Live Earth, Thank You Al

[Lightning Rod]

http://www.moonbattery.com/archives/Al_ ... ching.jpeg

Live Earth, Thank You Al
for release 07-08-07
Washington DC
by Lightning Rod

The Poet's Eye watched the Live Earth concerts yesterday through the miracle of satellite television. My TV was busy sucking from the power grid. The parking lot of the concert venue was packed with Hummers. People were recording the event with cell-phone cameras. The stage itself used more kilowatts than some small African countries. There was a tinge of the absurd in the air.

Our planet is an ever-changing orb, and the history of climate change is vast. Consider it from this perspective: at one time the Earth was a molten mass of magma. That's about as much global warming as any place can stand. But we're talking four billion years ago. Since then things have, in general, steadily cooled.

I know it's fashionable to be in a panic about global warming. We are being taught to count carbon emissions like we count calories. Soon they will be selling carbon credits like the Catholic Church once sold indulgences. Counting calories has done no more to curb obesity than counting carbon emissions will do to curb 'global warming.'

On the auspicious date of 7-7-07, Al Gore throws his gala string of concerts all over the world to raise consciousness about global warming. On that same date, more people were married in the US than on any date in history. Which do you think will have more effect on this planet? It would be a close call between minor and miniscule.

I'm sorry Al, but I'm just not buying it. Here is why: Dinosaurs didn't drive SUV's and THEY are extinct. They had nothing to do with their extinction. It was a matter of forces beyond their control. They weren't driving the asteroid.

I think it is arrogant to believe that we, mere human masses of protoplasm, can have that much influence on forces, large forces, inexorable forces beyond our control. Everyone in the world could stop burning anything to stay warm, park all SUV's and even quit breathing (which emits carbon dioxide), and it would not affect the larger forces which move our planet. Ice ages and hurricanes, volcanos and ocean tides and earthquakes and the Gulf Stream don't care a whit about what we humans and our machines are doing.

Let's look at the positive side of global warming. We could have summer all year round. There could be beach front property in Denver! Antarctica could be the hot new vacation spot, Manhatten a wading pool. There may be wheatfields in the Sahara and somebody will figure out how to catch the runoff from melting glacial ice and put it in plastic bottles to sell to you in grocery stores. The planet adapts, like humans adapt. And we will adapt until we don't. I'm betting on the planet to last longer

I say to you, "Don't worry, the planet will take care of itself. Mankind may not prosper in perpetuity. Neither did the dinosaurs or a million other species. But hey, that's life on the big planet.

I know that I'm sounding like a Republican or a social Darwinist here, but maybe it's because my telescope is too long. Maybe I'm looking at it from too large a perspective. I just think that this planet sees the entire human race, all six billion of us, as so much moss growing on a rock. The planet has other agenda than worrying about our farts. And we don't need to worry about the planet, we need to worry about ourselves and how we get along together, moss that we are.

Now, don't get me wrong, I like a good concert. Alicia Keys was great as usual and Melissa Etheridge was a superb rock evangelist and I enjoyed seeing Cat Stevens in Germany. But do I think that a concert, even a slew of concerts on one day, is going to make any difference to the Earth? No. To the Earth, it is just incidental background noise.

But here's the real inconvenient truth: no amount of conservation, retrofitting or other minor screwing around with our environment is going to stop the inexorable progress of this planet. There are forces, natural forces, that are bigger than our species and bigger than our planet. Get over it. Live. Get in your Hummer and go to a concert.

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[mtmynd]

your showing your age, elRod.

No it's not all our fault. The ozone layer has a growing hole in it. the glaciers are melting while the polar bears are dying, some large cities are choking on their pollution... but we have no say so.

True, the sun is shooting off bigger and larger solar flares not seen since we've been studying them. True, there's a huge crack in the earth's magnetic field. Can we do anything about those? I don't think so. Some scientists that study such things have evidence that our solar system and the Milky Way galaxy are spinning thru a huge universal storm that we can't do shit about.

But the question remains - what if? What if we can keep our air clean? What if we can restore the pure waters that once (for millions of years) flowed across our planet nurturing all of life? What if we embraced alternatives to carbon waste from our energy sources? just maybe... just maybe... we could begin a step in the right direction... a direction we know that is conducive to a more healthy existence. We have the brains. We have the resources to begin moving in that direction. Should we ignore the warning signs all around us? Should we plead stupidity and just say "that's the way it is"? Or should we look for betterment... not for us because that is not ours to have, but for our offspring and their offspring. I think by ignoring what we know and what we can do is ignoring our future as a capable and responsible species that is cohabitating with all the other life forms on this singular planet of ours.

The Garden of Eden may have been lost to an Adam & Eve, but by living smartly and compassionately the Garden just may be restored for life in the future. Just maybe.... if we try.

