Arrogance: Climate Science vs Biblical Belief (Rep Shimkus)

Arrogance: having or revealing an exaggerated sense of one's own importance or abilities (Dictionary Version 2.1.3 (80.4)) 

The only arrogance I can see is with Rep. Jim Shimkus (Dumb). Surely, faith, when it obfuscates and denies truth it must be the epitome of arrogance. When faith is a champion of ignorance it should be clear that truth is the competition. Gaining control of the House Energy and Commerce Committee would be a major coup for deniers and carpetbaggers.

Who does Shimkus think he is to claim that his particular Christian faith is infallible. Let his Bible stand up to scrutiny, to irrefutable evidence. The proof is in belief and that is the problem. Truth that relies on faith is bound to be politically motivated. I'm not sure I trust one faith over another, and I think the best thing is to keep faiths out of the political process as much as possible.

Am I alone in thinking this guy is mad? His gall and contempt for humanity I can not fathom. What he stands for is dangerous and immoral. To do nothing is to assure that millions of people will die and millions more suffer.

I think the goal with global warming is to minimise as much as possible humanities contributions to warming, and to prepare ourselves for inevitable change. Let's be clear - Shimkus's God is the US greenback. And that's the only green he defends is the kind that handsomely lines his and his friends's pockets.

Also not appearing to be interested in truth, the other candidate for the Energy and Commerce Committee job, Rep. Barton (Dumber), is another who treats us like fools. On behalf of sanity I do apologise for this man.

Close your eyes and slowly count to ten. Maybe it will all go away.

TPM: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/11/new_house_climate_czar.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Talking-Points-Memo+%28Talking+Points+Memo%3A+by+Joshua+Micah+Marshall%29

Water, the most precious of all.

One hesitates to begin with, “I don’t want to sound alarmist, but…” But I will. No self-control, I wager. “Shout, shout” I order myself!  “Before the Siren’s exact their charm.”

If this is ever a “for the whom the bell tolls” moment this surely must be our wake up clang. For an international corporate coup d’état of Australian waterways is well upon us. If I hadn’t stumbled on this news article in the paper today I might have missed it altogether. Is it true? Are we so desperate that we have to sell our most precious birthright on the stock exchange?

Why? How is this possible that we failed to notice it happening? Who made it happen? Why do I feel angry?

This is no contest. Water is the most precious resource of all. Every living thing on this earth depends on it to survive. Tell me, what good should be more sacrosanct than public access to clean water and air?

How dare we disregard Bolivia’s story? At our peril, don’t begin to tell me it will never happen here. It is and it will escalate as long as we continue to remain naive and apathetic to our own highly publicised dry-bone continental supply. It just isn’t smart to trust that our governments are looking after our welfare when we have evidence, as this article demonstrates, to the contrary.

It is unfathomable to imagine we could simply surrender our most essential life-preserving constituent to overseas stakeholders. At its rudiment form corporations are cold-blooded abattoirs competing for earnings. For them profit is the only moral. If you don’t believe me do your own research, how they treat third world nations. Tell me, if you are not mortified by their exploitation and callousness for others. Look past the feigned rhetoric to their actions where greater truths are sure to be found in their alliances and conduct.

Water is too vital to claim ownership rights. It really belongs to no one or no thing. But since human kind insists on fingering every pie it can imagine we must ensure that it is shared at least fairly among all living things, entrusting with respect to scrutiny and rational courage.

References to Bolivia

http://www.cbc.ca/news/features/water/bolivia.html 

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/South_America/Bolivia_WaterWarVictory.html 

http://www.democracyctr.org/bolivia/investigations/water/

The Main Story

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/water-issues/thirsty-foreigners-soak-up-scarce-water-rights-20100903-14uev.html

On the Street: NO NEW COAL

photo taken from the Nature Conservation Council of NSW website

A small but enthusiastic group of Eartheists braved the chilled morning hours of July 6 and greeted Sydney business commuters on their way to work. The aim was to create public awareness of 2 new Coal power stations being proposed in NSW. Terrific! Some 800ish NSW citizens signed the petition which brings the total over 8000. The NSW government needs to hear a loud protest NO to NEW COAL.

What struck me was the number of people who expressed gratitude for what we were doing. There is support out there. People do care.

Together we shout "No Deal!" It just doesn't make sense to build more fossil fuelled power stations when we should be moving forward to renewable technologies. It is time to place our faith in human enterprise and ingenuity. NO NEW COAL. NO NEW COAL.

Many thanks to the Nature Conservation Council of NSW for organising the event.