Tuesday, July 10, 2007

why is arnold at live earth?

Continuing from my post on Live Earth (how many rock stars does it take to change a lightbulb):

I'm not going to go into a discussion of how eco-riffic I am. I will say this: we have one solar panel. Four would take care of all our needs but the cost is too high. If Arnold Schwarzenegger had put his money where is mouth is and invested more money in subsidizing solar power then we might be able to have our house run entirely on solar power.

Oh look at who is making an appearance at Live Earth: if it isn't the governator himself.

(Not to mention that Arnold came into office as a result of Republican corporate business interests taking advantage of the Enron-manufactured California energy crisis, which was still never a crisis because people responded by conserving and conservation works people so we don't need more refineries or power plants . . . but don't get me going.)

There is no reason why solar power shouldn't be easily affordable to most citizens of California by now other than a lack of commitment. Everything is available: it is just too expensive because it is too new and too small of an industry. There has been some state investment but not enough.

Schwarzenegger has been in office long enough that if he'd really wanted this to happen it could have happened. He is governor of the state with the most progressive environmentalist population. He has been riding on their achievements rather than using them as a basis to achieve something great of his own.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

ccocd

[CONSUMER CULTURE OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER] :
A condition of paralysis created by moral panic about spending money created by contemplation of:
  1. the unequal distribution of resources and/or
  2. the way consumer goods participate in environmental destruction and slave-wage labor, etc. and/or
  3. the soullessness of desiring material things in the face of suffering in the world and/or
  4. the overabundance of choice that leads to endlessly comparing items particularly with respect to ones personal values (ethical/health/etc).

I have coined this term, CCOCD to describe a common malaise of affluent consumer-based societies. It is related to but not the same as the terms affluenza and shopaholic.

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

getting into god

On fourfour Rich has developed an obsession with creationism. Oh goody! He takes it out in a new category he calls "God and Stuff" by offering his distinctive commentary on two recent films:
Enjoy. And see these films. Anything that promises a man wearing fetus jewellery who is not named hanibal has got to be interesting if nothing else.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007