Being a sorty crunchy, earthy fellow, mucking about the woods for kicks, I figured that I'd give a nod to Earth Day, especially since it coincided with the major religious festivals of the Judeo-Christian faiths. One problem with religious fundamentalists is their believe that humanity is somehow separate from, and superior to, nature- that environmental stewardship is unnecessary at best and evil at best:
Yeah, not "shitting one's bed" is "deadly to human prosperity, deadly to human life, deadly to human freedom, and deadly to the Gospel of Jesus Christ" (much unintentional hilarity, mingled with horror, in the embedded video). GRRRR... I've been scooped (insert POOP joke). Thwarted by M. Bouffant linking at the mothership! Oh, well... maybe a plan B is in order.
In his address today, the president noted that there is no "silver bullet" to bring down gas prices. I have long thought that the search for the cliched "silver bullet" is a fool's errand (if not a tactic to actually stall implementation of alternative energy plans), and that a "hundreds of silver shotgun pellets" approach is what is needed.
The continuing Fukushima nuclear reactor disaster should be the final indication that nuclear fission is not the solution to the world's energy needs- it depends on finite resources, results in highly dangerous waste products, which will remain highly dangerous for longer than the span of recorded history, and the same processes that reactors employ can be used to produce weapons of mass destruction. From a purely financial standpoint, the nuclear industry has to be highly subsidized by taxpayers. Yet, even post-Fukushima, at least one GOP senator is calling for more nuclear power plants. Why the love affair with nuclear power? I suspect the answer is that nuclear power plants are centralized, and the production of nuclear power can only be handled by governments or megacorporations (and the GOP sure as hell won't call for government-run, nonprofit plants).
The real key to a sustainable energy future is a two-pronged approach, with decentralized power grids using multiple, smaller power sources, and (even more importantly) efficient, low-power devices. Even regarding efficiency, the GOP wallows in a morass of sheer stupidity, leading to such dimbulb legislation as the lightbulb freedom act- why the hell are these idiots so attached to the ancient, inefficient incandescent lightbulb? Uh, don't answer that!
I haven't really discussed alternative energy on this blog, but I think I should do an occasional post, because it's something I totally geek out on in conversation. I can rattle on about microturbines, solar systems (heating and photovoltaic), geothermal, and the like. I also think that POOP power should be harnessed- methane from waste streams can be utilized, and the solid wastes can be used as a medium on which to grow algae for biofuel production and carbon dioxide scrubbers. Every sewage treatment plant in the nation could potentially be converted into a small power plant.
It's time to get creative, time to stop kowtowing to the fossil fuel industry, and implement a multifaceted approach to our energy needs. Oh, hell, who am I kidding, the species is doomed to a "Mad Max" future... hey, how about a love song to take your mind off the grim future which awaits us? I'm dedicating this one to Lamar, from Tennessee:
Heh, it's funny to see that the Tuff Darts are active in the 21st century- I first heard this charming number when I was a wee little sprat, and the radi-adi-o was fun to listen to.
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7 comments:
Thwarting the Internet since I can't even remember.
For as Jesus said, "Bless the corporate profits. They are more important than mere people."
~
Those prosperity gospel people are evil. You take 'em down, I'll stomp on their heads. Because of the threat they pose to everybody else, it's as clear cut case of self defense as I ever expect to see.
Why the love affair with nuclear power?
I suspect it is even less reasoned than you suppose; hippies don't like it, so it should be pushed at every chance.
...decentralized power grids using multiple, smaller power sources, and (even more importantly) efficient, low-power devices.
Spoken like a true Sim City master.
I haven't really discussed alternative energy on this blog, but I think I should do an occasional post, because it's something I totally geek out on in conversation.
On the other side of the equation: Recycling during construction! Rehab and adaptive reuse of structures! Low-to-midrise construction! Sustainable building materials and high efficiency mechanical systems! Natural solar heating and natural ventilation! Passive houses!
Ahh, who am I kidding. Building shit is so last century. M. Bouffant is right, we'll be turning big-box stores into squatter communes pretty soon.
not to mention higher densities, at least as compared to the wide flung suburbs that plague this land.
Walkable communities. Mass transit. Transit-oriented development.
Fuck us all, we have the tools to make this work, but we don't have the politicians.
I love how, right at the end of the Jesus Hates Nature clip, one of the Very White Men talking says it's appalling that radical environmentalists use fear to spread their political agenda to children.
Yes, that must be hell on the kids....
And that light-bulb link was an A++ on the comedy scale. Bravo.
And that light-bulb link was an A++ on the comedy scale. Bravo.
Which one, the South Carolina link or the "up the butt" link? Oh, hell, what's the difference?
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