This is yesterday's news, but I couldn't pass up a scatalogical story given my own obsession with all things poo.
Bill Whatcott, the notorious Christian Crusader for the anti-abortion movement (and connoisseur of all things anal), protested against Morgantaler's appointment into the Order of Canada by pooing on a picture of it and sending it to the Governor General. Remember this is the same guy who was a former gay prostitute and has run for political office in both Toronto and Edmonton (and actually got over 1600 votes in Edmonton-which makes you wonder about people in Edmonton ;) ). Seems like its the ones who lived the life of debauchery that like to preach the loudest-they've been-dere-done-dat so what else there left to do except work towards taking rights away from others who might want to and sanctimoniously smelling crotches.
He announced this on the Blogging Tories' website all proud n' shit. He was subsequently booted after a number of "looney" left wing bloggers picked up the story. Those silly left-wingers! Always ruining a good poo story!
So what is the message here folks? If its in the name of Christ, its ok to poo on things and mail them out to people! Let's get on it!!!!!!
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Maybe Morgantaler should return HIS order of Canada......
Rather than be associated with felons and child abusers.........
Lucien Larre, for someone who has been convicted of child abuse, and accused of sexual abuse, and is affiliated with a church that covered up a huge sexual abuse scandal whilst letting it continue, you sure have some nerve being all sanctimonious about the "big bad abortionist" getting a medal. So, return it. You didn't deserve it anyway. And why would Morgantaler want to be associated with criminals like YOU and Conrad Black anyway?
I'm fine with people disagreeing with the decision to grant Morgantaler the Order of Canada.... People have their own opinions on whether or not abortion has helped or hindered this country. This isn't about that-so no abortion debates in the comments section please. I have my opinions and they aren't about to change anytime soon-and I have my own fetus to worry about without having to sniff other ladies' crotches.
Lucien Larre, for someone who has been convicted of child abuse, and accused of sexual abuse, and is affiliated with a church that covered up a huge sexual abuse scandal whilst letting it continue, you sure have some nerve being all sanctimonious about the "big bad abortionist" getting a medal. So, return it. You didn't deserve it anyway. And why would Morgantaler want to be associated with criminals like YOU and Conrad Black anyway?
I'm fine with people disagreeing with the decision to grant Morgantaler the Order of Canada.... People have their own opinions on whether or not abortion has helped or hindered this country. This isn't about that-so no abortion debates in the comments section please. I have my opinions and they aren't about to change anytime soon-and I have my own fetus to worry about without having to sniff other ladies' crotches.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
JimBobby makes some excellent points.
ok, so I could use a lesson in attracting more flies with honey etc.....but JimBobby says very well the kinds of things I am thinking.
Sez JimBobby,
Sez JimBobby,
Even if you're an AGW skeptic, there are many advantages to the tax shift. GHG's are closely related to other pollutants. When we reduce GHG's we reduce many conventional pollutants at the same time. While you may doubt AGW, I suspect you accept the fact that pollution kills. "Bad air days" in the Great Lakes basin are killing people. The latest estimate of premature deaths due to poor air quality is 9,000+/year. The most conservative estimates put the figure at 3,000. Take your pick. Neither is acceptable.
Regarding the shift away from income tax, this is something most people should welcome. We should try not to penalize success and the less we tax income and profits, the more we encourage entrepreneurship and productivity. Some people call it "takin' care of business and workin' overtime."
With or without a carbon tax, energy costs are rapidly rising. This trend isn't going to reverse itself. Energy costs will rise and our dependence upon fossil fuels will further hurt our economy. Anything we can do to reduce our dependence on expensive fossil fuels will make us more competitive. A carbon tax is specifically aimed at reducing fossil fuel use. Whether that reduction is for the sake of the planet or for the sake of competitiveness and financial efficiency doesn't matter. Reduction of dependence is a worthwhile goal in and of itself.
