SustainableGreen’s Recent Comments

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  A Lot of Agreement, and More

  
  Hey, all:

  Hey, Colin:  Yes, it is emotional, although some seem to have that portion of the brain surgically excised, or just beaten out of them by experience or education.   And you certainly do define "sustainable" in an essential way.  To many people the term is either too fuzzy to comprehend or has already been distorted by the marketing stooges.  

  Thanks for the words of advice and encouragement.  I appreciate the sentiment about losing me, and about suicide, however overstated.  I may not be here, but I have been around for a long time fighting the fight, speaking truth to power, and I won't back down before an egotistical overbearing two-faced punk.  The exact same tone and content of the email I received has been here in the threads, so the 'private' issue is moot.  I did also respond to his email and  cc-ed other Grist staff, since his policy is so glaringly selective and hypocritical.

  This thread is highly appropriate, since I have been 'warned' by the 3rd-grade hall monitor Roberts about referring to the Corporate Oligarchy.  Who does he think we are opposing?  Or is he so callow as to not recognize reality?  Or is he a shill?  

  The destructive partnership between government and business is on parade all day every day, but is the new 'emperor with no clothes', being tacitly accepted and even supported, out of fear or ignorance or greed or a misplaced, ignorant view of coexistence.  It is just that simple.

  Cheney and Bush and the entire administration, plus practically all the members of the Congress and Senate have sold their souls and ethics to business.  As one simple example, we have all heard now that the Presidential candidate who tried to pass National Health Care legislation in '93-'94 now is among the leading recipients of campaign money from the health insurance industry.  

  As Roberts stumbled into in his two-faced way, Cheney and the rest are part of the same problem.  Whether it is health care, energy, agriculture, or war, they are part of the problem.  It is called the Corporate Oligarchy and its shills need to be exposed.  I refer to it often, while many others refer to other issues they focus on.  As an example, Roberts seems to love referring to Carbon offsets like they were crack.  He is two-faced.

  I will humbly suggest he get some sense of self-examination.  If he dodges that, I will take my leave without regret.

  David
  Sustainability For Life

  Messages done with sustainable energy, with Wind and Sun!On New investigative report posted 2 years, 3 months ago 14 Responses

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  Gee, Guess What Came in the Email

  Hey, all:

  The item below came in my personal email:

  David,

  Quit insulting people in Gristmill comments. Quit accusing any and everyone who disagrees with you of being a greedy tool of the "corporate oligarchy." Dial back the perpetual, exhausting tone of aggrieved umbrage, with the all-caps and the exclamation points.

  Keep discussion respectful, substantive, and calm, or you'll be banned from commenting further.

  Thank you.

  --
  david roberts
  staff writer
  grist.org
  P 206.876.2020 x220
  F 253.423.6487

  Roberts:

  And I suggest to you that you should apply the same rules of respectfulness, substantiveness, and calm to yourself.

  Here are some examples of your own language:

  "Given the surge of interest in climate and energy, it's no surprise that a lot of BS -- rainforest-screwing biodiesel, everyone-screwing liquid coal, etc. -- is getting passed off as "green" and bellying up to the public trough."

  "Hey Jack, do me a favor, don't compare my skepticism to that of the capitalist press, which already in our young century has cozied up to power and consequently helped systematically misinform the American people about war, terrorism, climate change, tax policy, government corruption, and health care, among many, many other subjects, while ineffectual enablers like you sat by kvetching about inanities. You live and work every day among dolts and propagandists, and you are complicit in the horrors they've wrought, yet even at this late date you wouldn't know one if it bit you in the ass.

  My skepticism's just fine, and unlike you, I bring it with me when I read the work of your pals.

  I want nothing to do with your corrupt, dying press establishment, you desiccated old fart. Let's agree to go back to ignoring each other, ok?"
  "Hey, Murray, screw you, and screw your corrupt, vicious, law-breaking, public-teat-sucking, mountain-blowing-up, working-poor-killing, planet-destroying dinosaur of an industry. The sooner the world is rid of you the better. Crawl back under your rock."

