Power hearing that would give Congress the authority approve the Keystone pipeline, “If you believe in the Bible, one would have to say the Great Flood is an example of climate change. That certainly wasn’t because man had overdeveloped hydrocarbon energy.”
Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, who sits on the House Science Committee, argued that climate change was a ‘total fraud’ and a pretext by liberals to create world government.
Speaking before a House Energy Subcommittee on Energy and Environment hearing in March, 2009, Republican Congressman John Shimkus, said we should not worry about the Earth being destroyed because God promised Noah after the Great Flood, it wouldn’t happen again.
And this is just the short list of nutcases we elected to represent us! Let’s say for a minute this is true. Doesn’t the Bible have several verses about being good stewards? Is this how we show our gratitude to an almighty God, by crapping all over the place he built for us to live? Aren’t we supposed to take care of the planet?
So on the one hand we have sociopaths who exploit the planet and all living creatures for the sake of money. On the other hand we have delusional nutcases refusing to admit to the destruction we humans are doing because they think God is handling it. Both groups seem to be in charge and what few who remain with any sort of input (like from Congress) seem to be going along for the ride. How can we possibly put together a real plan to stop this catastrophe when we are fighting against this type of delusional, sociopathic thinking?
There has to be some moderate Christian believers that want to do something to stop climate change. Isn’t there? Maybe not. According to Anthony Leiserowitz, Research Scientist and Director of the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication, Christians no longer deny climate change but they don’t see it as a bad thing. In the world-view of the religious, there is a theological escape-hatch that will engage so as to avoid the most catastrophic of predicaments. When it comes to being devastated by hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, land-slides, earthquakes, and other assorted disasters, there’s never any shortage of Christians who say: “Well, I know that God is good and this somehow fits into his plan.”.
What kind of attitude is that besides delusional? I got news for them — there is no escaping Earth. This is it. No Mars landing. No Moon landing. No repopulating another planet. What happens to one, happens to all. If this one goes, we go. This is not some Hollywood Sci-fi movie. Its real life!
There has to be more going on here than just ones religious views. I understand the thinking of one who stands to lose a great deal of money by complying with environmental standards, but everyday people? This might shed some light. Bryan Walsh came up with an interesting theory in “Time Magazine’s Science and Space“:
… Even in places like Western Europe, where belief in climate science tends to be much stronger, it’s hard to build support for the actual steps to reduce carbon emissions. Human beings have a hard time dealing not just with pain, but also with long-term problems, especially ones that don’t necessarily show immediate effects. Whether it’s planning for retirement or losing weight, we find it too easy to disregard very clear science — and disregard our long-term health — in order to satiate our immediate desires. There’s no excuse for the sort of half-fictions and outright lies that too often make up the climate-change-denial machine, but it’s human psychology — as much as politics — that’s preventing us from dealing with one of the greatest threats the species faces. The most powerful denial machine of all may be the one inside our heads.
But even so, are we willing to throw away the future of their children because some guy wrote something in a book thousands of years ago, when the author believed the earth was flat, or are we apathetic, since most of us have not experienced catastrophic events… yet? Are we willing to stand by and allow these sociopaths and nutcases destroy our planet, or are we willing to stand up to them and do something about it?
Inge, I’m a member of a mainline Christian denomination (albeit not Roman Catholic) who thinks God will indeed judge us by what kind of world we leave our kids When the Bible said he made human stewards over nature, the word “steward” implies responsible and ethical management, just we expect financial advisors to be good stewards of our 401(k)’s. I think the right-wing nutballs who cherry-pick Biblical verses to justify their greed and ignorance are abusing the Bible to fit their warped world-views. If you read Jesus words about the “end times”, He was really reminding us we will all, individually, be called on to account for our actions on earth, at a time we least expect. Brian McLaren, a leader of the emergent church movement, is a passionate environmentalist as well. So there are a sizable number of Christians who believe we have a duty to our posterity that is just as important as any other duty to our faith.
Funny thing is, Jesus warned us not to “store up treasures that moths will eat and rust destroy.” If the right-wingers are so convinced the end times are just around the corner, why are they so obsessed with storing up those very things?
Inge, there is an increasing number of faith based organizations aware of this problem
“Over the last several years many of us have engaged in study, reflection, and prayer related to the issue of climate change (often called “global warming”). For most of us, until recently this has not been treated as a pressing issue or major priority. Indeed, many of us have required considerable convincing before becoming persuaded that climate change is a real problem and that it ought to matter to us as Christians. But now we have seen and heard enough to offer the following moral argument related to the matter of human-induced climate change.”
http://christiansandclimate.org/statement/
I’m glad to see that there are more people of faith that want to do something about man’s contribution to global warming.
