Blamblog - Brett Lamb's Blog

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Earth Sour

Eva notes: You'll enjoy this list of alternative things to do at Earth Hour. My favourites: "Get drunk alone in the dark, like every Saturday." and "Go for a long drive with the headlights off."

Actually, I'll be doing #3:

Proclaim self-righteously to partner that turning off all the lights for an hour doesn't really accomplish anything and is just a red herring so corporations and governments can distract people from the real issues.

As the google example in the last post shows, the corporate world has pretty much jumped on this thing and neutered it. And since I've been sick for a week and feeling especially grumpy, I'd going to address #1:

Hold a candlelight Al Gore impression contest. Award a paper-mache Nobel prize to the winner.

You know what? Al Gore is a bit of a jerk (and so is his wife; remember the PMRC?). At the end of his movie, he lists a bunch of "solutions" to climate change and suggests that none of them are difficult. But Gore seems to always support "change" that comforts the wealthy and puts the burden on the poor ... which makes sense, because Gore is wealthy and views the world from that perspective.

Some of the things he's recommended:

Carbon credits - if you have the money, you can continue your lifestyle and buy out your guilt.
Compact Flourescent Bulbs - flickering, buzzing & ugly, they turn modest dwellings into ugly zones. Oh, and they're TOXIC.
Biofuels - which are fine ... unless you like to eat.

And that's the thing about Gore and this ongoing parade of environmental awareness events: the hesitation to take on suburbia. For example, what about lawns? Lawns are everywhere in North America and terrible for the environment. And in most municipalities, they're legislated. If you try to naturalize your yard, there's probably a bylaw to stop you.

Lawns are an example of a significant issue you never hear about in the current "green" frenzy that's surging through the mainstream. There are lots more. But they'd require real change and actual work ... and who wants that when you can go to a concert?

3:57 PM , # , |