Human Achievement Hour – Saturday 7.30pm

Woody Mann-Caruso said :

This is good for the anti-science crowd because you get to major in ‘fiction writing’ and ‘dramatic writing’. Cutting edge of intellectual capital here, people. Why listen to scientists about the climate when you can listen to an angry white girl whose claim to fame is literacy?

The environmental movement is full of anti-science people, in fact they probably are in the majority. They are prepared to accept what climate scientists say because they agree but be damned if they are prepared to make response that is rational and scientifically based.

For instance why choose the most expensive way of producing renewable energy, micro solar electricity generation on houses? Because it’s fashionable, distributed, small, makes people feel self reliant and matches their rather warped view of sustainability.

So they are able to forget that the energy payback period at best will be 5 years and up to 10 for a badly sited situation and that even though the taxpayer has stumped up half the purchase price, their fellow citizens will still have to buy they electricity at 7 times the price of conventional electricity and that stuff all will be produced.

And be damned if they will accept that there may have to be some unpalatable compromises made on the environmental front such as the consideration of nuclear power.

Yes it is a token event, but it raises awareness – kind of like wearing pink to raise awareness of breast cancer or wearing a badge for harmony day. Which reminds me, next Harmony Day Ralph and I are organising a new movement that is going to wear Aryan Nation badges and Swastika’s who is with us?

sepi said :

Um – actually i think that spending the hour thinking about ways to reduce your comsumption is what earth hour is all about.

Those who think it is soley about reducing your power use for one hour are missing the point by about a galaxy.

Those meaning 99% then?

sepi said :

With any luck even those people will stop to realise how lucky we are to have electricity, after an hour of not using any, and will use a little less in weeks to come.

I don’t have a problem with burning a few candles during earth hour – it is a symbolic event, not supposed to save the earth in and of itself. Burning candles during dinner is something everyone can do. We don’t condemn it at other times, so why start during earth hour.

Awesome post sepi – ya nailed it!

With any luck even those people will stop to realise how lucky we are to have electricity, after an hour of not using any, and will use a little less in weeks to come.

I don’t have a problem with burning a few candles during earth hour – it is a symbolic event, not supposed to save the earth in and of itself. Burning candles during dinner is something everyone can do. We don’t condemn it at other times, so why start during earth hour.

Fair point Sepi, it’s just that many of the people I know who observe Earth Hour seem to sit around with 10 candles burning talking about how wonderful it is that they’re saving the planet.

Um – actually i think that spending the hour thinking about ways to reduce your comsumption is what earth hour is all about.

Those who think it is soley about reducing your power use for one hour are missing the point by about a galaxy.

Given that I think that Earth Hour is tokenism, and that too many people will sit around with candles (that are far worse for the environment than lights), I was think about spending some time thinking about ways to reduce consumption for the Berlina family.

I figured that would be much more useful than sitting around feeling smug.

I plan on going camping, in a big 4wd. We will extract natures animals from the water, and fill the atmosphere with smoke from our fire. We dont need mod-cons to take our piece of the environment.

Americans live mainly on packaged food. Making a dish from scratch, actually peeling and chopping onions and cutting up meat etc is a dying art over there. A friend with a kitchen to die for, full of the most amazing gadgets and utensils, didn’t know what I was doing when I was making gravy. She was very concerned about the roux (I like to get it real brown before adding the stock).

Americans also consume a lot of medications for their stomachs and bowels.

Meanwhile, during earth hour, like last year, HQJOC will have all lights blazing, polluting the sky for miles.

sepi said :

achievement hour sounds like a teenager wagging school – watching dodgy videos with a microwave hamburger.

Only if the teenage is overindulged to the point of arrogant self-entitlement by wealthy parents. He’s only wagging school because he’s got the sh1ts with a teacher who told him that it might be a good idea if he turned off the x-box for one hour a year — in order to learn what life would be like without all the resources he takes for granted.

sepi said :

who in their right mind would want to celebrate packaged food?

More wealthy people are moving back towards whole foods, organic even, and enjoying the simple things.

achievement hour sounds like a teenager wagging school – watching dodgy videos with a microwave hamburger.

I fixed your statement for you sepi. I think the answer would be all the people who aren’t dead from starvation.

who in their right mind would want to celebrate packaged food?

more evolved people are moving back towards whole foods, organic even, and enjoying the simple things.

achievement hour sounds like a teenager wagging school – watching dodgy videos with a microwave hamburger.

My behaviour Saturday night will be exactly the same as it will be any other Saturday night. I will neither turn my lights off or turn all my appliances on. Both actions are foolishness and mindless.

I have an ongoing commitment to reexamining my consumer choices and the environmental impact they have. Through this I have and will continue to reduce my carbon footprint, and environmental impact. Only long term behavioural change such as this will make a difference. Anything else is nothing other than masturbation.

Reacts quite angrily to reason and logic.

You’ve had way too much warning on the personal abuse of other commenters WMC. If it continues we will get pre-emptive to ensure it sops.

Ralph said :

Never mind that first world growth drives innovations that benefit the poor.

Excellent rebuttal.

