I am pretty pro-green. I like the idea of renewable resources, I turn off lights when I think about it, and actively try to cut down on my waste (Nobel prize nominations can be sent here). In recent years, however, the green movement has been gaining momentum and like all major movements when they begin to include people that are not so avid they wear the least comfortable//most expensive bamboo underwear ever made, they have begun to corrode their original message.
The climate-gate scandal, which rocked people's perceptions of global warming with allegations that people who had a vested interest in promoting environmental concern (shouldn't that be everybody?) had faked research and falsified data, traumatized the community and set public opinion back several decades. If we all die because we have forgotten what trees smell like, I am totally going to point to the story as the one that delivered the incapacitating shot to the climate change movement. The news that, apparently, they did not falsify data or behave badly made less than a tiny ripple in the grand news sphere. Did you not hear about that? Neither did almost anyone else. Now, even though we know they acted properly, did not mislead us in any way, the notion is there; The tiny, irritating thought that climate change alarmists had (gasp) DUPED US. Even if they didn't really.
Edmonton's personal shopping spree to bling up the old city center airport grounds,as I have mentioned, includes plan for air turbine, in a desperate nod to green culture and equally desperate attempt to make the Swedes stop mocking us. The "ultimate energy source" may not be all it is cracked up to be, as a British news report shows; the waste resulting from the mines that provide the magnets required for the turbines is highly toxic, carcinogenic, and being dumped in massive ponds that are seriously harming the local communities (Almost like Tailings ponds. Oh snap!) The truth is that there really is no 'magic' energy. No benefit without a cost.
What more could you possibly bring up, you Debbie Downer?
Just one last thing: natural medication is bought on a sort of "trust" arrangement. We understand that it is a bit uncertain, but it is almost in the faith, in the hope that we are healed. The placebo effect is a powerful motivator that can stymie conventional science. We accept the uncertainty because we believe that the company is too small, too grassroots, too "primal", to do the kind of research that big pharmaceutical companies do; so we support them anyway, because it is what 'small' people do - support each other. We have been duped. Unsurprisingly, as happens with industries that people are willing to spend money on, companies are capitalizing on this trend, but part of the magic of herbal supplements is that they are unproven, untested, underground, and that makes them special. If they shelled out for research, that bond of sacred trust would be broken, and they would be held to the same standards as the regular pharmaceutical companies. Oh, and they would have to spend more money.
So what do we do, Pun'd it? We still like the green movement!
That's good; the movement should continue. I wish people would still use their brains. Nothing comes for free, everything has a price or cost, there is no 'easy' button, and companies want to make a quick profit.We have forgotten how to steer our own wheels, and even with a movement that purports to have our best interests at heart, we should not relax. All it takes is a little due diligence to make sure we are making the best possible choices; in this age of the Internet, it is easier than ever.
In happier news Victor likes me so much, he put a ring on me; I am soon to become Mrs. Canadian Pun'd it. Thank you for sharing my joy.
The climate-gate scandal, which rocked people's perceptions of global warming with allegations that people who had a vested interest in promoting environmental concern (shouldn't that be everybody?) had faked research and falsified data, traumatized the community and set public opinion back several decades. If we all die because we have forgotten what trees smell like, I am totally going to point to the story as the one that delivered the incapacitating shot to the climate change movement. The news that, apparently, they did not falsify data or behave badly made less than a tiny ripple in the grand news sphere. Did you not hear about that? Neither did almost anyone else. Now, even though we know they acted properly, did not mislead us in any way, the notion is there; The tiny, irritating thought that climate change alarmists had (gasp) DUPED US. Even if they didn't really.
Edmonton's personal shopping spree to bling up the old city center airport grounds,as I have mentioned, includes plan for air turbine, in a desperate nod to green culture and equally desperate attempt to make the Swedes stop mocking us. The "ultimate energy source" may not be all it is cracked up to be, as a British news report shows; the waste resulting from the mines that provide the magnets required for the turbines is highly toxic, carcinogenic, and being dumped in massive ponds that are seriously harming the local communities (Almost like Tailings ponds. Oh snap!) The truth is that there really is no 'magic' energy. No benefit without a cost.
What more could you possibly bring up, you Debbie Downer?
Just one last thing: natural medication is bought on a sort of "trust" arrangement. We understand that it is a bit uncertain, but it is almost in the faith, in the hope that we are healed. The placebo effect is a powerful motivator that can stymie conventional science. We accept the uncertainty because we believe that the company is too small, too grassroots, too "primal", to do the kind of research that big pharmaceutical companies do; so we support them anyway, because it is what 'small' people do - support each other. We have been duped. Unsurprisingly, as happens with industries that people are willing to spend money on, companies are capitalizing on this trend, but part of the magic of herbal supplements is that they are unproven, untested, underground, and that makes them special. If they shelled out for research, that bond of sacred trust would be broken, and they would be held to the same standards as the regular pharmaceutical companies. Oh, and they would have to spend more money.
So what do we do, Pun'd it? We still like the green movement!
That's good; the movement should continue. I wish people would still use their brains. Nothing comes for free, everything has a price or cost, there is no 'easy' button, and companies want to make a quick profit.We have forgotten how to steer our own wheels, and even with a movement that purports to have our best interests at heart, we should not relax. All it takes is a little due diligence to make sure we are making the best possible choices; in this age of the Internet, it is easier than ever.
In happier news Victor likes me so much, he put a ring on me; I am soon to become Mrs. Canadian Pun'd it. Thank you for sharing my joy.
1 comment:
Yaaaaaaaaaay! Will it be a green wedding? ;)
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