I don't take much issue with the "tax on everything" characterization. So what? If you can get an offsetting reduced tax on income and the average Canadian is not clobbered with thousands of dollars in new taxes, it really doesn't matter if it is on everything. What matters is how many dollars you pay and how many dollars you get back via reduced income taxes or, in the case of low income Canadians, refundable tax credits.
The per capita average carbon footprint for Canadians is between 15-18 tonnes per year. If we are to pay $10/tonne, the average Canadian's net share would be about $200-$250 after some administrative and overhead costs are added.
Almost everyone can reduce their carbon footprint and, by doing so, reduce both their taxes and their outlay on fossil fuels. In a relatively fair system, those who use more than average fossil fuel will pay more tax. Those who use less than average, will pay less. Everyone will pay, though. Nobody denies that.
AGW aside, the planet's in trouble and our taxation system is designed to stifle income. We allow industry to use the shared atmosphere as a dump without any charge to them at all. Oil industry insiders refer to the practice of burning off waste gas at refineries as "sky dumping." Saves money. So what if it pollutes and kills.
Economist after economist is lining up behind a carbon tax. If you believed King Steve on income trusts, then you can believe he won't do exactly as Dion and most economists are suggesting... years from now. It's already too little, too late.
Labels:
Carbon Tax,
climate change,
Green Shift Plan
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Conservative Green plan: Find new planets to inhabit!!!!!
Tell me how this plan is bad. And provide proof please (as in calculations). But first, read the plan from front to back.
Tell me how this plan will cut so deep into the pockets of oil execs that they will leave Canada and ruin Alberta's economy. Calculate the true cost of this to consumers. On top of that, what are the economic consequences of a greener, more sustainable economy besides some short-term pain?
Things that I believe are positive (and tell me why I'm wrong, enlighten me):
1. Refundable tax credits for those who will be most affected by the increased cost of living (poor, rural and northern Canadians).
2. Income tax reductions for everyone, not just the lowest tax bracket.
3. Better child tax benefit
4. Employment credit for lower-income Canadians who will be most affected by higher prices.
5. Further reducing corporate income tax (including to the oil companies) and to continue reducing it for 4 years-and apparently making it one of the lowest corporate tax rates around........what commies!!!!!
6. Reduced small business tax rates (phew!)
7. Increased capital cost allowance for green technology (wait a second, isn't this the tax loophole oil companies are currently totally abusing?)
8. Refundable R&D tax credits? Say it isn't so!!!! Promoting even more research into green technologies? Humbug!
9. The tax per tonne of carbon will increase over four years-they know of this plan now, they can start making changes now instead of whining when it will eventually happen. Even if this plan is too radical for Canadians now, it will be an eventuality, a necessity, and why not soften the pain by being prepared? Not my nor the Liberal's fault if companies don't have the innovation or foresight to predict the worst possible outcomes and prepare for it.
10. Encourages people with their wallets. Obviously waiting until we "get it" isn't enough. Things that are bad for us are taxed. Cigarettes, alcohol, taxed......And guess what, all those laws restricting smoking are working. Smoking is down, is it not? It may take a generation to see the health effects of this, but my children won't be exposed to cigarette smoke. There is nothing that encourages good behaviour better than charging us for bad behaviour. We still have the choice to act poorly, but it'll cost us.
11. The cost increase produced by the tax is shadowed by far by the cost increases due to market conditions. They are relatively small. Of course, this is better news for the consumer than Big Oil.
12. The Liberals would reinstate a federal office of petroleum price information that the Conservatives slashed because it would make the oil companies more "accountable" (a word the the Conservatives like to pay us lip service with) to consumers. But why would the Conservatives want this when they are in bed with Big Oil not caring how they are raping consumers already?
13. The Conservative's plan will already result in higher energy prices (apparently they've admitted this). How do they reward Canadians? By decreasing CONSUMPTION tax, encouraging us to spend MORE, CONSUME MORE, not by rewarding us with better tax cuts on what we earn.
