Not really a political thread, Al Gore was the only name mentioned and he is a nothing.
We have to stay non political with things like this.
I don't make any comments from a political stand point, only common sense or logical which seems to be in very short supply world wide.

Maybe ten years ago the local electric company wanted to add hydro power generating to a local dam.

Hundreds of people showed up to protest, the turbines will kill the fish.

My opinion, the dam is already there, hydro power is about as clean as it gets.
Probably had a few extra jobs added to the local economy permanently, and many jobs during construction.

I think the electric company should have got names and addresses of the opposition.
And politely disconnected them from the grid the next day.

That happens enough times, we have plenty of generation and transmission capacity left instead of being constantly on the brink.
Like you said, let the ones that think sacrifice is the way to clean the planet up lead us by example, not by rules.
If Al wants to save the planet, I think his house would be a fine place to start.

Last enviromental summit I heard about, everyone participating in the summit jumps on their Lear Jets and flew there.
I think that was probably the most ecological mode of transportation they could have picked.
Wonder where their bicycles were?

Modern logic, I want everything, I don't care where it comes from, but don't get it from my back yard.
I want to be able to throw anything away, I don't care where it goes, but don't bury it in my back yard either.

Neither of those statements are logical.

I have to add, I am just a dumb hick wood tick hillbilly from WV, what could I possibly know about the enviroment or what is logical or not.

 

The question is, why has this happened so many times before in the earth's history, when MAN DID NOT EVEN EXIST???? I dont understand how they can completely pin this on man when its a WELL KNOWN fact that it has happened before. And why does every scientist who doesnt go along with the climate change theory of today automatically get dis-creidited as an eco terrorist working for the oil companies. It is a complete myth that the scientific community is united on this front. Yes, most agree that the surface temps are rising, but there is no complete concensus that man is alone at fault in this. The earth has an orbital pattern that changes every so many years, that is pretty much established. What we dont know is how fast it happens, or if it is even completey constant. Then you add in the variable of sun spot activity and boom you could very well have conditions that are completely natural causing warming to occur. So yes, there is doubt that man is causing it, so why are we putting into legislation measures to stop something we dont even come close to understanding. Wouldnt that kinda be like putting the mule before the cart??????? But the fever pitch behind all this makes for GREAT campaign propaganda. Im all for reduce reuse recycle, but that should be common sense, not political god fodder.

 

It is a proven scientific fact agreed on by every scientist that the climate has not stopped changing since the first spear was thrown.

 

Logic, reason, and the ability to think critically have been removed from the public "education" itinerary, teach them what to think not how to think. Done by design not accident. I mean really, a high political figure talking seriously about fighting climate change, as if the earth is the new enemy. Think of the minds that came out of one room school houses two hundred years ago and compare them to the products [children] of the multi-billion dollar "education" system of today where a measurable portion leave high school barely able to read and write. That is the future and the future is here. The combined knowledge and know how of those here who offer their practical experience with technical, diagnosis, fabrication, installation, etc. is priceless and could not be learned in any "school", anywhere, for any amount of money. That is higher education, that is the ability to see the problem and formulate and execute the solution, that is intelligence. For that, I am thankful to have found this place [insert hat's off smiley]. We were once an independent, self sufficient people who came together to meet a threat head on and so it can be again. Ironically, or maybe not, it's like people who like their trucks and want to maintain and keep them running, and working for twenty, thirty, or?, years. Whew, I hope my pump and injectors get here soon.

 

There are many forms of education always has been and I'm not sure there is a way for common sense to be measured. But I honestly some of our so called better higher learning facilities actually teach common sense out of your head, teaching you to be smart but dumb at the same time sorta thing. It seems as more and more of the population goes to a larger degree of higher learning that we seem to be moving away from sense wholly for IQ. I may be the only one who looks at it like this.

 

They don't call them "institutions" for nothing! The trip towards "higher" learning leads one on a course away from the source and corrupts the natural innate common sense bringing about the unnatural "let someone else do it, what's in for me, it's not my problem, etc" mentality that has brought us to where we are.

 

My formal education was at a small WV mountain school in a town with a population at that time of around 700 people.
The population of the whole county was under 2000.
We had two high schools, I went to the big one.
60 people in my senior class.
The other small school had 13 seniors that year.

