Earth Hour was never much more than a branding exercise concocted by a major ad agency to make corporations look good. We get that, yes. Some would argue despite that, it still created awareness about energy consumption and it cut through to people who don’t spend their days immersed in this stuff.
But if only the members of the Facebook group Human Achievement Hour had an appreciation for shades of grey.
A lively discussion on the merits of PR-based advocacy regarding global warming, brought to you by dumb and dumber.
If there was any doubt that this issue has shifted from a bi-partisan issue into a dunderhead debate involving reds and greens in this country, this Facebook group should dispel it.
What did shadow environment spokesman Greg Hunt have to say when Liberals Senator Cory Bernardi was linked to the group? He did what any smart member of the Coalition does when not-quite-disowning their wingnut counterparts. He rolled out the “broad church” line.
And what did the Opposition leader say?
”Unlike Mr Rudd’s ETS, at least Earth Hour is some form of direct action and it doesn’t involve a great big new tax on everything.”
Hey, at least he’s on message. And a big shout out to departing Senator Nick Minchin, whose work Cory (self-proclaimed member of ”Minchin’s Montana Militia”) looks likely to continue to carry out.
We all know who the true wing nuts are in this country and across the world.
Why do they largely congregate as conservatives here in the Liberal party or republicans in the US or the Taliban in Middle East?
Why are they impervious to proven scientific fact and reasoned rationality?
Oh, that’s “right” they mostly believe the bible, and holy books of the word of god.
It is about time these luddites get the ridicule they deserve in our so-called modern Democracies, and why aren’t they? We must ask of the press that thinks it has the responsibility of protecting our precious democracy.
It is one thing respecting someone’s beliefs, but when those proven fantasies are just that, fantasies, and they endanger the best form of government we have, let alone the planet we live on. Someone needs to stand up and point out the madness.
If you doubt me, open your eyes and minds, the evidence is all round you, look it up before it bites you on the arse.
Under any other circumstances these people would be locked up, medicated or just publically shamed for believing such nonsense. Why do we have to put up with this sort of crap in the 21st century?
Its not about science. I believe it is about how much you like your fat consumer life-style, and whether you think you are going to be dead before the consequences occur. So affluent, late middle aged people will generally be climate change deniers in action if not also in word. The question is not whether they can be convinced, but how long everyone under 40 is going to accept the proposition that we should pay for their last party.
You’re right it’s not about science, it’s a meditation on economic and technological progress that, since 1800, has doubled life expectancies and fed six times more people than ever before. Human achievement all but eradicated countless diseases such as polio and tuberculosis; it also puts 300,000 new books on the shelves every year, and so on.
What’s not to celebrate?
“What’s not to celebrate?”
How about the fact that this Human Achievement Hour only exists to further the interests of those who knowingly distort the science on global warming to suit their ideological viewpoint?
It’s sad that in a world where three billion people live on less than $2 a day, some people actually think that deliberately wasting energy to combat a strawman enemy is a funny idea. Why don’t you all just go and urinate on the third world instead? That’ll teach them to be poor and show up all that “human achievement”.
And how do you expect these people to escape poverty without access to cheap and abundant energy? If those on less than $2 a day had access to the type of power that Earth Hour seeks to malign, then their situation would be rapidly and immeasurably improved.