Being that tommorrow is Earth Day (Apr 22), I guess we're supposed to observe the natural wonders of our planet, and recognize that we're slowly killing it."Phooey!" to that I say.
I was wanting to get some folks together for an "Earth Day Motorcycle Ride", where we celebrate by filling up our tanks with gas, and burning it all up with a 200 mile ride. But being that it falls on a Tuesday, I can't get anyone together.
For the record, I work from home, blogging all day long. Yeah, that's how I earn my living. I've got a bunch of websites, not necessarily motorcycle related. I don't commute to work, unless you consider walking from my bedroom to my home office, a commute. I can actually get a lot of work done at night, and spend time riding during the day. I'm kinda lucky that way.
But I believe this planet is far too complex and far too large for us to effect to any greater extent. The Earth has been through worse times before Man was ever around, and recovered quite well. Even if we engage in a full-blown nuclear World War, the Earth will still be here, and will still recover.
There's no way for us to destroy the planet.
If anything, what we're talking about is the destruction of human civilization as we know it. And by reading much of what environmentalists write about, I guess the destruction of civilization is what they'd prefer to have happen. So if the Earth will still be here, and will still recover, why are environmentalists complaining anyways?
Also, I don't subscribe to the theory that oil companies are purposely raising gasoline prices just to get rich, at least not in the sinister sense that many people seem to express.
Look, even though everyone is upset at the high gas prices, the fact of the matter is people still buy it up. You can go to any gas station, and still get all the gas you want. And that's what people are doing.
Obviously, gas prices are not "too high" if people are still buying it.
It's only when people buy less gasoline that we'll finally reach the point at which the market will no longer bear. That's when we can rightfully say that gasoline is too expensive.
There's also the argument that if oil companies built more refineries it would increase supplies and bring the prices down. That's true. But if people continue to buy gasoline despite the higher price, then why should oil companies fix what ain't broke? As long as people can afford the gasoline, technically there's no reason to build more refineries.
So while oil companies are indeed making record profits, it's only because we willfully give them the money.
You might say that we have no choice but to buy gasoline. That's not true. There are obviously other ways to transport ourselves, and cheaper ways to do it. But the problem is that no one wants these other ways. I mean who wants to walk, ride a bicycle, or God forbid, carpool? The fact is that gasoline is still cheap enough that driving solo in our cars remains affordable.
So how can we rightfully complain that oil companies are getting rich at our expense, when we're too lazy to utilize cheaper methods of transporation?
The complaining is stupid.
Gas prices are not too high. Most folks who complain about those prices are just too lazy to make the necessary lifestyle changes.
And since I still enjoy burning fossil fuels in my motorcycle, for nothing more than mere joy riding, I can't rightfully complain about oil companies either. If anything, all I can do is celebrate the fact that I can still buy gasoline, and still enjoy my motorcycle.
Maybe for a rider like myself, that's what Earth Day means.
If you are going to talk about gas prices, you need to tie it to something else that naturally adjusts for inflation as well. Traditionally, prices are around the same for a gallon of gas as they are for a gallon of milk. At my last count, gas still has about 35 cents to go up!
ReplyDeleteI agree. Stop complaining! If it really bothered people that much, they would do something about it...like trade in their SUVs for a Prius!
As far as the planet goes, my son came up with this theory after taking Earth Science in high school: "There is no such thing as global warming. It is simply continental drift! Antarctica is shrinking because it drifted out away from the south pole, and (obviously) started to melt around the edges" Hey, why not? It works for me! :-)
What a strange coincidence...I had just read this article before I started checking blogs today:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nypost.com/seven/04202008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/enviromental_107306.htm
One of my friends is a huge anti-environmentalist, hates Al Gore with a passion, and is always emailing me stuff like this. Thought you might like to read it.
My complaint about the gas prices is more about the domino effect they have on everything else. Anyone who runs a business that uses motor vehicles must be getting strangled right now, especially truckers with the cost of diesel. As you know, that pushes the prices of food and other goods up too. We can buy a hybrid, take public transit, or walk. Unfortunately, that still won't save us from the higher costs of other things we can't abstain from.
I don't care if it goes to 5 bucks a gallon, I still plan on burning up plenty of it this season with my bike too - to hell with 'em. What I'll hate is if what Mrs RC says happens. I have 3 kids. Do you have any idea how much MILK that is in a week? THAT is what scares the shit out of me.
I'll go over to an area I hunt at when it dries out a bit and take you some photos. It is called the E.E. Wilson reserve. Back during WWII it was an army base, abandoned after the war. Building were torn down but some foundations here and there remain. It is a surreal scene from planet of the apes. you can walk were men once prepared for war. you can see pavement in some areas, that just get swallowed up under new earth. You can litterally watch the process of 60 years of management and nature as the whole area is reclaimed.
ReplyDeleteCan we harm the planet? Well, some of the things we do might not be healthy for us human inhabitants as well as our fish and animals. But, the planet itself? When it tires of us it will shake us of it's back as it did the dinosaurs with little emotion or thought to us.
They talk about the green house gasses man puts in the atmosphere. Lets look at one somewhat small northwest volcano called MT. ST. Helens. When she blew in 1980, she put more poison gas up there than 15 years of all the cars on the planet. Same as Pinatubo when it went off. Lets go farther back in time to 1883 and visit Krakatoa. an explosion 50 times larger than st. helens, caused red sunsets as far away as london for years, and put so much material in the atmosphere that the global tempreture dropped 2.5 degrees for several years. 6000 year ago, MT. Mazama blew with such force that the magnitude is unimaginable dwarfing Krakatoa as a stick of dynamite does a firecraker. We now call Mazama, Crater Lake. Most of eastern oregon and washington sit atop huge lava flows from 50,000 years ago when the yellowstone caldera erupted.
All of these eons of the earth itself blowing gas and material into our atmosphere and the planet is still here, yet it is man that we now blame for some of the occurences.
We are pretty arrogant creatures to think we have that much power over things. We don't, and we certainly have none when it comes to whatever this planet wants to do with us.
Keep your bikes tuned well and ride em.
Joe