Alright, I've been highly involved and pro active in reducing my carbon footprint for about the last 4-5 years. I encouraged (many times succesfully) others to take action too. Donated lots of money to Carbon Offsetting Orginizations, Rarely drove.....etc...etc... I am totally burnt out guys. I honestly find that I just seem to not care as much about it anymore. I have a (surprisingly) indifferent attitude about it now and i feel pretty guilty. and i obviously still know how serious an issue this is but...idk guys. I'm starting to just think "fuck it, it's not my problem anymore" Anyone had a similar situation and how you dealt with it??
I think its a case of too much too soon. You don't have to be a total nature freak to help out with the enviroment. Simple things like don't litter and use a bike on small trips can help w/ out burning you out*: )
It's similar to the hysteria about the hole in the ozone layer. Anyone remember that hysteria from the 1980s? http://www.sepp.org/key%20issues/ozone/advinozon.html The average consumer had to take their vehicles in for expensive conversions, we all threw out our aerosol cans. When the market was satisfied, it became ignored or minimized for a new threat that will now open up new sources of products for making the rich richer. Like Roosevelt said, I think the only thing to fear is fear itself. We are already being pushed to buy new expensive light bulbs, hybrid cars and ethanol, that have resulted in increased prices for foodstuffs.
if you want to save the planet try to recycle at a basic level this just means throwing your stuff into the recycling bins that your local council may provide. in australia many councils provide a separate wheely bin for recycling. try to heat your hot water using the sun. in sydney for example 37% of the residential electricity bill is made up from heating water. if all hot water was fully/partially heated using the sun you could be sure that at least a third of the carbon dioxide problem could be solved. even switching off lights when you are not using them will help making drastic steps to your lifestyle, by living the life of a pauper for the sake of it, is not feasible nor necessary. even driving a car with better efficiency will help.
Don't take a "don't care" attitude. Rather, take a "search for truth" attitude. A lot of the "environmental" hysteria, fortunately isn't true. But then that leaves the disturbing thought then, "Why are they lying and what's their true agenda?" Sure don't litter, don't waste things, but also realize that much of the raw resources people need, really are quite abundant, and there is too often a corporate or "environmental" agenda to manufacture artificial scarcity, for "environmental guilt" or greedy profit motives. Also, there's the globalist power-concentrating conspiracy to empower wicked powermongers, and ultimately usher in the Anti-Christ. Roosevelt said? You mean FDR? But he himself was a meddlesome socialist, at least from all the big government programs that he supported. And I wonder about all these complicated hoses and valves, on cars, such as the EGR valve that recirculates exhaust gases to cool the burning temperature, which supposedly helps gas milage and reduces emissions? Really? Less oxygen-rich gas mixture burns efficiently, or is the idea to reburn more hydrocarbons that slip by? How much better gasoline milage might we get, without all the "pollution control" devices clogging up the "internal combustion engine is really an air pump" air path? Not to say necessarily that in an increasingly populous world that all "pollution controls" can simply be eliminated, but rather, what's the true cost of all these perhaps questionable devices, and how much more difficult do they make it to keep a car well maintained? I heard somebody claim that we can't buy the old VW "bugs" cars anymore, like they still make in Mexico? Why not? Because they pollute too much. Really? How is that possible, since they don't hardly use any gas? We had to throw out aerosol cans? But we still have them? The switched us, as with refrigerator or air conditioner freon, to some perhaps inferior substitute. All to appease stupid enviro-wacko "environment guilt?" So where does it stop. What technology can long be safe, from such luddite, civilization-destroying, junk-science? How safe are these new aerosol cans? Freon doesn't burn. If they used to use freon, and now they don't, what do they use now? Propane? Something that turns a common aerosol can + a common cigarette lighter, into a flame thrower? As demonstrated in a scene in the sci-fi movie, Paycheck. So in a house fire, they turn into dangerous missles that could collide with firefighters? BTW, why can't I find the new bright white LED household lights, in the stores yet. Use less energy, get bright light and long life, and less heat to not run the air conditioning excessively, wouldn't that be even better than compact florescents incandescent light bulb replacements that don't seem to last as long as they should? I already see the LEDs popping up in traffic light signals, and on trucks and cars. They are those arrays of dots, that light instantly, faster than the old hot incandescent lights could. We don't need to be "pushed" to buy the new lightbulbs. Why can't merely the claim of the $100 or so of electricity, saved over the life of the bulb, as told on the package, be motivation enough? That compensates for the apparent higher price. I would pay more up-front, to save month-to-month, and end the replacing bulbs chore, once-and-for-all. Maybe LEDs will finally deliver on the promise of "long life?" Especially if they will take the surges that can occur routinely or during storms? Or will they be prone to an annoying/startling "flash" when surged? If I don't save money, then why bother to switch?
vw bugs are quite thirsty compared to the new cars. i've had a bug before, the clutch cable keeps snapping usually when its raining. bits falling off the engine. i know one person whose vw simply burnt to the ground after driving down the road with the back on fire, she lept out at the last moment. vw bugs were ok but they weren't the greatest car ever created. the kombi was better with a swapped engine. the average led is better for signals rather than space lighting. theres supposed to be a new bright improved led out there but i've yet to see it in the shops. for the moment use a fluorescent light. apart from one experimental led i've never come across any led that is more efficient than a fluorescent light.
LED lighting is available for home use but is not cheap by no means right now. You will fin it in very high end homes. Check out ebay they have some there. Dont do anything for the enviroment, do it for yourself. I switched all my bulbs in my home years ago to those florescent (spelling) just for the light bill savings. They seem to last a little longer than the regular bulbs and I have noticed savings. Cars, lol dont even get started. Hell if you have some land and time Holley has had alcohol jetted carbs out for over 40 years. Burns clean and can be made from waste. You can get a car to burn methane too if you have the resources to compress it.
Skeebop, it is your problem, and mine and each person on this blue ball's problem. What you need to do, as an activist, is take a break to recharge your batteries. Maybe change WHAT you do to network. Would you be able to go to a lot of shows next summer? Contact Rock the Earth and see how you can help. Take the time to get out of the city and see why you are doing this: so we won't have "tree museums" quite yet. Hit a beach, go to a forest, camp near a river. Ground. Recharge. and re-pace yourself.
Uh, but the gas prices are too high! So stay at home, and boycott the high price-gouged gasoline prices! Tree museums? Whatever are you talking about? Trees are weeds. They plant themselves. I sort of doubt that we could ever get rid of all the trees, even if we tried.
Wonder if the marketers are listening to you. Gore's green message will begin to ring less true as more of you sacrifice and see no return. What will their next angle be? First it was security, then democracy, and now save the planet. All any of us can do is what works within our lives. If it no longer works for you, find something that does. Katrina did it for me. The lives of the poor seemed to be expendable. I don't agree.
Trees are incredible things. You should try hanging around some sometime. But then, i guess some just arent receptive...
