Climate change added to Doomsday Clock
Doomsday Clock moves closer to midnight
And I wish the Canadian government would wake up and do more to combat global warming. I'm not often ashamed of Canada's record on the world stage, but I am over this.
The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site
Posted by Rob on Wednesday, January 17, 2007
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5 comments
5 Comments:
Wait until the press conference on Friday to become disgusted; that way you might be able to avert that feeling altogether.
And if you really want to feel disgusted, move to a second-world nation that ruins their own country by burning wood, burning coal, dumping poisonous chemicals in the rivers, including heavy metals and dioxins.
If you want to feel disgusted, become a citizen of China. Seven of the world's ten most polluted cities are in China.
But let me tell you, environmentalism doesn't begin with being disgusted at the government. It begins with you. Turn off lights when you leave the room. Put on a sweater rather than turning up the heat. Switch to lower-energy light blulbs, like compact fluorescents. Don't order pizza delivery as often. Hang your clothes to dry. Drink tap water and not pop or bottled water. Get a urinal installed:
http://www.uncrate.com/men/home/bed-bath/kohler-home-urinals-005490.php
Better yet, get a water-free urinal installed:
http://www.sloanvalve.com/waterfreeindex.htm
More notes on both types:
http://www.keidel.com/design/select/urinals.htm
Even if you just do one of these things, you've made more of a difference than lots of politicians ever will.
I've always been one to get into 'discussions' and a lot of times by friends baiting other people to engage me. It's always been neat to debate either one or both sides of a topic.
I had a saying way back in the eighties (well, two really, but the other one related to religion) that was a great debate starter. It was short and to the point - "the environment is a waste of space".
I do think strange things are happening, but I'm not convinced humans are to blame. Not when we admit we don't have a clue about long-term global climatic changes and we see proof like; that one volcano eruption (like the one in Peru 15? years ago) spews 10+ times more pollutants into the air than all of man does, globally, in a year - or that 85% of our global CO2 to oxygen conversion is done by the algae in the oceans.
Yes, I use CF bulbs, and I rarely have more than 1 on a time, and I pee on the neighbors bushes to save water (kidding), I don't drink plain water though - it'll just rust ya, but I do use my heat and I do leave my stereo on all the time (and my fridge), and I do like driving, just for the sake of driving. I remember there being a quiz way back in Discover about one's household energy usage. If I remember correctly I came out just slightly negative of neutral. Which actually surprised me because I thought I would have been way worse.
What was the question?
Hey Don, it's nice to see you again! Do you do karaoke? A few of us are going on Saturday.
And you know, stereos just don't take that much juice. It's actually equal to the energy emitted as sound plus the energy emitted as light plus the energy lost as heat. Which usually isn't much.
And I'm not saying don't use the heat. But some people I know put the heat up to 23C for their cat while they're away. A whole house at 23 for a cat? A cat that's probably freaking hot in that temperature?
My personal rule is, if one person's cold, put on a sweater. If two are cold, turn up the heat.
Or if you're cold, come to karaoke on Saturday and have a beer. That'll warm you up. :D
My heat is only on when I'm home. Which sometimes is a lot, just depending on my scheduling. I remember when gas spiked a few winters back people were complaining their gas bills went to $300-$400. I'm thinking what? Mine when up like $20. I couldn't imagine what they'd be doing to use $400 in gas.
Karaoke? Heck, I don't even sing in the shower. But alas I have to finish up a (3 Saturday) job in Sundre this Saturday. I'd be home in time, but I know I'll just want to put my feet up and nurse a tea or two. But thanks for the offer.
Stereos. You are very correct for consumer grade equipment. Because of the circuit topologies of the high-end gear I have though, the power drawn (amplifiers especially with their class-A drive circuits) is the same whether it's playing full blast or not at all. My CD player is always warm to the touch too.
TRIVIA
Case temperature of my CD player, after sitting idle all night - ranges from 45 to 55 degrees C.
The amp is pretty much the same.
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