"Clot" wrote in message
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olddog wrote:
"HeyBub" wrote in message
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retired54 wrote:
"Kurt Ullman" wrote in message
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In article
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"retired54" wrote:
we lost the war in iraq the day it started.
We won the war, what we are having problems with is winning the
peace. If you look at past history, this is not an unusual
occurrence is US history.
What did *you* win other than a huge national debt?
## We got to kill lots and lots of goblins. Priceless.
I've never been concerned with winning "freedom" for people just
because they happen to be sitting on a huge oil reserve.
## Germany invaded Russia for oil. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor so the
country could have uninterrupted access to oil in the Dutch East
Indies. Access to oil is a time-tested excuse for going to war.
I'd rather win the war on "oil addiction". Your war just perpetuates
the life style of excess that our planet can't sustain.
## Every time I hear someone long for a simpler time, a less
complicated life, a revel in the serenity of nature's basics, I have
one word: Dentistry.
Yeah you won.
Not yet. We don't have ALL the oil.
You really need to watch the Frontline episode "Heat". Dude...were
all screwed!
Keep hiding your head in the sand but it's going to catch up with you
or your kids. The earth can only support so many American life
styles. China, India and Micro Indonesia are taking over. Right now
they are going through the same growing pains America is still
growing through. Manhattan, Florida, parts of Texas, New Jersey
etc...are going to be under water. For Christ sake it's already
happening. Something is happening and if we don't wake up and address
it we're doomed. Personally, I hold little hope for the future of
mankind. Call me a kook but the evidence is here now.
Some people say technology holds the answer. I think we all need to
curb our expectations and learn how to live with less. Conserve,
recycle, move close to work or quit, walk to the store, ride your
bike. We're too damn fat anyway. Keep your appliances turn off or
down. Quit having so many damn babies. We don't have to rely on
technology for the answer when it's our over indulgent life styles
that is the problem.
I've drastically cut back on my gasoline, electrical and natural gas
usage by keeping lights off and the thermostat up high in the summer
and cooler in the winter. I'm always turning things off and
unplugging things. I walk to the store when possible. But I don't see
anybody else doing a god damn thing. They drive around in their SUVs
like nothings happening. They just don't get it and I don't expect
anything to change
I agree whole heartedly that we cannot go on consuming at the rate we
currently do in the west. I've used CFL lighting for more than 25 years
and ensured that my home is well insulated, (UK and mostly cold!). I
switched to diesel powered motors more than 20 years ago, walk and use a
bicycle.
We have to limit our impact and set examples. China set an excellent
example with their one child policy and despite their growing
environmental impact, we have to recognise that their country is presently
the factory for the planet, i.e. we are exporting our footprint to them.
The USA is not setting a good example. Europe is taking the lead in
reduction of green house gasses according to Frontline (pbs TV show) because
Europe historically has paid much higher prices for fuel.
Good for you guys. Don't wait for us because we still have that Cowboy,
throw-the-beer-can-out-the-window attitude going here. It's actually
encouraged. Read some of our colleagues posts and you'll see what I mean.
I just shake my head and go about my business.
I wouldn't be too enthused about the Chinese. China and India are building
coal-fired power plants literally as fast as they can. China overtook the
United States in 2006 as the world's biggest emitter of carbon dioxide.
Watch " Heat".
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/heat/
It's getting very grim.
olddog