14. By putting a price on carbon we might actually help Canadian exports, as other countries might do it for us if we don't act now and thus make our products less competitive, especially if the tariffs are higher.
15. Money will be put aside to cover unanticipated costs of this plan (like greedy oil companies getting greedier). 1 billion over 4 years.
16. Renewable Power production incentives to double the availability of sustainable power sources (not sure if this includes nuclear which I am vehemently opposed to).
17. Apparently, there will be better incentives and regulations allowing Canadians who want to be greener to be greener (retrofitting, sustainable transit, city design?), although this wasn't clearly outlined enough for me. I am hoping this will change regulations about city farming (both gardening and small livestock), rooftop gardens and bylaws preventing more sustainable choices like line-drying and rooftop solarpanels and wind turbines.
Things that aren't so good:
1. While the Liberals have made calculations based on what the straight tax would mean to consumers in terms of cost increase, they don't take into account the greed of big corporations who out of spite would likely jack prices into oblivion. Unles a law was passed preventing this (then what would prevent them form stopping selling to us in the first place since we let foreign companies pillage our resources). They are putting aside money, but will it be enough?
2. My biggest criticism would be to implement the regulation and bylaw changes first, so that Canadians have a couple years to prepare (and corporations too). Then introduce the tax so that those that didn't prepare only have themselves to blame instead of feeling totally helpless.
3. I would like to see a more detailed outline of how local manufacturing and more sustainable city design would be implemented. Reducing sprawl. Southwestern Ontario is a total mess, with arable farmland disappearing everyday. What will be left afterwards?
So there....criticize the plan all you want, but have the courtesy to read it first instead of blindly believing its crap because Kate McMillan of MENSA believes so. Or because PMS says as a kneejerk reaction. Because as you believe of me, smart people can be stupid.
I can admit, its not perfect by any means, but do you HONESTLY think we can keep going like this forever and not ever have to make any changes? Really. We learned in ecology class that every system is finite. And even in the largest systems resources get depleted if not renewed. In a perfect world we would stop rainforest destruction, and help third world countries skip the dependence on dirty technologies. But the only thing we really have control over is our own country, our own land. How do you think humans can keep on multiplying and multiplying and not have some impact on the earth at all as we consume its resources without thinking? Or is there an extra-terrestrial contingency plan that only climate-change-denying conservatives are privy to?
I don't know how ready Canadians are for this to be honest. I guess at election time those who believe in this policy will vote for it, and if we are happy with the status quo, Harper and his inept Cabinet will be voted back in. All I know, is that if my riding Liberal candidate is at risk of being voted out, I am voting Liberal for the first time in my life, because I believe its time for action and in this case the Green Party can't deliver (although he was in favour of that consumer-punishing copyright bill-BARF!).
Tell me how this plan will cut so deep into the pockets of oil execs that they will leave Canada and ruin Alberta's economy. Calculate the true cost of this to consumers. On top of that, what are the economic consequences of a greener, more sustainable economy besides some short-term pain?
Things that I believe are positive (and tell me why I'm wrong, enlighten me):
1. Refundable tax credits for those who will be most affected by the increased cost of living (poor, rural and northern Canadians).
2. Income tax reductions for everyone, not just the lowest tax bracket.
3. Better child tax benefit
4. Employment credit for lower-income Canadians who will be most affected by higher prices.
5. Further reducing corporate income tax (including to the oil companies) and to continue reducing it for 4 years-and apparently making it one of the lowest corporate tax rates around........what commies!!!!!
6. Reduced small business tax rates (phew!)
7. Increased capital cost allowance for green technology (wait a second, isn't this the tax loophole oil companies are currently totally abusing?)
8. Refundable R&D tax credits? Say it isn't so!!!! Promoting even more research into green technologies? Humbug!
9. The tax per tonne of carbon will increase over four years-they know of this plan now, they can start making changes now instead of whining when it will eventually happen. Even if this plan is too radical for Canadians now, it will be an eventuality, a necessity, and why not soften the pain by being prepared? Not my nor the Liberal's fault if companies don't have the innovation or foresight to predict the worst possible outcomes and prepare for it.