Allow me to respond in kind: “I know you are you said you are but what am I?”

Here we go again, Ralph not answering direct questions. Still waiting to here how good ol’ white boys Ross and Campbell were brainwashed by ‘Lebanese Muslims’ into shooting up the Viking Tavern back in ’84.

You got nuthin.

Never mind that first world growth drives innovations that benefit the poor.

Ah, poor people don’t have enough to consume; therefore, people in wealthy countries should consume even more, while ignoring the scientific consensus that overuse of energy resources is ruining the planet for generations to come.

An excellent argument sir. I take my hat off to you.

Ralph said :

Here we go again, the olde chestnut of conspicuous consumption and overuse of resources.

Those Club or Rome arguments were settled in the 1970s.

It’s Earth Hour every day in North Korea. I think you’ll find that most people from impoverished countries would greatly measure success based upon consumption possibilities. If it wasn’t so important, we don’t people seek to better their lot? Must be dumb sheep.

Can’t fault your logic.

Oops, typo.

Can’t FIND your logic.

Here we go again, the olde chestnut of conspicuous consumption and overuse of resources.

Those Club or Rome arguments were settled in the 1970s.

It’s Earth Hour every day in North Korea. I think you’ll find that most people from impoverished countries would greatly measure success based upon consumption possibilities. If it wasn’t so important, we don’t people seek to better their lot? Must be dumb sheep.

Wow, what a lot of effort for something so pointless and negative.

So Ralph, are you going to go around and turn on all the taps and leave your cars running as well?

Enjoy. Actually, don’t.

There’s a big difference between thinking Earth Hour is ineffective tokenism (a view I hold some measure of agreement with) and actively going out of your way to provoke conspicuous consumption.

Even if you think that Earth Hour is ineffective, you’d have to be a complete retard to think that over-consumption of resources isn’t having an effect on the planet.

To then assert that the sole measure of success of humankind is our amazingly technologically advanced ability to consume demonstrates an amazing lack of insight.

I personally think “HAH” is a great idea. I’ve listed before all the problems I have with earth hour (tokenism at it’s worst), so the idea of celebrating all we as humans (lets us not forget, at least by our own measures, the most successful of any animal on the planet) have achieved in a relatively short period of time.

That or I’ll sit around drinking beer with mates and forget about the whole thing – earth hour and HAH hour.

Woody Mann-Caruso said :

The only person who uses ‘proles’ around here is you, Ralph.

Maybe you could explain why you’re happy to celebrate the fruits of civilisation, almost all of which were created by scientists, then cheerfully ignore those same scientists when they tell you that you’re overdoing it and screwing the planet in the process? Why you’d ignore scientists when they talk about science, but listen to journalists instead? Would you listen to a plumber talk about economics?

How about you share your greatest human achievement? What have you invented that makes you think you’re worthy to participate in Minton’s silly tantrum? Did you watch people make an ad once like she did?

Don’t bother. We already know the answer. It’s because you’re a little, little man.

Woody, I think I love you.

The only person who uses ‘proles’ around here is you, Ralph.

Maybe you could explain why you’re happy to celebrate the fruits of civilisation, almost all of which were created by scientists, then cheerfully ignore those same scientists when they tell you that you’re overdoing it and screwing the planet in the process? Why you’d ignore scientists when they talk about science, but listen to journalists instead? Would you listen to a plumber talk about economics?

How about you share your greatest human achievement? What have you invented that makes you think you’re worthy to participate in Minton’s silly tantrum? Did you watch people make an ad once like she did?

Don’t bother. We already know the answer. It’s because you’re a little, little man.

Also, I love the fact that you define ‘happiness and success’ as the ability to ‘eat some packaged food, drive, use your microwave, your dishwasher, or watch movies’. That’s just … genius.

What’s elitist about not wanting to live like a sheep?

Gotta love Woody’s perpetual elitism. He knows what’s best for the stupid proles.

tool.

Ahh Ralph, I see you’re back.

Weren’t having enough fun over with the others at Bolt’s blog?

Because people are much happier when they get to sit on their fat arses all day, watching crap, eating more crap burning other crap all the while and filling the atmosphere with crap. This happiness lets them conveniently forget about the crap hitting the fan all around them, and when they notice it, they can deny it because a ‘policy analyst’ at something called the ‘CEI’ who writes releases that look lie they came from a primary school’s student council tells them it’s ok. Viva civilisation!

We should never feel guilty, or apologise for our fatness and excess.

Fixed that for you.

And I love the quality of ‘policy analysts’ they have at the CEI. They “worked in the advertising field managing the production of video advertisements” and have degrees in “writing seminars”. This is good for the anti-science crowd because you get to major in ‘fiction writing’ and ‘dramatic writing’. Cutting edge of intellectual capital here, people. Why listen to scientists about the climate when you can listen to an angry white girl whose claim to fame is literacy?

Much more apt than the neo-luddite, anti-innovation hour.

I suspect I will be celebrating HAH on my own, in my study while the rest of the family observes EA… To compensate, I might go buy a new set of twin 500w Halogens tonight.

I was just planning on turning on all my lights but this is much better