Comments on Darryl Siry's Blog: In 2009, recession and populism will defeat enviro...

Dear "anonymous" (why is it that the most pugnacio...

2009-01-05T11:01:00.000-05:00

Dear "anonymous" (why is it that the most pugnacious comments are always anonymous?)

I think that there are a lot of people out there that agree with you and will be just as articulate in making your views known everywhere you can. That is my point.

You wrote: The essential problem is the tragedy of...

2009-01-05T06:28:00.000-05:00

You wrote: The essential problem is the tragedy of the commons. Global warming and concern about CO2 emissions is a global, social problem that has extraordinary long term impacts"

No Darryl, Anthropomorphic CO2 emissions, and for that matter all C02 emissions, eg outgassing, vucanism, rot, etc. are irrelevant to GW, and climate change is the norm, not the exception. Note that the consequences of the "climate change" loons lie always in the future. Especially charming are the assertions that meting Artic ice will cause coastal flooding. Clearly such pundits have never watched what actually happens when ice cubes decrystallize in a glass of water. Interesting though to see that obese carbon-spouting blowhard Gore still has you suckers by the short hairs...or is it just that his nonsense serves your own self-interest and purposes? Gore, and many of the global warmer "Gore wanna-be's" enrich themselves, saving the world from the invisible spirits of C02 wth bogus science, case closed on that one...they are no different than the shysters who plagued medicine with quack machines and cures up until around the '50's (copper braceclets being the hollow shadow of that age of "wierd high-valence (?)oxygenation, UV lamps, and other such scams. Gore traffics on technical suckerhood, the animosity toward real science by the baffled and those weaklings intolerant of uncertainty, or who never put in the hard work of scientific litereacy. O perhaps they are just the simple-minded: after all, there is always a simple answer to any complex question that is worng but satisfis the need. Add the perversity of self-interest at whore central (AKA: the UN) and other sef-enriching peddlars of hysteria (AKA: corrupt grant-seeking academics and a lot of illiterate media talking heads), then toss in the hostility of the decrepit, dying European societies and bingo, you've got a Big Con of historic dimensions. Hook that up with real and obvious needs, such as energy conservation ans peak oil, and you can pack the suckers in, clammoring for even more government and regulation, despite already coughing up more than half their incomes. Nevermind that it's a bullshit lie, it works for the bishops. Welcome to the high-tech middle ages. Ghosts and evil spirits and devils everywhere! Must do religious magic!Must buy a carbon dispensation from the friars!
Get a life, Siry. You don't have clue. The C02 bullshit is so over! Still, what's a lie compared to promoting yourself?

The oppositions' tactics have for several years be...

2009-01-02T21:53:00.000-05:00

The oppositions' tactics have for several years been to create fear and then present opportunity for relief from it. Why not use the same tactics against them? "Fear and Urgency". Except in our case it is not a lie.

It is difficult for anybody to think long term whe...

2008-12-31T11:52:00.000-05:00

It is difficult for anybody to think long term when there are immediate short term problems. "The Environment" is one of those issues right now. I always thought it was a mistake for oil efficient/oil free cars to spend so much time talking about the environment, and so little time talking about the political and economic woes of oil dependency which is a much more immediate problem.

When the economy is bad, people will still sacrifice for a war effort, where they may not for a more vague long term goal like carbon emission reduction.

Darryl - I can understand where you're coming from...

2008-12-31T10:56:00.000-05:00

Darryl - I can understand where you're coming from and the logic to come to that conclusion.

The one thing I would say is Obama is an X-factor. Perhaps that is too high of an expectation, but we have a new vocal and articulate president who has talked a lot about reducing energy use and dependence. He at least has the biggest microphone and he can keep the sustainability issues on people's mind, and put programs in place to increase adoption.

We've already seen a vast unlinking of what the Congress and Senate do (in terms of the bailout) compared to what the national opinion says. So making unpopular moves in these times is perhaps more palatable than in recent times, plus he has a honeymoon period. Also, anything that can create jobs in this economy is advantageous and a commitment to clean-tech projects would create jobs.

I suspect we will see the trend you mention, especially in the media, since they can't stick with any idea for too long. But if Obama doesn't seize this chance to invest bailout or job creation dollars on clean-tech it will be a big missed opportunity in my opinion.

I see environmentalism's woes stemming from a coup...

2008-12-27T18:49:00.000-05:00

I see environmentalism's woes stemming from a couple sources. Ok, there's many but here's a couple to start...
One, people have had "green" whatever crammed down their throats in every marketing pitch imagined over the past few years and people are tired of hearing it. In some cases the claim is warranted but in many it's not and people are burning out on the message.

Another problem we face is the well-funded propaganda machine that keeps producing and spewing the lies about climate change that many people want to hear. People don't want to feel guilty about the damage we're doing and glom on to any straw that might support their cause. Of course, having anti-environmentalist running the country for the past eight years placing their like-minded political appointees throughout the machinery of government obviously hasn't helped.

One course of action the new administration could begin with is cutting off all government advertising to private talk radio stations. No ad council cash. No Army ads. Nada. Sell it as cost savings. Whatever. I'm tired of tax dollars being funneled down the gorge-like mouths of Limbaugh, Hannity, et al. and, at least at night, tax dollars seem to provide the majority of funding for the stations that broadcast that ilk of programming.
/rant

Greatcourage indeed is needed by the environmental...

2008-12-27T17:46:00.000-05:00

Greatcourage indeed is needed by the environmental community, and intellectual, fact based arguments that show that we can invest in cleantech in this economy. With the 2008 CA MPR being 20% higher than last year, capital intensive but fuel free solar and wind projects can compete with natural gas. In 2008, we saw what we believed was the end of coal, and hopefully a strong EPA can keep that momentum. One thing we know: tomorrow will not be like yesterday.