April 22, 2006

Earth Day

Does it seem to me that this year, there is more whining going on about the earth day celebration than usual? If the Ds wish to go out and celebrate a made up holiday to worship Gifford Pinchot, why should should the Rs care? Global Warming, Global Cooling, Ice Age coming, Magnetic Pole shifts - gee - you would think that the earth hasn't been there and done that a few times already.

Such vanity in thinking humans can change the climate, when volcanoes pump more carbon dioxide than all the cars. But the carbon dioxide concentration will decrease on its own as the oil runs out and we have nothing left to burn. Perhaps combustion as an energy source should be limited to campfires and barbecues, with wienies and marshmallow. Begs the entire question - now that we have mostly burnt through the one time bounty of fossil fuels, where can we derive the energy necessary to exist? How much of the economic system will go into chaos over energy diminishment, and will that be a bad thing? Just look at what we have now for policy, is this good? Happy Earth Day, as if it matters.

It pays to do all the little things you can to conserve, but the incremental difference that it will make is infinitesimal compared to the scope and scale of the world carbon flux. This net flux is decreasing by partitioning the higher order organic matter into carbon dioxide and methane, the energy wells at the ends of the carbon cycle. If we move from petroleum to foodstuffs for fuel, it will enhance the effect, not diminish it. A diversity of approaches is required, as we live in a monocultural mindset.

But we are going to be rethinking group american economics real soon, by necessity. Happy Earth Day - it does matter (and energy!).

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