10. Encourages people with their wallets. Obviously waiting until we "get it" isn't enough. Things that are bad for us are taxed. Cigarettes, alcohol, taxed......And guess what, all those laws restricting smoking are working. Smoking is down, is it not? It may take a generation to see the health effects of this, but my children won't be exposed to cigarette smoke. There is nothing that encourages good behaviour better than charging us for bad behaviour. We still have the choice to act poorly, but it'll cost us.
11. The cost increase produced by the tax is shadowed by far by the cost increases due to market conditions. They are relatively small. Of course, this is better news for the consumer than Big Oil.
12. The Liberals would reinstate a federal office of petroleum price information that the Conservatives slashed because it would make the oil companies more "accountable" (a word the the Conservatives like to pay us lip service with) to consumers. But why would the Conservatives want this when they are in bed with Big Oil not caring how they are raping consumers already?
13. The Conservative's plan will already result in higher energy prices (apparently they've admitted this). How do they reward Canadians? By decreasing CONSUMPTION tax, encouraging us to spend MORE, CONSUME MORE, not by rewarding us with better tax cuts on what we earn.
14. By putting a price on carbon we might actually help Canadian exports, as other countries might do it for us if we don't act now and thus make our products less competitive, especially if the tariffs are higher.
15. Money will be put aside to cover unanticipated costs of this plan (like greedy oil companies getting greedier). 1 billion over 4 years.
16. Renewable Power production incentives to double the availability of sustainable power sources (not sure if this includes nuclear which I am vehemently opposed to).
17. Apparently, there will be better incentives and regulations allowing Canadians who want to be greener to be greener (retrofitting, sustainable transit, city design?), although this wasn't clearly outlined enough for me. I am hoping this will change regulations about city farming (both gardening and small livestock), rooftop gardens and bylaws preventing more sustainable choices like line-drying and rooftop solarpanels and wind turbines.
Things that aren't so good:
1. While the Liberals have made calculations based on what the straight tax would mean to consumers in terms of cost increase, they don't take into account the greed of big corporations who out of spite would likely jack prices into oblivion. Unles a law was passed preventing this (then what would prevent them form stopping selling to us in the first place since we let foreign companies pillage our resources). They are putting aside money, but will it be enough?
2. My biggest criticism would be to implement the regulation and bylaw changes first, so that Canadians have a couple years to prepare (and corporations too). Then introduce the tax so that those that didn't prepare only have themselves to blame instead of feeling totally helpless.
3. I would like to see a more detailed outline of how local manufacturing and more sustainable city design would be implemented. Reducing sprawl. Southwestern Ontario is a total mess, with arable farmland disappearing everyday. What will be left afterwards?
So there....criticize the plan all you want, but have the courtesy to read it first instead of blindly believing its crap because Kate McMillan of MENSA believes so. Or because PMS says as a kneejerk reaction. Because as you believe of me, smart people can be stupid.
I can admit, its not perfect by any means, but do you HONESTLY think we can keep going like this forever and not ever have to make any changes? Really. We learned in ecology class that every system is finite. And even in the largest systems resources get depleted if not renewed. In a perfect world we would stop rainforest destruction, and help third world countries skip the dependence on dirty technologies. But the only thing we really have control over is our own country, our own land. How do you think humans can keep on multiplying and multiplying and not have some impact on the earth at all as we consume its resources without thinking? Or is there an extra-terrestrial contingency plan that only climate-change-denying conservatives are privy to?
I don't know how ready Canadians are for this to be honest. I guess at election time those who believe in this policy will vote for it, and if we are happy with the status quo, Harper and his inept Cabinet will be voted back in. All I know, is that if my riding Liberal candidate is at risk of being voted out, I am voting Liberal for the first time in my life, because I believe its time for action and in this case the Green Party can't deliver (although he was in favour of that consumer-punishing copyright bill-BARF!).