  And then you should stop the gross over-generalizations you apply to others:

  "...any and everyone who disagrees with you...";  "...perpetual, exhausting tone of aggrieved umbrage...".

  You really should learn to think and write better, especially when accusing others.  Especially, focus on not being so hypocritical and just plain two-faced.

  And is this acting and writing responsibly as a Grist staffer?
    "Perhaps you should pour yourself a White Russian, light one up, and take a moment to chill out."

  "...[R]espectful, substantive, and calm..."

  , indeed.

  My comments on Grist need no defense.  I have written about ecology, habitat restoration, organic farming, the value and practicality of wind and photovoltaic, Hydrogen, history, prescribed burning, sustainability, environmental principles, environmental literature, and several other subjects.  Take the time to look at them and you will see--that is, if you have the honesty and willingness for self-examination.  Otherwise, your tendency or desire to select things you don't like and ignoring things that are at least neutral, suggests your pettiness.

  Most importantly, as I have said before (and here's some all caps fer ya), I DO NOT WRITE FOR YOUR APPROVAL.

  Lastly, it is about the Corporate Oligarchy, regardless of your High School attempts to cover it up, and in the stumbling way you refer to it in this very thread.  Oh, and Roberts can go fuck himself.

  David
  Sustainability For Life

  Messages done with sustainable energy, with Wind and Sun!On New investigative report posted 2 years, 3 months ago 14 Responses

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  In All Fairness

  Hey, all:

  In all fairness, Sarah von Schagen DID ASK the question:

  "Would seeing Ben Affleck dressed as an ear of corn make you more or less interested in learning about ethanol and supporting legislation requiring service stations to sell it?"

  I guess the answer from most is a resounding "NO!" But what remains is the motive, whether it was a simple sincere question, or was it just a way to promote the videos?

  And as for the question, it looks like the Center for American Progress has already answered it to their shallow satisfaction--that is, if they asked themselves the question to start with.  

  This is again why I have consistently stated that we need to demand much more of leaders and ourselves, we need to have and apply the highest standards, and search for the best solutions.  Half-assed environmentalism will get us to Hell soon enough.  

  David
  Sustainability For Life

  Messages done with sustainable energy, with Wind and Sun!On Watch six episodes of 'Project Phin' posted 2 years, 4 months ago 18 Responses

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  Well, you do come through

  Hey, all:

  The sooner we can get that idiot out of office, the better.

  Gee, BioD, congratulations.  And I certainly won't say 'chill'--much too trite.

  We need to 'person up' (the gender-neutral thing sucks sometimes) and speak truth to power and criticize ignorance, negative action, inaction, and mediocrity.  I have said repeatedly that we should be better organized and find alternative candidates to the "tired old men" who nevertheless have the collective energy to keep screwing us over generation after generation.

  Although Constitutional scholars and lawyers of many persuasions have said very strongly there is abundant cause to impeach, there won't be an impeachment.  The invertebrate Congress will not do it.  Bush will be gone in Jan 2009.  We need to be ready NOW and ensure we have a more responsive and responsible legislative class and President, but so far I only see phony candidates, turf wars, and jealousy.  Our disorganization will be our downfall.

  Yeah, and good but tragic picture.

  And Canis, your aim and ammunition are perfect as usual.  I do wonder how the Cape Wind proposal stacks up against the principles.  I am a big fan (ooh, pardon) of windfarms, but they absolutely have to be both sited and operated properly to avoid impacts, such as avian collisions.  Done properly, collisions can be reduced to even a lower rate than they crow (ooh, again sorry) about.  It appears to me the Cape Wind proposal can't meet the first of those tests, since it would be in such a densely used, natural, near-shore area.  

  David
  Sustainability For Life

  Messages done with sustainable energy, with Wind and Sun!
    On US gov't siding with foreign shipping companies on protections posted 2 years, 4 months ago 7 Responses

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  Yes, Biodiversity Misunderstanding, etc.

  Hey, all:

  Hey, Canis:  Yeah, I wrote poorly when I mentioned biodiversity was not a big concern in this case.  I was speaking from the point of view of the Park personnel.  As I have said, each unit of the park System has its unique concerns and pressures related to the reason for its existence, and this is borne out in the examples you and others have mentioned.

