Michael O'Hair
As a biologist I once knew said, "The earth is a closed system. If we screw
it up, it will simply shut down for a couple million years."
The theme to all this is denial. The energy industry has denied the
possibility of a greenhouse effect. They paid off enough politicians to get
the problem pigeonholed in congress for years. The Chinese government has
ignored their pollution problems for years. The Russian government has
ignore their pollution problems for years. Do you see a theme emerging
here? For all of you "conspiriacy buffs" out there, remember that the
expansion of Los Angeles was made possible by the Los Angeles Electric
Railway. A consortium made up of Standard Oil, Firestone, and General
Motors bought the railway and shut it down. They then put through the
"freeway-ization" plans that have made LA what it is today.
The good news is that it used to be worse. Fifty years ago, the smog got so
bad in Los Angeles that women's nylons would dissolve due to the
high-sulphur content of the smog. It's no accident that LA has been the
driving force in air quality for years; it's a case of self-preservation.
Another bit of information that gives some hope is that General Motors is
sinking serious money into fuel cell research. Some forward thinking people
in business are making "end game" plans for the "oil age."
Personally, I think I'll be talking to Ken Lay and his band of thieves to
put plans in place for the deregulation of air. My plans for the
"breath-o-matic" air filter/supply units have been lying around for years.
It's obviously time to start the marketing campaign...
----- Original Message -----
From: <mcc-@pdx.edu>
How many of you saw this story this morning on CNN's website?
http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/south/08/12/asia.haze/index.html
Even with things like this going on, I think the attitude of most people
is
that little ol' them won't really make a difference. I recall an article
a few
years back about a survy done in California that found that around 90% (I
can't
remember the actual number, but it was very high) of motorists thought
others
should use alternative transportation. I thought the title of the article
should have read 90% of motorists are hypocrits, but maybe that would be a
bit
harsh. Either way, it was funny to hear all these people complaining
about how
bad traffic was while at the same time expressing how impossible it would
be
for them to ride a bike/use the bus, etc. A few years ago, before I
really
discovered the bike, I felt the same way.
-Tony