Labels:
Big Oil,
Consumerism,
Environment,
Green Shift Plan,
Tax
Friday, June 20, 2008
Oily the oil spot.....did someone say anal leakage?
So, I am confused. Is oily the skid mark ACTUALLY the Conservative mascot, or was that a joke? Here's a funny video about the lakes as toxic waste article that I posted earlier.
Via Saskboy:
About the so-called carbon tax. I've read through the Green Shift plan and will post more about it later...parts of it I like, parts of it I don't.
......while I know cost of living is going to increase if this ever gets through, I also know that the increased cost of oil won't be because of the tax, it will be the oily greedy buttstains on the underwear of the oil patch that cause it. Can't have anyone digging into our profits, can we? Instead of a million billion, we can't expect our shareholders to expect 9999 billion. That wouldn't be right. Its not Stephane Dion who wants us to freeze in the dark, its the oil companies. Next time you see oily here, think about that-these guys are in bed with our current government, who don't give a flying crap about the environment and will let them do whatever they want in the name of profit.
At the current price of oil the oil companies can probably absorb this tax without affecting the consumer. But you know they won't. I can see this tax being a bigger problem if oil prices dropped dramatically. Do you see that happening? So when gas is 2.50 a litre and bread 4 bucks a loaf and milk 5 bucks a litre, you can thank Oily here and listen to Mr. Harper bleating over the loudspeaker at the pumps blaming Mr. Dion while you are actually being f&*ked up the %ss by the oil companies and wall-street boys. Conservatives will complain loud and blame the libranos of course for this "tax grab".......
OR we can pressure manufactures to produce locally, get the rail system up and running so we don't depend on transport trucks and switch to sustainable energy sources, like wind and solar. We can stop buying Chinese goods and reopen the thousands of manufacturing plants that have been shut down in north america since it started being cooler and more profitable to encourage slave and child labour in third world countries to get our toys. WE can rally for better city design and preservation of our farmland and waterways. Basically make life better for all Canadians except for a few who've made lots of cash from the oil industry.
Oil will eventually be obsolete when we switch to more renewable, cleaner resources (not in my lifetime!). Complete dependence on a non-renewable resource-based economy is stupid in my opinion. Its lack of forsight and lack of respect for future generations. Its called diversification! Alberta wouldn't be so screwed if the oilpatch left if there was something else to take its place. Think of what happened in the maritimes....you'd think Canadians would learn a lesson!
As you can tell I'm REALLY pissed about all this stuff, and listening to all the rhetoric about the questionable nature of climate change pisses me off more. Its not ONLY about climate change.....its about less waste and pollution. This all ties in to this carbon tax. See past the CO2. Sure, Canada only produces a small percent of overall CO2, but we produce LOTS of other waste. We will be living in our own poo in the future if we don't change our lifestyles now....it has to be collective and I think this Green Shift plan is an excellent start. And YES, I WILL be complaining when I am paying more for everything-but I won't be blaming Dion, that's for sure, I will be blaming the greedy pigs who regulate the cost of oil and the stupidity of Canadians for buying into such horrible habits that led to this necessary measure.
Right on cue: Harper says Dion's carbon tax would "screw everyone". Uh no Mr. Harper......it would be YOU (for not doing jack shit), AND the oil companies, for not giving a crap about Canadians.
Says one commenter at CBC:
"
amen to that!
Via Saskboy:
About the so-called carbon tax. I've read through the Green Shift plan and will post more about it later...parts of it I like, parts of it I don't.
......while I know cost of living is going to increase if this ever gets through, I also know that the increased cost of oil won't be because of the tax, it will be the oily greedy buttstains on the underwear of the oil patch that cause it. Can't have anyone digging into our profits, can we? Instead of a million billion, we can't expect our shareholders to expect 9999 billion. That wouldn't be right. Its not Stephane Dion who wants us to freeze in the dark, its the oil companies. Next time you see oily here, think about that-these guys are in bed with our current government, who don't give a flying crap about the environment and will let them do whatever they want in the name of profit.
