The Surge
July 30, 2007
WSJ says ,The “surge” is working. Will Washington allow the current progress to continue?
Meanwhile Time Mag this week looks for an excuse for a graceful exit.
Jets For Climate Change
July 8, 2007
Getting lectured as dessert with your rock n roll just does not feel right. Saturday’s concerts tended to lull their stadium crowds as well as their TV crowds as mini commercial lectures from mostly celebrities like Cameron Diaz made for a sleeper of a day.
One non celebrity mini lecture came when the story of an Alaskan Village that literally has lost 2000 feet of shoreline was told. A mans house was washd away by Ocean tides.
I could not help but think that in California we experience this tragedy yearly as the poor villlagers of Malibu lose pieces of their homes as the rising tides take what belongs to Mother Ocean. Heck I recall years ago homes falling off Cliffs in Malibu. That was when the earth was in Global Cooling in the 70’s.
They could not help mention that the Iraq war has gotten billions while this Alaskan village got zilch.
In a TV interview earlier this week, Matt Bellamy of the band Muse mocked the hypocracy of the event as “private jets for climate change.”
John Buckley of Carbon Footprint, an organization that helps companies reduce their carbon dioxide emissions, said Saturday that Live Earth will produce about 74,500 tons of the gas.
“We would have to plant 100,000 trees to offset the effect of Live Earth,” he said, speaking by telephone. But, he added, “if you can reach 2 billion people and raise awareness, that’s pretty fantastic.”
One theme that went thru the whole show was how using those twirly lights will really lower our carbon output. I mean every interview and mini lecture seemed to talk about these things. So Monday I am looking into picking up some stock as I am sure Gore has a piece of that action. Funny thing, Iheard if these things break they leae a pretty nasty mini ecological disaster, so be careful as you do you part in lowering your non consequential carbon output.
Earth Concert Bloat
July 7, 2007
LIVE HYPOCRACYHow does a lavish rock star balance the fact that this concert is leaving one of the largest carbon footprints by humans ever-on purpose.
Well not quite on purpose but it is a fallout of the shows.
IT is estimated that Superstars flew 222,623 miles between them to get to the LIVE EARTH concerts. However, it is being rationalized saying that these artists contribution to awareness, makes their carbon footprint neutral.
-The total carbon footprint of the event, taking into account the artists’ and spectators’ travel to the concert, and the energy consumption on the day, is likely to be at least 31,500 tons of carbon emisions, according to John Buckley of Carbonfootprint.com, who specialises in such calculations.
-The concert will also generate some 1,025 tons of waste at the concert stadiums - much of which will go directly into landfill sites.
Dr Andrea Collins, from Cardiff University, has researched the impact of such mass gatherings on the environment.
“An event of this size at Wembley - which holds 65,000 at a rock concert, will generate around 59 tons of waste,” she says. “That is largely composed of the rubbish from food and drink consumption.”
Rock group Genesis re-formed last year and are in the middle of their European tour. The three-man band will fit their Live Earth performance into a tour of at least 47 locations across the world. Their carbon footprint last year totalled 195 tons.
What are some of our crowd favorites burning?
-James Blunt, completed his world tour of the U.S. last year, racking up a carbon footprint of 195 tons.
-Red Hot Chili Peppers produced 220 tons of carbon dioxide with their private jet alone over the last six months.
-Bon Jovi left the UK this week to travel back by private jet to the U.S. to perform at the New York stadium for the American leg of Live Earth.
-Sarah Brightman flew to the Shanghai concert in China. This is a distance of 5,679.95 miles, producing one ton of carbon dioxide pollution.
Some further examples of artist hypocracy:
-John Legend is featured in a Lexus ad
-Sheryl Crow’s hit Everyday Is A Winding Road is used to sell Subaru 4WDs.
Rego from the event says, “All the events are carbon neutral. We have chosen a reforestation and reagricultural project in Mozambique. It is a credible certifiable carbon-diffused project. We are in the process of purchasing a carbon offset.”
However Dr Collins argues that, “Taking a flight and planting a tree does not add up. It does not make it all right. It is having your cake and eating it.”
Dr John Barrett, from the Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York, says: “There is a huge irony in flying halfway across the globe in a private jet, eating up fossil fuel…the idea that you can offset the pollution you cause is just ridiculous. What these people at Live Earth have done is defined their boundaries to suit themselves, but there is no sense in which this concert is carbon neutral..”Planting trees or investing in renewable energy does not reverse the damage of releasing huge quantities of carbon dioxide into the environment.
“It is far better not to pollute in the first place. Carbon offsetting can be a removal of guilt, but it is not an effective one.”
Bob Geldof, who organized the Live Aid and Live 8 anti-poverty concerts, thought Gore’s energies were misplaced.
“I hope they’re a success,” Geldof said. “But why is he (Gore) actually organizing them? To make us aware of the greenhouse effect? Everybody’s known about that problem for years. We are all … conscious of global warming.”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=466775&in_page_id=1879
Cali Big Brother
July 7, 2007
Interesting….
Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA) has installed the first-ever automated camera in the US designed to ticket drivers who make “boulevard stops” or slow to a crawl at a stop sign without fully ceasing forward motion. The little-known agency will begin issuing $100 fines next Monday, July 9, at Franklin Canyon in the heart of Los Angeles, located off of Mulholland Drive, and another at the top of Topanga.
It is curious that we can justify the Government spying on its citizen minor law breakers, but not terrorists.