Unfortunately, we mostly hear from the religious whack jobs that are hoping that the end is near. I think that is Inge’s point.
That’s because they are the loudest, shrillest voices and the mainstream media chooses to give them a platform. As Gericault aptly points out, some people choose not to be shrill; they quietly go about their work.
It’s the same way with politicians. We hear mostly about the crazies and very little about the genuinely good elected officials who are doing good work.
Another article on skeptical”
Lord Nicolas Stern told the Guardian: “It is astonishing, irrational and unscientific to suggest the risks are small. How can they say they know the risks are small? The clear conclusion from 200 years of climate science and observations show a strong association between carbon dioxide rises and global surface temperature
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/sep/24/lord-stern-climate-change-sceptics-irrational
You’ll all have to excuse Inge…she never misses a chance to overgeneralize about people of faith.
I’d rather excuse you if you weren’t overgeneralizing her position.
She asks the question “There has to be some moderate Christian believers that want to do something to stop climate change. Isn’t there?” then answers it by saying “maybe not” and leaving it at that.
In you can point out the balanced presentation of evidence in that (some of which is presented here in comments), I’ll gladly retract my comment.
Just as soon as you retract “overgeneralize about people of faith” and replace it with something more appropriate in light of your example of a weighty beef.
I mean, “moderate Christian” is more a specialization than a generalization, is it not?
You must be new here.
She consistently (in this post and others) overgeneralizes about Christians, and last I checked, they are people of faith.
There’s nothing to retract.
She does the same thing with politicians, suggesting they’re worthless and we should throw them all out and start over. Shut it all down and default.
She’s prone to these sorts of overgeneralizations.
New or not, her specific comment on the matter is what one should be commenting on.
Yes, doubling down is a better strategy. Leaves no doubt
There are a lot of Christians that are aware of climate change. There are a lot of Christians that care about being proper stewards of our planet. There are also many that believe in healthcare for the sick, resources for the poor, teaching and feeding our children, and caring for our elderly. I’m one of them.
Don’t confuse the louder volume of the religious right with politics or being a Christian.
Many from the “Right” wrap themselves in a flag and grab a bible to further their political dogma.
The Left just doesn’t play it the same way……..
Only if you show that the louder volume does not correlate with the politics of a significant number of Christians, viz, the intersection of Christians and denialists is almost the same as the union
Anon, et. al. I really didn’t think Inge was making a generalization; merely an observation. As Gericault said, the other side might be louder, but that neither makes them the majority nor right. There are lots of us who go about our work without feeling the need to shout all the time.
IPCC Admits Global Warming Has Ceased
September 16, 2013 • 9:50AM
A leaked study by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concedes that predictions for global warming have been proved to be inaccurate, the Sunday Telegraph reports. The IPCC report reflects dismay and confusion among global warming activists, and it may have to be revised before publication to explain why the panel has failed to account for the “pause” in Earth’s warming, in which no significant global temperature rise has occurred since 1997.
The Mail Online reports that ice currently covers 60% more of the Arctic Ocean than in 2012, despite earlier claims that the Arctic would be ice-free by 2013.
http://larouchepac.com/node/28155
Like the Arctic ice sheet itself, we’ve covered this in greater depth before.
Please inform the LaRouchies of the following:
(1) “extent of ice coverage” is a different (and less important measure) than depth of ice coverage (and, presumably, some combination of the above”
(2) Given that temperature does fluctuate from year to year, even within the range of continued warning overall, I find it highly unlikely that any responsible agency made a definitive prediction that the Arctic “would be” ice-free in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, or any other specific year. The prediction is that there is a rapid trend in that direction — but even if true, an occasional year (such as 2019, to pick one arbitrarily) may be an exception. So if they have the wording of these “earlier claims,” they should please quote them.
http://www.google.com “prediction that the Arctic to be ice free”
http://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/ice-free-arctic-forecasts/
Numerous sources
Do you own work, Robert. For now, I’m presuming that your last line means “numerous lousy or misquoted sources.”
The warming of the planet is amply demonstrated in the consistent retreat of glaciers across the Northern Hemisphere. Situational cold spells may bring joy to the deniers but are not statistically relevant. The extent to which greenhouse gases are hastening the warming effect is debatable but one thing isn’t – the increase in carbon emissions is a contributing factor.
There are lots of fools who still deny evolution and round-earthness.