At the current price of oil the oil companies can probably absorb this tax without affecting the consumer. But you know they won't. I can see this tax being a bigger problem if oil prices dropped dramatically. Do you see that happening? So when gas is 2.50 a litre and bread 4 bucks a loaf and milk 5 bucks a litre, you can thank Oily here and listen to Mr. Harper bleating over the loudspeaker at the pumps blaming Mr. Dion while you are actually being f&*ked up the %ss by the oil companies and wall-street boys. Conservatives will complain loud and blame the libranos of course for this "tax grab".......
OR we can pressure manufactures to produce locally, get the rail system up and running so we don't depend on transport trucks and switch to sustainable energy sources, like wind and solar. We can stop buying Chinese goods and reopen the thousands of manufacturing plants that have been shut down in north america since it started being cooler and more profitable to encourage slave and child labour in third world countries to get our toys. WE can rally for better city design and preservation of our farmland and waterways. Basically make life better for all Canadians except for a few who've made lots of cash from the oil industry.
Oil will eventually be obsolete when we switch to more renewable, cleaner resources (not in my lifetime!). Complete dependence on a non-renewable resource-based economy is stupid in my opinion. Its lack of forsight and lack of respect for future generations. Its called diversification! Alberta wouldn't be so screwed if the oilpatch left if there was something else to take its place. Think of what happened in the maritimes....you'd think Canadians would learn a lesson!
As you can tell I'm REALLY pissed about all this stuff, and listening to all the rhetoric about the questionable nature of climate change pisses me off more. Its not ONLY about climate change.....its about less waste and pollution. This all ties in to this carbon tax. See past the CO2. Sure, Canada only produces a small percent of overall CO2, but we produce LOTS of other waste. We will be living in our own poo in the future if we don't change our lifestyles now....it has to be collective and I think this Green Shift plan is an excellent start. And YES, I WILL be complaining when I am paying more for everything-but I won't be blaming Dion, that's for sure, I will be blaming the greedy pigs who regulate the cost of oil and the stupidity of Canadians for buying into such horrible habits that led to this necessary measure.
Right on cue: Harper says Dion's carbon tax would "screw everyone". Uh no Mr. Harper......it would be YOU (for not doing jack shit), AND the oil companies, for not giving a crap about Canadians.
Says one commenter at CBC:
"
Screwing Harper's big oil friends is not the same as screwing the country. In fact, its the exact opposite."
For a family with an income of $53,000 (the average where I live) and two kids, its a $1,200 tax break, less about $200 in higher energy bills, which equals $1,000 for responsible citizens who look after their kids at the expense of big polluters who currently get a free ride at our kids' expense. Sounds fair to me.
amen to that!
Labels:
Big Oil,
Environment,
I like smoking crack
Monday, June 16, 2008
Speaking of not giving a flying f&*k about future generations.....
This bit of news horrified me. Its PUBLIC land!!!!! We know that this will affect future generations, they will be left to clean up the mess, while the private corporations silently disappear and are not held accountable. If our government cares at all about the future health of Canadians, they will close this loophole allowing the reclassification of lakes as dumping sites. Isn't the fisheries act there for a reason????? My goodness I think we are getting stupider with every generation. You'd think the Sydney tar ponds might have taught us something-not to mention the oilsands tailing ponds which will probably outlive humanity.
Labels:
Environment,
stupid idiots
Our Green Year
A blog I've been enjoying lately. Being pregnant, I've especially been paying attention to my impact and also to the foods I eat, where they come from and what's in them.
Our Green Year
These guys are inspiring!!!
Our Green Year
These guys are inspiring!!!
Labels:
blogging
Innovation and Environmentalism-why yes we can!
Would GM and other tired North American Car manufacturers have to be closing their doors if they had made more efforts to come up with innovative products that were better for the environment?
