And Ketchup is a Vegetable

More avoidance behavior, I admit it. Although the sticky scene is half unstuck, but it's hard slogging, okay? And besides, NPR set me off again this morning, this time with the report of the forthcoming Supreme Court case...you know the one, right? The one where 5 states are suing the US government for not reducing greenhouse gasses, claiming that our EPA policies mandate such and that they are suffering damage because of the effects? I gather that part of the issue is the question of whether CO2 is a pollutant or not. Shades of Regan and ketchup as a nutritious part of a school lunch...

Oh yes...apparently the auto industry is lining up solidly behind the US position that we can only deal with this issue on a global scale, that we just can't tackle it independently. Does anyone remember the name Kyoto? As in treaty? As in we walked away from that one, which would have mandated international reduction of greenhouse gasses.

You know, everyone can do one thing to reduce their carbon imprint. It may not seem like much, but multiply that tiny reduction in power used or gasoline burned by millions and it matters. I no longer use a power mower to mow my grass, and I only use my clothes dryer when it's raining. I use the energy efficient light bulbs and I keep lights off in rooms where I am not. I keep my house cool -- 60 degrees most of the time. (Colder in the morning!) I take light rail downtown when I have to go, although biking everywhere isn't really a safe option with our high speed rural roads with no shoulder. I'm not trying to be holier than thou here...what I am trying to do is list a few ways you CAN make that small difference without really altering your lifestyle dramatically. Remember...multiply that by millions.

Okay, back to the sticky scene. Maybe I'll leave the radio turned off for awhile.

Carbon Neutral Grumble

Well, as usual, my good intentions to do this regularly failed me. :-) No surprise I've never managed to keep a diary. Any future biographers will simply have to make everything up...which will be much more fun anyway. I always used to make things up when we had to write that obligatory What I Did on My Summer Vacation essay. Used to make my teachers mad in grade school. I'm not sure why. I never was very good at following directions. That's probably how I ended up a fiction writer.

I'm doing avoidance behavior right now. I have to go back into chapter seven of the 'Europa' novel and write a 'hard scene' as Scott Card would call it. Sigh.

Well, what really set me off (besides guilt at not posting here regularly, which I can usually manage quite well as you all realize by now) was a bit on NPR right now about some real estate agent who has set up a way to permit him and all his neighbors to buy 'carbon credits' and live a 'carbon neutral life' in their McMansions, driving their SUVs. I'm sorry, that really bothers me. The idea that we, with our wealth, can 'buy' our way to the reduction of global warming is scary. What a great excuse to do nothing. And where do those carbon credits come from? NOT building a coal powered power plant in China? How realistic is that? Hey, third world, you can't have cars and electric air conditioners and computers. All those power plants are bad for the environment. You stick to your ways and we'll pay you to do so. Ha. HA.

DON'T buy 'carbon neutral' shares, darn it. Turn off a few lights. Use the new energy efficient light bulbs. Turn down the darn thermostate and put on a sweater (Yes, I am wearing one.) For pete's sake don't buy another gas guzzler and vote to at least use biodiesel in the public transport in your town.

Okay, Avoidance Behavior is over. Off to write the hard scene.