Saturday Soapbox

So we went to the beach yesterday, and like a complete and utter fool, I let myself get sunburnt. Oh, there was no shortage of sunscreen, everyone else was all lathered up, but I actually forgot. Think of any derogatory comment you want about what an idiot I was to forget sunscreen, and I will heartily agree with you.

Gina is hot. Where Gina lives, in inland Orange County, is hot. Gina hears a lot from other people how dang hot it is everywhere else, and so Gina's rather simple mind wandered to global warming.

Now let me begin by saying that I absolutely believe that all the crap we release into the air is has some kind of effect on something, I am not scientist enough to spout off about CO2 levels and coral bleaching. But I am not fool enough to think that we can go about releasing tons of chemicals and goodness-knows what in the air for decades, if not hundreds of years, and think that it all just "goes away." Anybody that has taken basic science knows that our atmosphere is what both protects us from the ravages of the sun, as well as the double edged sword of trapping gases and such beneath it in its shielding efforts.

From what I am understanding, part of the problem with global warming is not so much that the days are so warm. It is the fact that the earth does not cool off enough at night, thus not allowing requisite replenishing. Take the other day, when it was in the mid-90's here during the day. Ok, bad enough, but then you at least expect it to cool off at night. Nope, it only reached a low of 72. At 72, the dewpoint is not reached. Thus, no water for the little lizards and bugs and plants. That, in a nutshell, is not good.

It does make me very angry that our president pooh-poohs the notion of global warming. I mean, let's say that you don't think that people and their byproducts are the cause of global warming. Is it really such a horrible thing to require business to reduce their output of harmful substances? Even if it doesn't contribute to the weather thing, hey, we breathe this stuff, it seeps into our drinking water, it goes all sorts of places it doesn't belong. Chemicals are everywhere in our bodies and environment. And I, for one, am inclined to think that a substance used to refine stainless steel has no business in our groundwater. But yet, in some places, there it is. Did anyone read the article about how they discovered that fetuses are literally swimming in a sea of chemicals in the womb? Who out there thinks that this is a good thing? The chances that these chemicals turn out to be good for us is not a lottery I am willing to play.

Comments

Anvilcloud said…
Even if it doesn't contribute to the weather thing, hey, we breathe this stuff, it seeps into our drinking water, it goes all sorts of places it doesn't belong.

Exactly. If they don't think that anthropogenic chemicals cause GW, does it really follow that they cause good?

This is what bothers me about ethics and morality. The former president was caught with his pants down, and that was considered terrible (no, I'm not in favour of loose sexual morals), but this guy can start wars, wreck pristine environments, plunge the country into astronomical debt, and ignore global warming, but it's all okay because he doesn't fool around. Drives me crazy.
Dee said…
I think there is something to the global warming issue. I am not sure how much it is due to what we put out into the air but I suspect some of it is.

Oh, and as for bush........the lie clinton supposedly told told is nothing compared to the one he told to get us into iraq. It cost us lives while the one clinton just made him seem foolish. Then bush wants us to think he is concerned about us and not how some restrictions on certain toxins that are put into the air might affect his business allies? Give me a break!!!
Heather Plett said…
You preach it, sister! That's a soapbox worth standing on. It's hard to imagine what our children and grandchildren will have to live with if we keep treating our environment the way we do.
Melodee said…
Well, I can tell you this. I'm not giving up CAKE.
Suzanne said…
How'd we go from global warming to the thought of *gasp* giving up BEER?!

Two wrongs don't make a right.
Piece of Work said…
Ha ha ha! Yes, whatever your soapbox, I am not giving up beer. That much I know.
But I do agree with your rant, Gina!
blueyedtracy said…
Man, I forget alot of things, including sunscreen, in my ultra focused effort to keep my child slathered-up and protected from the sun. We went to the beach last week and I forgot my swimsuit! I had to sit there in my t-shirt and pants (rolled-up), thinking "where was my brain?!"
gina, I also made a hunk/hottie list! Thanks for the inspiration! Hope you're stayin' cooler these days. I'm not giving up cake either. (??????)
Gina said…
Now look and see what happens when I try to post something serious.

Some people played nicely while others (I won't mention any names, Mel, Suzanne, Amy!!!) decided they would try their hands at stand-up.

In a purely hypothetical sense, I would have a much easier time giving up beer than cake. But I'm not really playing, mmmkay?

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