[mischaz]

Hi, Folks:

Today, I've been reading Will Rogers, who, being 1/2 Cherokee, came very early into the environmental movement, having seen far too much of the destruction wrought upon his people and this world by folks who took but did not give to Nature. None of this is new, as Will was well aware, so here is one of his many statements on the subject of one contemporary man-made disaster of his day, the Dust Bowl, created through Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas via destruction of the grasslands, where one could not see the sun at noon as the topsoil was blown away:

"Now about these dust storms, that's how every civilization since time began has been covered up. It's been this dust. It's a terrible thing to happen to those people in the middle west, but on the other hand, it's a great tribute to know the the Lord feels that you have a civilization that is so advanced over the rest of civilization, that it's the first place to be buried under. I didn't think at first that we was that smart in Olkahoma, in Kansas, in Texas, and eastern Colorado, but our Almighty must know.
Now that He would ever cover up California for the same reason, I've got my doubts."

Here in Tennessee and other parts of the South East, we are having the worst drought in over 100 years, and it is a real drag. And the recent prolifferation of hurricanes have been so outrageous because of the warming of the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. So, it seems to me, as to many, many scientific experts, that our biggest concern is whether or not we're too late to even turn things around, and the present Administration can certainly take a lot of credit for this. So, this is more than the fact that I might be able to go to some new ocean beach much closer to home, especially if the great farmlands of the Midwest look like the Saharan desert. Whatever the natural forces are, this does not absolve our need to give our childern and grandchildren a world worth living in. And, on all fronts, it seems clear that we have a whole lot of control if we can get past the (primarily corporate) money-grubbers that have taken the reigns of control in this world simply for short-term gains.
My own personal experience came via Monsanto, the huge chemical corporation. My step-father, who was spraying 3 fruit trees in his back yard, was fasting at the time, which made him unusually vulnerable, so he received a lethal dose of insecticide. The next day, he was in the emergency room, covered with hives. A month later, he needed a liver transplant, a horrible experience for a man who had always enjoyed radiant health. The liver was rejected, and a month later he died while I held his hand. Mom sought compensation from Monsanto, and they offered "$12,000,000 if she never revealed anything about this." She refused, and, of course, was soundly beaten in court, the number of lawyers Monsanto flew in (12, all top-of-the-line) to harrass her, the "disappearance" of evidence from her lawyers office, the harassment of the family and friends, and then, her lawyer simply sold her out. It was offensive, he must have millions in some Swiss bank account. She then had to sue her lawyer first, and this became too much for her, a grieving widow. So, Monsanto's product is still on the shelfs, making millions and millions every year. And, of course, they are at the forefront of GMOs, and they also killed thousands due to a factory leak in India, etc., etc. But, they have tremendous power, so meanwhile, the frogs all over the planet are dying out, birth defects continue to rise, so many, many horrors from this one corporation and its environmental rape. So, again, it comes back to doing what we can. We owe this to ourselves and to others, and to future generations. And perhaps it is fair to say that we owe it to the many disappearing species of plants and animals as well, and to the beauty of Nature.
My own take is very "Hindu" or Native American. To me, my musical instruments are the very personification of Deity, as absorbed from my great teacher, Ali Akbar Khan. I think that all of Nature's wonders are the personification of deity, so I try not to tread on them. The ancient Greeks had a similar outlook, based in polytheism, as in India. And, as Homer stressed in the Iliad, the greatest sin was "hubris," the outrageous arrogance of those who inflict pain and wrong on the innocent. This never, ever went unpunished, but the perpetuators only learned this when it was too late. Many "End Time Christians" are in for this lesson, they are urging us to begin Armegeddon, and Bush meets with these fanatics every week in his office. But, at the end, Jesus will not save them or their children and grandchildren, they will find themselves suffering deeply in the world they helped so much to create. The same for those who do not do what can be done for the environment, for it will be too late. We still have many choices, but they must be made now, and not from the comfort of a feather bed.

All my best,

Mischa Z

[Lightning Rod]

thank you for your thorough and thoughtful responses cecil and mischa

and welcome to Studio 8, Mischa. I've been trying to get you here for some time. I know you won't let me get away with everything I try. But please understand that The Poet's Eye is for entertainment purposes only.

You'll find that I often take the contrarian view as much to provoke discussion as to express my true views. I try not to have 'views' in fact. They get in the way of thinking.

[Doreen Peri]

Welcome to the Studio, Mischa!

That's a very sad story. My sincere condolences.

Thank you for setting Lrod straight. I know he was probably just joking around but some important and serious topics are difficult to joke about and have it come off as joking and not as just dismissing what's really happening.

I am not a doomsdayist, myself, but I know the planet is in big trouble.

I'm sorry to hear about what happened to your step-father.

