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Bandanafish, I appreciate your support, thanks.
posted by
Cynthia
on July 10, 2006 at 4:22 AM
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TAPS, Most humans can not connect their actions
their life choices, to the consequences of those actions in the world at large. I made a negative comment about religion on one of your recent posts, because I think religion feeds this disconnect. It allows people to refer to "acts of god" when they don't understand something, rather than truly seek effective answers to problems that confront them in their daily lives.
posted by
Cynthia
on July 10, 2006 at 4:19 AM
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great, great review! Thank you.
posted by
bandanafish
on July 7, 2006 at 3:49 PM
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Cynthia, You have written a great review of this so-important movie that not nearly enough people will even care to view. It is fascinating and horrifying at the same time to see what we are doing, have done and will continue to do to this wonderful world. Yes, frogs in the soup, even some who are aware return to the warm pot because it is more comfortable there, preferring to not even think about it. And so, we go to see
The Devil Wears Prada to hold at bay our discomfited mind.
posted by
TAPS.
on July 7, 2006 at 6:51 AM
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Xeno, That's not exactly what happened with Kyoto
but Bush has made signing laws and then backing out later, when the cameras are no longer rolling, part of his administrations policy. He calls them "SIGNING STATEMENTS" it means the president exempts himself from following any laws that he doesn't feel like following. He's done this over 750 times in his presidency. If Clinton had done this the so called "liberal press" would have ridden his ass out of town on a rail.
posted by
Cynthia
on July 7, 2006 at 4:00 AM
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Rckymthactivist, the Bush administration has dismantled
environmental laws put in place long before Clinton, some going back to the '70's when you and I and many others understood and saw the effects to our quality of life whe we ignore our environment. I never thought I'd live to see the day when we would be facing shit like this again.
posted by
Cynthia
on July 7, 2006 at 3:54 AM
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Temple, so much regret when I see Al Gore now. If only
he had acted like that during the campaign. If only he had not conceded the election. But you are doing all you can. The dangerous thing is when you feel defeated by the enormity of the problems we humans collecively have caused ourselves.
I highly recommend that you read Jared Diamonds books, GUNS,GERMS AND STEEL and his newest COLLAPSE.
posted by
Cynthia
on July 7, 2006 at 3:50 AM
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Passionflower, it's people like you and EMT's, first responders
who experience first hand how little the Bush administration policies are actually doing to protect us.
posted by
Cynthia
on July 7, 2006 at 3:45 AM
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Whacky The only answers we give
are the ones that we can apply to ourselves. Try to live by consuming less. It's an old solution.
posted by
Cynthia
on July 7, 2006 at 3:43 AM
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USA signed Koto
Coniton, I tihnk.
Bush backedouit.
i think that's worse -- sign an agreement then back out.
posted by
Xeno-x
on July 5, 2006 at 2:31 PM
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Hi Cynthia......
Thank you for this wonderful post. I have been a long time environmental activist (since the 70's) and I greatly admire Al Gore for what he has done to bring the seriousness of the environment to people's awareness. It is very sad that the Bush administration had overturned almost all the environmental laws that the Clinton administration put in effect. I don't know if many people know that Gore wrote a extremely informative book called "Earth in Balance" in 1992 warning us of global warming and our need to change. That was fourteen years ago and it has only gotten worse. I am worried for the young ones too! What kind of world will we leave them?
posted by
RckyMtnActivist
on July 5, 2006 at 2:29 PM
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I'm so glad you wrote about this.
I've never seen Al Gore act so Presidential as during his campaign against global warming and in the promotion of this documentary. I wish he had that in him a bit more way back... things would be very different. It's so frightening because we are a nation of instant gratification. People don't really see what we are doing to our planet. They can't envision the future. I can't go without a car, I've done it. It's just too much for me, but, I have a little Honda which is not a gas guzzler... and when I can I'll buy a hybrid. He's telling people what is going on, but you have to see the film to get solutions. I think he needs to say that there are ways to help in his promotion more. It's impossible to do it all: recycling everything, buying all recycled materials where available, local/organic food products, etc. to make the world better and safer. So, I just say to people to just start with
something. Do something in their part of the world. I recycle, not every little thing (I forget) but I do. I conserve water. I will never buy some big stupid SUV (sorry anyone who has one...) or a Hummer (good grief!), that is just economically and environmentally unsound. There are so many causes... animals, sweat shops, trade (NAFTA), immigration (especially where I live in San Diego, health care. I think people get overwhelmed. But, your post was great and informative. I have wanted to hear someone's opinion on the film. I'll go see it for sure. The clips are profound and frightening.
posted by
Temple
on July 5, 2006 at 2:17 PM
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I've been preaching this same message to friends and family-
And people around here for several years. Since I work in the area of disasters, I feel I have a keen sense of what's going on in the world of weather.
While most Americans won't even take the time to watch the Weather Channel and SEE for themselves that there is indeed extensive flooding in the Northeast (or whatever the current disaster might be), I stay glued to it.
I can't understand how repsonsible human beings can just go along and not care about our planet.
posted by
Passionflower
on July 5, 2006 at 7:25 AM
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We have the facts and the questions.I just don't know the answers.
Wish I did.
posted by
Whacky
on July 4, 2006 at 10:39 PM
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Blanche, Have you read Jared Diamonds book COLLAPSE?
I'm about 1/3 of the way through it now, but it is brilliant. Like Al Gore's movie, it helps you to understand what we humans do to ourselves and why. Diamond is an Historian. To think, when I was in school, even in college, I avoided history like the plague. What a mistake. It is the source of great knowledge and understanding. Will I feel better as I sit back and watch us destroy ourselves knowing that I know why it is happening?
posted by
Cynthia
on July 4, 2006 at 3:50 PM
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Cynthia,
I love the analogy of the frog in boiling water. I've thought of that one many times, in many different contexts, myself. I did go to see "The Devil Wears Prada" last weekend, instead of Al Gore's movie, because I'm afraid, like you, I come out of there not feeling inspired and challenged, like your 20-something office manager, but cynical and defeated myself. I don't know what the answer is.
We, as humans, can't possibly deny that by pumping massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in emissions over the last century, that there is NO effect. Seeing the actual effects, the ice melting, the storms, is frightening.
posted by
Blanche.
on July 4, 2006 at 10:28 AM
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