Honda announced the availability of its hydrogen fuel-powered car. Unfortunately its not widely available and will only be available to people living close to hydrogen fuel-dispensing stations.
Who knows what the availability of this technology will bring. First of all, how expensive will "hydrogen fuel" be? What kind of initiatives will be offered to those wishing to open hydrogen fuel cell stations so people could actually drive their cars? What is the lifespan of a hydrogen fuel cell battery? What kind of pollution is involved in the production of hydrogen fuel and hydrogen fuel cell batteries? I could ask 100 questions, but it looks like there is a huge demand for this car regardless, proving that given the CHOICE many consumers would gladly choose the more earth friendly technology over a polluting technology.
So, another reason why I do support a pollution tax is that potential revenue could be generated for more Earth friendly technology increasing the availability of fossil-fuel-negative options. Consumers would be able to afford these technologies (solar, wind, etc), and hopefully the piggy anal-raping oil companies would go broke. This to me is positive news as I look at $1.44/L at the gas station that makes even filling my little civic a big drain on the monthly expenses.
I also see some positives in high fuel prices. To be clear there are far more negatives, but perhaps this strain on transportation costs will force more companies to produce and buy locally. A conversation with my father informed me that there were only two tomato paste manufacturing plants left in Canada (this could be reduced to one in the near future). This is because tomato paste is much cheaper to manufacture in China. Yup. China. Even the Indians import tomato paste from China. Do you know how much tomato paste the average Canadian consumes? Think about it: Tomato Soup, tomato juice, ketchup, tomato sauce, BBQ sauce, many different sauces. With huge fuel prices to import these products (even with people working for 5 cents an hour) will definitely cause our food costs to increase. Another shocker, did you know almost ALL our apple juice concentrate comes from foreign countries? (and not just the US, we are talking mostly CHINA. Hello!!!!! I mean, they let millions of apples rot on the ground here. Why is this happening? Why would we buy apple juice concentrate from CHINA when we grow plenty of apples here? What if China has a drought? What if it gets a deadly virus? what if the soil is so contaminated that toxins are showing up in the foods? What if they are lying about their quality control practices and pesticide/herbicide use? (oh wait that's already happening). We are screwed!
So with the cost of transportation becoming prohibitive, we might see an increase in local industry. Lets hope-and the high fuel prices might also encourage more innovative energy-saving solutions for local manufacturers. They won't have a choice. So, we can buy locally as much as possible, and support the farmers in Canada who are working their butts off to make sure that if a global transportation problem did occur we wouldn't be totally screwed-and starved.
So, necessity is driving innovation.......big surprise there...my biggest beef is that WHY did we have to wait until fuel prices got this high and pollution got this bad before we started giving a shit? Those crazy commie enviro-nazis have been screaming this stuff for years. Maybe we should be listening to them a bit more.......instead of revving our engines during Earth hour in support of archaic polluting technology that is enslaving us to greedy corporations and wall-street junkies while new ideas are forgotten and left by the wayside.
Honda announced the availability of its hydrogen fuel-powered car. Unfortunately its not widely available and will only be available to people living close to hydrogen fuel-dispensing stations.
Who knows what the availability of this technology will bring. First of all, how expensive will "hydrogen fuel" be? What kind of initiatives will be offered to those wishing to open hydrogen fuel cell stations so people could actually drive their cars? What is the lifespan of a hydrogen fuel cell battery? What kind of pollution is involved in the production of hydrogen fuel and hydrogen fuel cell batteries? I could ask 100 questions, but it looks like there is a huge demand for this car regardless, proving that given the CHOICE many consumers would gladly choose the more earth friendly technology over a polluting technology.
So, another reason why I do support a pollution tax is that potential revenue could be generated for more Earth friendly technology increasing the availability of fossil-fuel-negative options. Consumers would be able to afford these technologies (solar, wind, etc), and hopefully the piggy anal-raping oil companies would go broke. This to me is positive news as I look at $1.44/L at the gas station that makes even filling my little civic a big drain on the monthly expenses.
