The Ambivalent Environmentalist

On Tuesday, our local weekly newspaper columnist and pundit on the fallacies of global warming again decried both the obvious and the proven. He has again dredged up and mis-interpreted some “data” that, as I read his inferences, indicate we’re actually rapidly moving into another ice age (the wooly mammoths will be pleased to hear this news). That same evening the national news (dominated by the lying liberal media) revealed that an ice block of 220 square miles in size broke off of the Antarctic ice shelf with dire predictions of more to come. Maybe he’ll believe it just got too cold and it snapped. Uh huh! Of course, you must realize that these “facts” were reported by the same person who once wrote that it wasn’t dams on the rivers that had dramatically decreased our salmon runs, but it was the fact we’d stopped shooting bald eagles and they were now eating all the salmon. We have yet to see his data on that issue.

This month’s National Geographic shows a map developed from satellite photos of the dramatic decrease in the Arctic ice shelf in the last 8 years and the unprecedented “opening sea routes usually limited to ice-breakers.” Oh…right, we can blame the liberal editors of NG for doctoring up these photos just to fool us into thinking these changes were factual. His editorial indicates “record levels of ice in the Antarctic sea,” but just maybe it actually read “record levels of ice are breaking off in the Antarctic Sea and he just “accidentally” left out a couple of words.

What this points to is the dangerous mind-set our society has worked itself into. The predicted effects of global warming are not pleasant, nor are the societal changes necessary to reduce and defray some of the effects. It’s like the smoker saying, “I’ll wait until I get cancer, then I’ll quit.” Sorry…that’s usually too late. Our overriding problem appears to be that whether it’s global warming; gun ownership; cancer from smoking; creationism; obesity; fuel costs; or religious fervor, the prevailing attitude ignoring it is “Because I don’t want it to be, therefore it isn’t!” And regardless of what highly educated and experienced scientists might say, if it doesn’t fit with their agenda (or even results in the slightest inconvenience), it’s considered liberal BS to be chastised and ignored.

Someday I may have to explain this to my great-grandchildren. I wonder what will I tell them?

Posted by Dean Carrier at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Maybe I just don’t get it. For almost 50 years I’ve been managing my personal finances. In the beginning it was just trying to make ends meet. Gasoline was about 30 cents a gallon; hamburger was 25 cents a pound and on good days you could buy stewing hens for 11 cents a pound. Of course I was only making $390 a month so after taxes, insurance, utilities and rent there was less than $50 a week for food and other stuff. There were times (before computers) that I’d cash a check for $20 at the corner grocery store and run over to the bank and deposit it to keep the one I wrote the day before from bouncing.

Later, things eased a bit and we were actually able to buy a house and a car. Those were the only things we put on the cuff as my Dad had cautioned me that paying interest was the bane of society. Later, I put two kids through college. But, things got even better and towards retirement we were actually putting money into IRAs and other investment funds.

But from that meager beginning to now there were some pretty simple principals I’d learned to follow. They were that if you were spending more than you were making you really had only 3 choices. You could somehow make more money; you could cut back and spend less; or you could borrow. It still seems so logical to me. Now, as I said, my Dad had explained that the borrowing option was only for cars and homes…nothing else. So, I applied that logic and lo and behold, I currently own my home, own my car, and have some money sitting in IRAs if I should need it. In all, I feel pretty financially secure.

Then, here come the politicians! They all tell me that they can give me more services (health care, infrastructure refurbishing, all the toys I can conceive of; etc.); return to cheap gas; have jobs for everyone; and cut my taxes significantly. And, in doing this they will balance the budget and pay off the National Debt, maybe even in the week after inauguration! Well, that just blows me away since it’s exactly opposite of the lessons my Dad taught me. In simple terms they promise to make less, spend more, and yet, have no red ink on the balance sheet. And you know what? There’s a lot of Americans that believe this crap! And, if you’re one of them…Shame on you!

The time has come that when you get your silly rebate check you should pay off some debt. Don’t go out and buy a new IPod made in Korea to replace last-year’s IPod made in India that’s now obsolete. Don’t buy a lot of gas to drive your SUV to Disneyland and pay for a cheese sandwich what you’d pay for a 4-course meal at a nice restaurant. Don’t splurge on a trip to the tanning salon or the spa. PAY OFF YOUR DAMN DEBTS! Yeah…I hear you, it’s not as fun and anyway, whomever we get for our next President is going to spend more, tax less and everything will be cool. Right?

Posted by Dean Carrier at 06:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)