[Kreddible Trout]

Again. Defeatist.
Yes the planet will outlive us. Yes the dinosaurs are extinct. These are not only Republican defenses but OLD ones. I was hearing this stuff 10 years ago before I even gave a shit. I didn’t agree with it then and am offended by it now. “It’s out of our hands, fuck it!”
The idea isn’t to save the planet, the idea is to prolong our existence on it. The main activity of all living things is AVOIDING DEATH. Everything down to the wee-ist of protoplasm (cyto- and nucleo- and teenytinyplasm and onward down) strives to survive. Survival of the species. This is what environmentalism is attempting to get across. Unfortunately, thanks to the professional marketing scum who’ve conditioned us to consume constantly, environmentalism has been forced to use fear as a selling point. We’re moved by extremes. Like the man said, Nothing’s Shocking. We need rock stars to tell us what to do like we needed a lesbian with her own sit com to make us comfortable with homosexuals.
We’re easily
guided
sheep.
What we’ve been told is that without big oil (replace with unsustainable Forestry practices etc…) the economy will collapse, those of us who aren't already will fall into dire poverty and we won't be having any fun either.
I want my…
I want my…
S-U-Veeeeeee
That is the message backed by BILLIONS of marketing dollars foisted on the masses 24-7 between sitcom catchphrases.
So the hippies had to get a facelift (and a damned shave too!) in order to keep up. Sucks for those of us who see through the BS, but really, how many dozen of us are there left?
We can save the planet as well as we can destroy it. Yes. Saving the planet is as asinine as stopping (or even defining) terrorism. We can strive though. We can try.
Or we can give up.
We agree that as long as the planet follows its pleasant little rotation around the sun at the distance it’s at it will be happy. Yay. Can we also agree that pollution is bad? Can we also agree that it would be really swell to look up into the New York/Toronto/LA/Mexico City/London (etc) sky and see blue instead of brown? Can we also agree that if you sit in a closed garage with the engine running you’ll die? Can we agree that car exhaust is bad?
So why not find alternatives?
So why not ATTEMPT to change?
The only thing that’s stopping us is how well we’ve been conditioned and how unwilling we are to change.
We were adaptable. Humans (especially the allegedly free variety) have prided themselves on this time and time again. In the last 100 years our adaptability has been systematically ass-raped from us. We’ve been robbed of what got us out of the oceans in the first place!
By who?
Greedy people who wouldn’t piss down your throat if your guts were on fire. (They’d probably hire someone to do it after setting the fire themselves and reap the rewards of such a favorable act.)
And yeah… I have ‘bought in’ to the new lie. Whatever. I believe its all bullshit anyway. The planet and humankind is some big practical joke that I’m entertained by. A cosmic whoopee-cushion. But I’ll tell you, I’ve never had a driver’s license in my 35 years. I’ve never needed one despite what EVERYONE has told me. Surprisingly… I’m still alive and having a pretty good time!

(by the way The LIVE EARTH thing was a joke. I knew that as soon as I saw a CHEVY ad on the MSN page... what a lark... The kids'll eat it up though!)

[mtmynd]

K.T.: "Greedy people who wouldn’t piss down your throat if your guts were on fire."

quite the analogy... very colorful.

[Jenni Mansfield Peal]

Interesting thread, LR! Lots of good writing. I received this today and found it interesting (but not at all surprising...); I'm passing it along as pertinent to the topic. The video is from bravenewfilms.org. JMP
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[mtmynd]

Thx, JMP, for the vid. Right up L'Rod's alley, it seems.

Seriously... as you said, not at all surprising. Truth easily gets veiled by opinions... something we all contribute to, much too often 'spoiling our own broth.'

[Doreen Peri]

Jenni .... that video just proves how many stupid people there are on this planet. To avoid the truth is just plain suicide. *shaking my head* ... ridiculous. What do they plan on getting out of this? To say global warming is not real... well hell.... they must have some kind of financial stake in it or something. What are they selling? I keep shaking my head. I can't believe what I just saw! Scary.

[Anonymous-one]

What he says

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[judih]

oh, george.
a mouthpiece of perspective.

[Lightning Rod]

thanks, AO, for posting the George Carlin video

I had no idea that I was stealing so big time

this is one of the best Carlin routines that I've ever seen

(I guess I think that because he agrees with me, small minds think alike.)

[Arcadia]

I saw the festival more or less one hour, Duran-Duran and a Red-hot-chilli-pepper´s singer with a new hair cut singing the same songs... ahh... and I saw Julio Iglesias´s son in Germany (two minutes) that was the end.
There are lots of things to do to improve the conditions of our planet, but most of them have to do roughly with macro-politics-economics. In a micro-level is there something to do or not to do?. Sure!. Are the micro-macro levels conected. Yes.

Mischa, welcome!. And yes, Monsanto is a calamity, here too.

[Anonymous-one]

Judih: I love George and is "in your face" comedy style ,
what can i say .

L-Rod: Small minds think alike you say , well ! that
makes tree of us.