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Hi Wayne & All, March 28, 2010
Pogo, in about 1957, said it long before limits to growth and said =
it best, while looking our over a swamp fouled with tires, auto =
batteries, cans, bottles, etc.; "I have seen the enemy and he is us."=20
These earth hour sessions may have some positive consequences but I =
wonder if earlier sessions are responsible in part for the idea that =
incandescent bulbs are somehow undesirable. [In our latitude nearly all =
of the heat generated by incandescent bulbs is welcome; apart from 15-20 =
evenings per year.] In 2007 I calculated our estimated annual usage of =
power for lights as a percentage of average residential power use; a =
whopping 4.5% !
Has the message been corrupted by simplistic interpretation and the =
desire, in some quarters, to finally find a market for fluorescent bulbs =
?
Out previous government established Conserve NS, partly to push =
fluorescent bulbs and our present government plans to (perhaps has) move =
this function to a private agency. One effective way to conserve energy =
would have been to turn off the lights at Conserve NS and spin-offs; =
permanently.=20
Rather that pull the main switch for one hour per year, surely the =
message would be more convincing if one were to use power sparingly for =
some 8700 hours per year.=20
To tame the mill run of mindless consumerism one must close the head =
gates; wide open for 6 decades by a dysfunctional school system in which =
children are taught by example, by being bussed to 'shiny, new', =
overheated, remote schools that all travel must be by motor vehicle and =
taught further that only new and waste are acceptable.=20
Sometime prior to 1971 I read an excerpt from an in press article =
('Toward a stationary state economy' by Herman E. Daly) and was =
impressed enought to cut it out and save it, as a potential blueprint =
for the future. Fourty some years later one can see that much has =
changed; in the wrong direction.
One efficient way to waste resources is to produce defective =
merchandise. Take light bulbs as an example. The low wattage bulbs on =
either side of the mantelpiece (present when we bought the house in =
1967) both had burned out by 1995 and one replacement was burned out by =
Oct 2009. The two new Sylvania 15 watt bulbs bought Oct 7, 2009 for =
$2.49 and rated for 2500 hours each seemed like a good deal but each =
lasted about one microsecond; about 100% short of the promise. And one =
Sylvania replacement for these replacements burned out Jan 16, 2010 =
after an estimated 250 hours of use (~90% short of promise).=20
Our first toaster, a gift in 1960, lasted for 40 years thanks to a =
design which enabled adjustment and repair. Our second toaster, thanks =
to a design which precluded adjustment or repair failed within 40 days, =
the third lasted a bit longer and our fourth is still working. --- etc.
Habitat destruction has been on an upward exponntial curve, over the =
last 6 decades, by construction of 100 series highways, urban sprawl =
roads to nowhere and in general by a mindless pursuit of the horizon by =
the public. =20
Politicians, for all their shortcomings, do respond to clear =
consistent messages that have broad public support (the means to become =
and remain in power) but the messages from environmental groups have =
been largely discordant and disorganized, apart from shared =
misanthropic, anti-commerce, anti-business attitudes and, of course, a =
desire to raise funds by any means possible.
What well conceived and broadly supported messages have the =
politicians missed ?
Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
----- Original Message -----=20
From: Wayne P. Neily=20
To: NatureNS List ; Nature NB List ; PEI Birders List=20
Sent: Saturday, March 27, 2010 11:08 PM
Subject: [NatureNS] Earth Hour success?
Hello all,
=20
It was encouraging to me to note that of the 5-6 Atlantic Region list =
serves that I am on, usually all busy on a Saturday evening, only one =
message came through during Earth Hour (and that was from a noted =
conservationist, so he was likely using a battery-operated computer). =
Of course, that does not mean that everyone on the lists turned off =
their main power supply for the hour, but I hope that enough did so to =
send a message to our political leaders, who (except for the Green =
Party) still don't get it. =20
=20
As people who care about nature and the future, we need to inform =
ourselves as much as possible about the threats to both from continuing =
to accept the mantra of that great Ponzi scheme known as conventional =
economics that "growth is good". As long as we continue to grow the use =
of the capital of the earth's resources (through consumption and =
degradation) to make money for investors, we are getting ever closer to =
disaster, as some thinking people have realized, at least since Limits =
to Growth was published by the Club of Rome in the 1972. We must try to =
get the message to politicians by all methods. and work to get those =
elected who really care. End of sermon.
Wayne P. Neily
=20
Tremont, Kings Co., Nova Scotia
=20
"Think globally, Act locally." - Ren=E9 Dubos, 1972.=20
-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
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Stay in touch. Get Messenger on your phone now.=20
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-----
Internal Virus Database is out of date.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com=20
Version: 8.5.437 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2754 - Release Date: =
03/18/10 07:33:00
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<DIV><FONT face=3DArial>Hi Wayne & All, =
=20
March 28, 2010</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial> Pogo, in about 1957, said it =
long=20
before <EM>limits to growth</EM> and said it best, while looking =
our over=20
a swamp fouled with tires, auto batteries, cans, bottles, etc.; "I have =
seen the=20
enemy and he is us." </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial> These