Seeker Posted May 29, 2008 Report Share Posted May 29, 2008 Global Warming Skeptics Plot Carbon Belch Day Conservative grassroots group Grassfire.org wants people to waste as much energy as possible on June 12 by "hosting a barbecue, going for a drive, watching television, leaving a few lights on, or even smoking a few cigars." The point: the group wants to "help Americans break free from the 'carbon footprint guilt' being imposed by Climate Alarmists." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC Posted May 29, 2008 Report Share Posted May 29, 2008 I had this idea myself. I'm glad somebody made it a reality. But we can all do are own part each and every day to make sure our "carbon foot-print" is as large as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-Mac Posted May 29, 2008 Report Share Posted May 29, 2008 (edited) I thought that's what Earth Hour and Earth Day are for? Why do we need our own special day when raining on their parade is so much more fun? Edited May 29, 2008 by K-Mac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiberTodd Posted May 29, 2008 Report Share Posted May 29, 2008 I drive several hours a day for my job and when I'm not at work I'm usually playing guitar through a tube amp which produces more CO2 than your average light bulb. Every day is Carbon Belch day for me . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkWaters Posted May 29, 2008 Report Share Posted May 29, 2008 Conservative grassroots group Grassfire.org wants people to waste as much energy as possible on June 12 by "hosting a barbecue, going for a drive, watching television, leaving a few lights on, or even smoking a few cigars." The point: the group wants to "help Americans break free from the 'carbon footprint guilt' being imposed by Climate Alarmists." The emphasis is mine. If the actual emphasis of this holiday is on wasting energy, that is, using large amounts energy with no rational benefit, this idea sounds pretty stupid to me. Not only could this be expensive but the goal itself appears to be nihilistic. Instead, we should focus on a positive. For example, establishing a day where we celebrate the heroic achievements of the industrialists who revolutionized coal, electricity, oil and other vital resources? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Radiaki Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 I'm going to side with DarkWaters here, wasting energy to no good end is stupid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IchorFigure Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 Stupid, but whoever named it "Carbon Belch" gets a point for creativity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maximus Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 (edited) Stupid, but whoever named it "Carbon Belch" gets a point for creativity. Yeah, they could have gone with "carbon flatulence." I'll bet someone thought of it. Edited May 30, 2008 by Maximus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wrath Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 I have to question the motivations of anyone who actually supports this. I'm no fan of environmentalists, but the notion of having a day where you intentionally damage the environment seems nihilistic to me. While environmentalist wackos may go overboard, I don't think it's unreasonable to ask that people refrain from going out of their way to pollute the air, for the sole purpose of polluting the air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyotr Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 We should celebrate Eudaimonia Day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capitalism Forever Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 I have to question the motivations of anyone who actually supports this. I'm no fan of environmentalists, but the notion of having a day where you intentionally damage the environment seems nihilistic to me. What damage are you TALKING about?? Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve D'Ippolito Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 Actually the rational point to deliberately expending energy that day would be to piss off the enviros. K-mac got it half right when she said it was best to rain on their parade, I do have to wonder though if she was thinking of acid rain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 Check out the ads that pop-up at the bottom of this thread because of the topic... priceless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkWaters Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 Actually the rational point to deliberately expending energy that day would be to piss off the enviros. Being offensive is not equivalent to stating a rational counterpoint. I do not recommend endorsing a cause that encourages the mindless waste of resources. I especially would not want such a cause to be mistakenly associated with Objectivist ideals. Such an association will only add to the unfortunately common misperception that rational self-interest means you can do whatever the hell you feel like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-Mac Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 (edited) I thought that's what Earth Hour and Earth Day are for? Why do we need our own special day when raining on their parade is so much more fun? Perhaps I should clarify... I think Earth Hour and Earth Day are the perfect time to illustrate our valid points on the issue of "man made" global warming. I would like to rain on their parade by defiantly not participating, and instead use all of the days' events, news stories and other publicity stunts as examples to point out what their agenda is really about. I am not into wasting electricity, gas or any other natural or man made resource because I cannot afford to waste it and to waste it just doesn't make good, common sense. Edited May 30, 2008 by K-Mac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve D'Ippolito Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 Oh, I understood you, K., my brain just did a word association rain->acid rain and I remembered that was their big cause of the year back in the early 80s. Just appreciating the irony. Our local silverback, DarkWaters, succeded in phrasing his point in a way that has made me change my mind. It's not worth doing this just to torque the viros off (OTOH if one has an aneurysm because he gets mad about this...). A rational response is called for; that will probably also offend them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benpercent Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 I would like to say that DarkWaters has also changed my mind. A rational response is called for; that will probably also offend them. That's right. Actually applying Objectivist principles instead of just being nihilistic is offense enough to environmentalists, and we need not go any further in our pissing-off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inspector Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 I'd like to know what you all find nihilistic about "hosting a barbecue, going for a drive, watching television, leaving a few lights on, or even smoking a few cigars?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiberTodd Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 I think "waste" was the wrong word to use, they were looking for something more along the lines of "use shamelessly as you see fit" or "don't hold back if you feel like doing something which produces carbon." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benpercent Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 I'd like to know what you all find nihilistic about "hosting a barbecue, going for a drive, watching television, leaving a few lights on, or even smoking a few cigars?" DarkWaters covered it in post number five. The problem is in wasting energy for no other reason than make environmentalists angry. That is nihilistic because that would be mocking a value that someone is holding simply because it's a value they're holding. The things you describe are not cases of wasting energy, but using it for a purpose that benefits one in one fashion or another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inspector Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 The problem is in wasting energy for no other reason than make environmentalists angry. That's the journalist who used that word, not the group calling for the belch day. The way I read it, they want you to guiltlessly enjoy life. I wouldn't describe that as "nihilistic." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thales Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 I'd like to know what you all find nihilistic about "hosting a barbecue, going for a drive, watching television, leaving a few lights on, or even smoking a few cigars?" Right. I think these guys are saying "Hey pal, we have the right to live our lives the way we want and to hell with you and your pseudo-science based religion! We're going to have FUN!" It's an in-your-face very American response and I think it's about time this sort of thing happened! These environmentalists are positively asphyxiating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkWaters Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 (edited) I'd like to know what you all find nihilistic about "hosting a barbecue, going for a drive, watching television, leaving a few lights on, or even smoking a few cigars?" As Ben indicated, none of these activities need to be nihilistic at all so long as they are acted with a rational goal in mind. If we want to consider silly examples, grilling thousands of uneaten burgers would be pretty pointless even though it would surely aggravated the global warming lobby for using all of that energy to power the grill, it would infuriate the animal rights lobby for purchasing all of that ground chuck and it would really piss off the anti-world hunger lobby for wasting all of that food. Anyway, I am confident that we both agree that there is nothing at all wrong with a holiday that encourages individuals to enjoy life without any unearned guilt. I have not investigated Carbon Belch Day close enough to determine if this is such a holiday. My negative reaction was based on the many Facebook activities that encourage individuals to senselessly waste resources as well as the fact that the original poster (who later indicated that this was a poor choice of words) said that the holiday was about wasting resources. Edited May 30, 2008 by DarkWaters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker Posted May 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2008 the fact that the original poster (who later indicated that this was a poor choice of words) said that the holiday was about wasting resources. I merely copied the opening of the article that I linked to, but I should have used quotes to make that clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inspector Posted May 31, 2008 Report Share Posted May 31, 2008 Anyway, I am confident that we both agree that there is nothing at all wrong with a holiday that encourages individuals to enjoy life without any unearned guilt. Well, that's precisely what this is, and I don't see any reason to either think or assume otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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