The Environment. Well, What's Left of it Anyway.

I repeat myself a lot. Probably because I happen to find myself entertaining and love reading my own words. But, I like to think that it is also because I want people to remember certain concepts. One of those concepts is that the truth is more often than not somewhere in the middle of the opposed perspectives.

For this topic I'm not going to use the word "opinions". Instead I'll abuse the piss out of "perspective". The reason is simple. Unlike a lot of other topics that rely more on theory than imperical data, the big-ticket envronmental issues do not. There is a shit-pot-full of data floating around leading to some fairly compelling conclusions.

I know, I know, some of you are thinking I'm some kind of tree-hugger and some of you are thinking I am putting too much stock in a bunch of loosely related numbers and suppositions. Well, you are wrong. I am not a "tree-hugger" in the classical sense (I kind of like calling them bunny-huggers, sounds less masculine) I'm more of a conservationist.

The difference between conservationists and environmentalists is very small but vitally important. Both groups love the environment, both groups know that it needs to be taken care of and guarded against abuses and unwarranted excesses. However, conservationists concede that man has a vested interest in safeguarding the very resources he has a need to use and interact with. A lot of environmentalists believe apparently that humanity is more of a viral infection than an integral part of the natural world. We have no right to use anything in it but have the miraculous omnipresence of being absolutely at fault for ANYTHING that goes "wrong" in it.

Why did I put the word wrong in quotes? Well, because not all of the environmental changes taking place, even the ones detrimental to our existence, is something going "wrong". All sides accept that the natural environment goes through constant change, primarily at an incredibly slow pace in human terms of time. Trouble is that there are times when after generations of incrimental alterations the conditions get to the point of being subject to rapid and catastrophically fast change. That's how the Ice Ages happen. There really isn't any other way to explain how entire herds of animals have been found basically freeze dried in place still chewing their last mouth full of food for all eternity. Fairly simple really, not difficult to grasp.

The arguments start when you try and put a quantitative amount to any of it. At what point does this rapid "Holy Fuckin Shit" moment happen? Nobody really knows. It's like watching a pot of water boil. You KNOW it's gonna start any minute now but it only seems to take forever because you aren't able to note the very subtle changes taking place with the water molecules. Water "starts" to boil the moment you add heat to it, but you don't see the big bubbles blasting to the surface so you don't think it boiling until much later. If you're the proverbial frog in the frying pan you don't grasp this until it's too late.

Now that's where the "scare the shit out of you" tactics come into play. Just like the Anti-Marijuana campaigns of the 50's (ever see "Reefer Madness"?), you almost have to exagerate an issue to get people to fit their heads around it. The environmental folks got tired of seeing people yawn everytime they started trying to explain cosmic timetables and relative time. An unfortunate tendency of humanity is not giving a damn about what their heirs will have to deal with several generations from now. But, just like the cheesey film noted above, an exageration is often seen as a lie and they stop believing anything you tell them.

Take smoking cigarettes for example. It doesn't take a genious to know what the "smoke" is. Smoke is particulate matter floating in the air that is the result of an object being incenerated. Smoke isn't a clean substance, it's the compounds that would be ash if they were heavier. Nobody in their right mind would stuff a handfull of ash into their mouth and swallow it but, we don't mind the taste and texture of the lighter than air particulates that coalesce when we draw air through what is basically a bundle of chemically treated lawn clippings.

I'm writing about myself by the way. While I don't smoke cigarettes (nasty), I LOVE an occasional cigar. Same concept, fewer chemicals. Why do we do it? It's an individual risk eval. Pro v Con, Risk v Reward. No less short sighted but true to human-nature.

So, despite all of the scare tactics, the environmentalists are right about a few things. We HAVE to do certain things and the sooner we do them the more prepared we will be when these things invariably repeat themselves.

We HAVE to safeguard our water supplies. This isn't a maybe, water is kind of important to everything and not just because we drink it (but it's as good a reason as any).

We HAVE to start recycling our consumables that are reusable and STOP using consumables that aren't. There's no reason you can't wash that glass you just drank out of fifteen minutes ago but, it's so much easier to grab another glass while mom isn't looking. Mom's gona get really pissed when she finds out you just made more work for her but she'll get over it because she loves you.

News flash. The Earth doesn't love you, it doesn't technically need you. If we were to nuke the piss out of ourselves tomorrow the Earth would just go ticking right along. It may take a few million years and it may not turn out to be exactly like it was before but the Earth will continue.

We HAVE to STOP using Fossil Fuels for our primary energy needs. Renewable resources are not glamorous but they make sense. Did you know that the combustion engine wasn't originally intended to use gasoline? As a matter of fact Bio-Fuels was originally intended. Gasoline only became available as a cheap and otherwise useless by-product of the petroleum industry originally used to produce fuel for lanterns. Go figure. What? Did you want us to keep using Whale Blubber? Sicko.

I am VERY exited about Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles but I'm not so keen on the idea of having a 5500 psi tank (eventually 10,000 psi) of explosive gas sitting behind the car-seats holding my kids. But, when I can get one, I will. I'll be frickin happy to the point of self-stimulus once they have a small enough Hydrogen converter available that produces enough hydrogen at a shot to keep a vehicle going. That way we'd be able to have a tank of water instead of hydrogen. Issue needing to be hurtled is that the amount of water needed to produce sufficient hydrogen to propel a vehicle with current technologies would be HUGE and the weight would be unmanageable.

We HAVE to start building our homes using recycled materials and incorporating alternative and renewable energy sources. Probably wouldn't hurt to have fewer televisions and appliances going at once as well. While one television would be ideal (hell, NO television would be ideal but that's not gonna happen) but two is an absolute neccesity or there would be too many homicides. Besides, after a while it would be MUCH cheaper to build them this way and they would last longer with less chance of rot and settling and costly repair and maintenance.

We HAVE to take care of our remaining open territories. I know that human nature is to expand away from large teaming masses of humanity in order to create a little micro-kingdom of our own but land is limited. We should start following Frank Lloyd Wright's lead and start building UP (and DOWN) not OUT. We kind of need the plants, oxygen is always a good idea and more little factories taking the CO2 out of the air for us is always a great idea.

In the same theme, we HAVE to increase our exploration of both Space and our own Seas. The Seas so we can get a better idea of all those changes mentioned above. Space for the obvious reason of needing... well, more space. Besides, when that killer asteroid does a fly-by in 2012, all the Space-Exploration nay-sayers won't be so fucking smug. Besides, when the great Cosmic Wrecking-Ball decides that we are blocking it's view of the Sun, it would be nice to already have our next house picked out when we get evicted.

There are a LOT more changes that would also be a good idea but I think my point has been stated enough. Besides, once done, most of the above changes would seem so easy we will have wondered why we didn't do them before. It is the way of things after all. We like the familiar. We are pre-disposed to be hesitant to change. Change used to be easier. The technological advances were HUGE differences in efficiency and capability. Presently we are trying to peddle technological advances that while in the long run will be a lot better for us, they are actually less efficient than the ones presently used. Until they are improved anyway.

In order to accept these changes we will have to re-define what we see as advantageous.

Unfortunately, as I clearly explained in the last entry. Humanity is hopelessly stupid and lazy. So, I will make my fortune by sellling "joke" floor mats that say, 'WELCOME: Planet Killer".

Soon available at an internet retailer near you. Please buy two,...

... better make it fast.