We had a rather varied education program back in those days, Earth Science, Chemistry, Biology, Algebra, Geometry and Calculus plus the required English and History classes.
I wanted to know everything, so I spent every study hall in the library reading everything I could about anything that I had even the slightest interest in.
We only had three different sets of encyclopedias, they were the first thing I read so I had an idea of what was really interesting to me.

I did take a night class at a Vo Tech school for two years as an industrial maintenance mechanic, with the curriculum set up by the aluminum extrusion factory I was working for at the time.

Electrical controls, electrical theory and practices, pneumatic controls, machine shop, welding, plumbing and setting up heavy plant machinery for operation.

When I left home, my dad only had one thing to tell me, "If you don't try, you will never succeed".

Since then I have learned, if you really set your mind to something and give it a serious effort, a person can do about anything they want to.
The first step is wanting something bad enough that you are willing to search out every fact you can relating to what you are trying to do.

Would I ever have loved having the internet back in my school days.
Unlimited information about anything you can think of, right in the comfort of my home.
Sure beats sitting in a library reading out of date books.

My son, graduated high school last year.
He has the same desire I had, but sadly his teachers never inspired him to search out the facts.

Funny thing, the county I live in now has a population of about 70,000.
You would think the education resources would be much better here.
Not so from what I have seen.

 

I wanted to know everything, so I spent every study hall in the library reading everything I could about anything that I had even the slightest interest in.

Exactly, that natural hunger for knowledge and understanding has been so effectively stifled today leaving in it's wake several generations who now possess the collectivist philosophy of "go along to get along". Why think and provide for yourself when we can do it for you, now sleep...sleep...sleep.

 

I have to wonder how much cell phones and computer games have to do with that.

Then on top of that, with the murder, kidnap, drugs constantly in the news, parents keep kids boxed inside now.

I had two whole mountains with 1500 acres of roam territory when I was 10 years old, and probably a pistol on my side when I was out there in the woods.
With the proxcimity to DC, today the woods back home are probably crawling with pot growers toting Mac 10's in the summer.

Far from the world I grew up in today.

Course I remember how great it was when we put a TV antenna 5000 feet from the house on top of the mountain to get 3 TV stations that went off the air at midnight.
Telephone was a party line with 9 families sharing the same phone line.

And before you ask, yes, I have lived in several houses that did not have indoor plumbing.

 

If you like to think about it mathematically, The smartest 50% of the population are having 1.8 kids but not until they are nearly 40 on average. The other half, lets say less academically inclined types are having 5.4 kids by the time they are 30. Basically the world population is going up but the average IQ of that population is going down. Blame overcrowding, failing education systems or whaterver you fancy but it is global and speeding up. Fixing education is not the total answer but it is the first logical step. Encouraging children to think for themselves is the best thing you will ever do for them. In my opinion you cannot teach common sense in a school it must be learned hands on and you will never get a computer to teach it. As far as drug use and bad discipline in our youth bring back national service first year after school I say.

 

When I moved to N.M. I didn't unload and put the tv in the house for over a year, and when I did we couldn't get a channel even with a 50 foot tower movies only.
We never allowed games to be hooked to the tv and when I finally gave in and computerized it was basically for work we did not install games.
My kids were probably the only ones in school without cell phones hell I put off cell phones for years until business required it.
Guess what my kids when not in school or at school activities, they started working and holding jobs at an early age to buy the the things they thought they needed and still have a strong work ethic.
Back to the weather 15 below last night, 0 tonight and supposed to be a low of 19 above sat night it can't make up its mind what it wants to do.

 

in canada its -17c with about 5 feet of snow in town hahah so that would be 1 fehrenheit lol

 

We only have around a foot of snow in fairbanks but we don't typically get lots of snow here. Where you at in canada I've drove the cassier when the snow was higher than my 13'6" stacks on the south end.

 

here on the island(vancouver island) BC it is about to drop in temp a lot. still nothing compared to 5 feet of snow but it will be down around 24F for lows which is a bit nippy. Looking forward to some snow! the wife is hating life! hahaha She is a florida girl.

 

Just saw it is snowing in houston They must not belive in gore to much down there.