I Don't Get Earth Day

Really, I don't.

It only makes economic sense when you can re-use things, or if various products degrade easily once used. It costs money to deal with trash that doesn't go away. Lots of things can be incorporated into other materials used for building or whatever. It is nothing new.

The general tone of earth day seems to be self righteous sacrifice which is often meaningless. That is not to say things that can supply heat or power without buying consumable material like oil aren't desirable. But I do not sit in awe of those who have sworn off toilet paper or who want to use taxes to change behavior and skew the market.

The logical progression of things is toward methods and designs that get more use out of a unit of fuel and such as that.

I still can't help but remember when people who wanted to produce their own power by water power off the creek out back and by other means were once characterized and right wing militia types and forbidden from dong those things. Mills which once used a waterwheel to power the looms, then later used the wheel to power a generator were forbidden from doing so. They were required to buy the power from the utility companies.

Keeping those examples in mind, it could be said that government involvement and support of one group or company over another has actually slowed the progress of the development of renewable cheap energy. Why, now, would I want people who can't design anything to control the progress of such art? It has become an emotional movement which gets passionate and militant, often using half baked studies and dubious conclusions in a campaign against technology in almost any form.

The aspect to the day which induces goody-goody wannabes to behave in that "look at me and praise me, I'm picking up trash and not using toilet paper much", leaves me cold. Then again, most intentionally conspicuous "service" does that.

I saw a Mexican man in Alpine walking toward the corner where they gather in case someone wants to hire labor. Maybe illegal, maybe not. His garb, hat, and genral body characteristics left now doubt as to nationality. He was cool.

As he was walking, he would stop, wait for a clearing in traffic then go into the street and pick up trash he saw there. he also picked up plastic bottles and fast food bags off the sidewalk. There were no trash bags so he bundled it together and put in sort of off the sidewalk in a neat clump where it could be picked up by whoever might have a bag or something. It was an improvement.

I found it interesting that he did this as he went on his way. No sign suggesting everyone look at him. No group effort. No in your face approach looking for a pat on the back. Just a reasonable effort because he must have found the idea of trash in street aesthetically offensive. Now that kind of guy elicits more respect from me than those who try to tell everyone else how to live.

Information is good and I guess some use the earth day thing to disseminate some good knowledge. It is the political aspect that turns me off. And the self martyrdom for attention. There is a line that is usually politically incorrect to point out which often gets crossed "for a good cause", or "for the greater good". It always involves minding the business of others, or some sort of pushy tactics that suspend respect for personal territory, and usually promote more rules and regs.

I'm all for cheap energy, maximization of resources through better design and invention, but not through force of government which ends up promoting one person, group or company over another.

Anyway, I am usually suspicious of large groups and crowds pushing anything. I wonder if they'd get together and roll cars powered by a V8 or other huge power plant. That would be fun.

I saw a banner on a site asking what you will do for earth day. One example was not print out anything on paper. Geez. It must be like Lent. Later in the week that person will print out what did not get printed today, but it sure felt good and warm to refrain today.

I take the fun out of everything.

I snatched this off of an earthday site. These are comments in which people boast about their wonderful efforts to Save the Earth. I'm sorry. What these people should be worshiping is not the earth but the people who invent better ways of dealing with it. Without them, humans would have a much shorter life span and a far more painful existence. Of course many people use good invention to promote pain and worse. I credit the worship of government and its resistance to performing its proper functions for much of that
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I'll use my outdoor clothes line from spring to fall and set up an indoor one in the basement for winter.
When I walk along trails, beaches, rivers, lakes, or parks - I pick up trash others have left, and I yell at smokers who throw their butts on the ground or in sewers.
I will use a reusable water bottle ...
stop banging so many girls :D
gathered greens from the flower shop I work at and composted them