  For the record, and in all cases, universally and for eternity, if there is a conflict between humans and biota, I will take the biota's side.  I regard humans as not being inherently or intrinsically superior or more important than the millions of other species on the planet.  My human narcissism is very low.  

  In fact, I perceive the third rail in these discussions to be human population control [yeah, involuntary shudder].  There are simply too many of us, and we are living on the biotic (and abiotic) savings of the planet.  The account is shrinking and we are too greedy to recognize it.  

  To return to Gettysburg: the Park personnel will make sure the MBTA and ESA and other laws are followed to the letter.  They may avoid some actions on that basis but the likelihood is not great.  Impacts to biodiversity probably settled such issues decades or a century ago, i.e., any rare species are probably long long gone.  The lesson from those practices has yet to be learned in many places in the world, even including our own.  What is left is probably fairly ubiquitous in the area, and about the only action that would make a difference would be to buy up similar nearby forest area in a proportionately larger ratio, to mitigate the loss of forest due to clearing.  This area would be held intact as a sanctuary to compensate for the loss and provide biodiversity.  They should do all this, but under the circumstances--legal restrictions and administrative myopia--they probably won't.  

  Hey, Wiscidea:  I enjoy reading your thoughts.  You are even more idealistic than me, although still less radical!  I have to squint when I read of your background in GMOs, and maybe one day you will reconsider.  I personally think GMO plants anywhere outside strict confinement is a disaster waiting an opportunity.  

  Many years ago I read a report including a passage from a pair of early explorers and trappers (early/mid 1600s?) somewhere in the Ohio River Valley.  They were trapped in a shallow hole or bank for several days, as a herd of bison thundered past them.  They simply could not move.  I don't remember the numbers, but estimates of the total North American herd really stretch the imagination.  That we nearly wiped them out is an inexcusable disgraceful act of blind narcissism.  

  I wish we could return to an earlier time, with much less population and far fewer impacts, and redressed impacts, but we are in a small minority.    The same wish applies to the megafauna, and even the less obvious and less well known.  I mentioned the Coastal Prairie of Texas, which is where Attwater's Prairie Chicken used to occur.  As I mentioned maybe 2-3% of the Prairie is left, and the chicken is near extinction.  I am not sure I even want to know how near.  I had the very rare pleasure of actually seeing them on a lek in the very early morning hours of a very early Spring day.  This lek area and the population was subsequently extirpated.  With the low light, the moisture, the distance, and their ultimate disappearance, the birds we saw were ghosts in more ways than one.  We should always be mindful that these are only visible, favored representatives of an ecosystem, and acknowledge the countless unknown and unrecorded losses.

  I am not sure what Pleistocene megafauna was present 14,000 years ago when the first wave of people came from Asia.  My understanding is the diversity was not that high, since most of what we think of was probably rendered extinct in the last glaciation.  Someone can address this issue.  Still it would be nice to see what was here when Europeans arrived, since that is when the shit really hit the fan and diversity started downward.  When traveling I often amuse myself by wondering what the landscape must have looked like 100-300 years ago.  

  I wonder how many Antiques Roadshow fans there are?!  I adore that show, and constantly invoke it when someone is throwing something out, and there are segments on the show that make me just bawl like a little kid when something of great interest or value is revealed.  A big big hit for me.  And that Lara Spencer--oooooh!  My heart broke when she left.

  It is also gratifying to see the interest in fire ecology and prescribed burning.  The learning (and teaching!) curve is very high, especially where I live.  There are some ranchers who embrace it and some who think it is the Devil turned loose on the land.  Those I work with approach it cautiously and are amazed when the benefits appear under their feet and from the cabs of their pickups.  The older ones lose some power of speech when they say something like 'I have never seen this here before', when shown a species, a guild, or an altered restored landscape.  Very, VERY gratifying.  

  David
  Sustainability For Life

  Messages done with sustainable energy, with Wind and Sun!

    On Park Service hacks down some trees in Pa. posted 2 years, 4 months ago 29 Responses