A Big Green Blind Spot
Thursday, February 14, 2008 at 11:44PM Recently I was reading some humorous quotes by comedian George Carlin. Such conundrums as If a man is standing in the middle of the forest speaking and there is no woman around to hear him, is he still wrong? had me cackling for quite some time. But the one that caused me to ponder was this: What do you do when you see an endangered animal eating an endangered plant? Good question.
Reminds me of a segment I watched on cable news this week. Seems a couple of suburban gentlemen in Sunnyvale, California, have faced off over who gets to be greener. Mr. Green has installed a solar panel array in his roof to supply his household with power from the sun. The panels allow him to heat his house without a furnace, thereby saving him money and ostensibly conserving energy. (That global warming thing comes in handy sometimes, eh, friend? Not to mention it's convenient you live in a nice climate.)
Mr. Green's next-door neighbor's yard is ringed by several tall, old Sequoia trees that provide shade and privacy. The problem is, the magnificent trees are blocking the sun from fueling Mr. Green's solar panels during crucial energy-gathering times of day. The solution? Mr. Green has the backing of state law to force his neighbor to cut down the beautiful trees! Apparently this is okay with the tree-huggers because in this case the solar power is deemed more important to the environment than the trees that must be sacrificed to ensure its unimpeded "progress."
Talk about trading one set of environmental stressors for another set that are more palatable ... or at least more expedient. Sounds like a wash to me.
Then I picked up the March 2008 issue of Reader's Digest. As I was leafing through its pages I came across an article about 46-year-old rock singer Sheryl Crow, ex-fiancee of cyclist Lance Armstrong, single mother to an adopted son, and breast cancer survivor. Sheryl's all about doing something to stop global warming and save our planet. When asked about the "politically strong stand" she takes on her latest record, she responded: How do you explain to a kid what a polar bear looked like or why it's so hot in summer? How do you explain that we inherited this earth and didn't take care of it, and now it's going to be up to him to try to put a big Band-Aid on it?
Last time I checked, it's hot in summer because that's what summer is: hot weather time. This ain't rocket science. And does Ms. Crow really believe that in her son's lifetime he and his ilk will be required to find a Band-Aid for the environment? I don't understand what she's trying to say figuratively, much less literally.
As to polar bears (you know ... those big animals with white fur), I decided to do a little online research ... I figure it's at least as reliable as Sheryl Crow and Reader's Digest put together. This is a direct quote from a UN website dedicated to endangered species of animals:
Muffled against the bitter artic cold by thick white fur and layers of fat, the polar bear lives and hunts in the snowbound lands and ice flows surrounding the North Pole. A strong swimmer and a lone predator, it is at home ice flows, which may carry it far from its original locality. The polar bear is found on the arctic coasts and islands of the five countries around the North Pole, the United States (Alaska), Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Norway and Russia. It is the only species that still lives throughout its original range, with an estimated 20,000 still in the wild.
It is my humble opinion that if the supposed plight of the polar bear has been undertaken, even partially, by a United Nations organization that misspells the word "arctic" and writes "it is at home ice flows" (instead of "is at home on ice floes"), then maybe the polar bear is better off being left alone. God created the polar bear and He can protect it. Twenty thousand bears is a lot of bears ... do you think maybe the species knows about the birds and the bees? Perhaps that's why it "still lives throughout its original range."
In response to the next question, about why Ms. Crow "sings angrily" about the war and global warming, she had this profound response: We can't cling to despair. We don't have time to wallow.
Oh ... that's IT? Okay. I understand ... I think. We must do something. I let go of my despair and read on, perplexed.
Does Ms. Crow grow her own food? We're building a chicken coop and planting an organic garden. We've got a stocked fishing pond. I don't know about the beef thing. It's too hard for me to have a couple of cows and then kill them and eat them.
How do you know? Have you ever done it? What are your plans for the chickens and the fish? Are you saying that bovine life is more valuable than poultry and marine life, and is therefore an inhumane food source? I personally am confused but maybe Crow's cows are the ones on the Chick-Fil-A billboards. Eat mor chikin.
How is Ms. Crow planning to help clean up the mess? I'm trying to figure out how to get wind and solar power to my ranch and to get my whole farming community off the grid.
How valiant and touching. But I wonder how Ms. Crow would like it if the hospital and cancer treatment center where she received the care she needed to send her disease into remission had been taken "off the grid"? I wonder how she'd like it if the recording studios, TicketMaster outlets, and concert venues were taken "off the grid"? I wonder how she'd react if suddenly the factories where her CDs are produced, and the distribution centers where they are housed prior to shipping, were taken permanently "off the grid"? And what about the carbon footprint made by the trucks carrying her product to retail chains? And hey, while we're at it, let's take those retailers -- and the financial institutions where Ms. Crow stores her money -- "off the grid" and see how she likes that. Think of the energy we'll save. I for one will not miss Wal-Mart.
When asked, in conclusion, what else people can do, Ms. Crow shared this insight: It's doing what you can do. Some things seem expensive but ultimately save you money, like energy-efficient lightbulbs. Driving a hybrid car is a lot less money than a huge gas-only SUV.
I notice Ms. Crow does not suggest that people save money by declining to buy her albums. Beam me up, Scotty ... if there's any intelligent life down here, it's off the grid and hiding behind a green blind spot.
Reader Comments (5)
HaHa, I love it. That Sheryl is quite an idiot I must say. Enjoyed reading this, you make a very good point but it was funny at the same time. Loved it loved it.
Audrey
The best points are made with humor ... and when it comes to this subject, it's almost too easy. Them celebridiots really put the jelly on the bottom shelf. Thanks for reading, luvvy.
I think it is all more complex - like why doesn't the guy who has trees and wants solar power panels put the panels in the sun in a different part of his yard. That way he gets heat in the winter but still gets shade (cooling) from the trees in the summer, instead of running AC?
When stuck between two conflicting answers, it's often best to look for a third.
The problem with just letting God take care of the polar bears is that it assumes God thinks we're stupid and irresponsible. I think maybe we have received many gifts from the Almighty and are responsible to take care of them (kind of like we tell our children to do at Christmas time).
Well, you make a good point about finding a third answer ... I was just saying that it doesn't make sense to talk about ecology and the environment when the man is being asked to cut down his venerated foliage in order for his neighbor to have solar power! Surely there is a better (and maybe even simpler) solution. Yours is actually a very good one except I think the man's solar panels are in his roof and moving them is not an option. As to the polar bears, my only comment on that is that they aren't Christmas presents but God's creation, and I don't accept that they are in trouble to begin with. If they are in trouble, I'm not sure it's because of something man has done. Those are things no one -- not even Algore -- can really prove. Maybe God in His wisdom wants certain animals to become extinct. I stand by my belief that God will take care of all his creations ... from the earth, to man, to every creature in His care. His eye is on the sparrow.
But in any case, thanks for reading and thanks for commenting Theresa! Very salient and thought-provoking ideas you have.