I also see some positives in high fuel prices. To be clear there are far more negatives, but perhaps this strain on transportation costs will force more companies to produce and buy locally. A conversation with my father informed me that there were only two tomato paste manufacturing plants left in Canada (this could be reduced to one in the near future). This is because tomato paste is much cheaper to manufacture in China. Yup. China. Even the Indians import tomato paste from China. Do you know how much tomato paste the average Canadian consumes? Think about it: Tomato Soup, tomato juice, ketchup, tomato sauce, BBQ sauce, many different sauces. With huge fuel prices to import these products (even with people working for 5 cents an hour) will definitely cause our food costs to increase. Another shocker, did you know almost ALL our apple juice concentrate comes from foreign countries? (and not just the US, we are talking mostly CHINA. Hello!!!!! I mean, they let millions of apples rot on the ground here. Why is this happening? Why would we buy apple juice concentrate from CHINA when we grow plenty of apples here? What if China has a drought? What if it gets a deadly virus? what if the soil is so contaminated that toxins are showing up in the foods? What if they are lying about their quality control practices and pesticide/herbicide use? (oh wait that's already happening). We are screwed!
So with the cost of transportation becoming prohibitive, we might see an increase in local industry. Lets hope-and the high fuel prices might also encourage more innovative energy-saving solutions for local manufacturers. They won't have a choice. So, we can buy locally as much as possible, and support the farmers in Canada who are working their butts off to make sure that if a global transportation problem did occur we wouldn't be totally screwed-and starved.
So, necessity is driving innovation.......big surprise there...my biggest beef is that WHY did we have to wait until fuel prices got this high and pollution got this bad before we started giving a shit? Those crazy commie enviro-nazis have been screaming this stuff for years. Maybe we should be listening to them a bit more.......instead of revving our engines during Earth hour in support of archaic polluting technology that is enslaving us to greedy corporations and wall-street junkies while new ideas are forgotten and left by the wayside.
Labels:
buying locally,
China,
Environment,
food,
hydrogen car
Friday, June 13, 2008
Wasteful packaging 101
As most people who read this blog are aware, there are some things that piss me off. One is superfluous wasteful and unnecessary packaging. I came across a posting from eco-chick, and think she's spot on. This Neutrogena face cleanser apparatus is so weird! What ever happened to your hands and a facecloth? Are we so devolved that we need this weird thing to wash our faces?
Another big one for me is the iPOD and some apple products. Don't get me wrong, I am becoming a fan of Apple products and love the small electronic devices. What I don't love is the big hard plastic package it comes in. It completely negates the point of having such a small device! The packaging weighs a pound while the product itself is a mere few grams.
Another pet peeve is pre-cut, pre-packaged apples. Why can't we just buy regular apples? Is it too much to ask a kid to actually bite an apple? The best though was individually packaged pickles I saw when I was in San Diego. Number 1, GROSS.....and number 2, who gets pickle cravings so strong they must go into a convenience store and buy an individually packaged pickle?
So, if anyone wants to share some more packaging complaints with me feel free. I might make this a regular feature if I continue to see ridiculous packaging.
Another big one for me is the iPOD and some apple products. Don't get me wrong, I am becoming a fan of Apple products and love the small electronic devices. What I don't love is the big hard plastic package it comes in. It completely negates the point of having such a small device! The packaging weighs a pound while the product itself is a mere few grams.
Another pet peeve is pre-cut, pre-packaged apples. Why can't we just buy regular apples? Is it too much to ask a kid to actually bite an apple? The best though was individually packaged pickles I saw when I was in San Diego. Number 1, GROSS.....and number 2, who gets pickle cravings so strong they must go into a convenience store and buy an individually packaged pickle?
So, if anyone wants to share some more packaging complaints with me feel free. I might make this a regular feature if I continue to see ridiculous packaging.
Labels:
Environment,
ridiculous packaging
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