blog action day post
I know that I've only recently updated, and that I am most probably spamming, and that the reason you guys have not been commenting is most probably bwecause I haven't been giving you enough time in between entries to comment. However, today is Blog Action Day, where thousands of people post in their blogs on the topic of the environment and environmental awareness, so let me pause to briefly blab on about the environment for a bit. My only hope is one or two of you guys will pay attention, and maybe I can motivate you do to something about a very real issue.
Put simply, environmental shiznit is an issue I do happen to care about, and quire honestly I think it's sad that more cool people aren't as informed or involved in environmental issues as we should be. Global warming is already happening - the warning signs are already there. I'm sure all you guys can remember when you were 8 or 9 and a 35C degree day was considered super hot. Nowadays a really hot temperature is considered something around 40-41 degrees (possibly higher depending on where you are) with summer weather stretching well into autumn. We've got irregular weather patterns sprouting up worldwide - floods, fires, droughts, tsunamis, hurricanes and cyclones. None of this is going to go away if we just ignore it. In my userinfo, I have 'people who think global warming is a myth' as one of the things I dislike, because even if you believe global warming is a natural phenomena (despite there being research to the contrary) that occurs every few hundred years, it doesn't mean that anything changes. Just because these extreme weather patterns are not man-made, it doesn't mean that we didn't do anything to cause it, and in turn, that there's nothing we can do to stop it. Because there are things we can do, even if like me you're really really lazy.
...which brings me to my next point - a bunch of enviro-links for really lazy people like me who would prefer to do stuff lying on a couch. I shall point out the stuff below the cut is pretty cracktastic.
This post hereby brought to you by:
Some of this stuff may be Australian-centric, but if you are not Aussie some of it will still be relevant. And you totally need to see the scary Greenpeace polar bears before you click away.
- Bookmark The Wilderness Society and sign some petitions and cyberactions. While I've focused on global warming here so as not to go on and on, there are of course over envrionmental concerns that need to be addressed. WS most recently came into the spotlight due to their recent legal appeal against Gunn's proposed pulp mill in Tamara Valley, Tasmania, which is going to devastate millions of tonnes of native forest as well as the logging needed to fee dthe pulp mill. WS allows you to sign petitions and cyberactions online which are referred to politicians in order to facilitate a change. I know there are reasons for this pulp mill, BTW, but it just seems like a terrible idea and I really apreciate all WS are doing to try and get the government to reconsider. That's how hardcore these dudes are, they took the government to the federal court. Seriously!
- Do some super easy, fun envrionment-saving type stuff from the large amount of tips at Future Makers. The creepy-looking black-eyed WWF panda hereby commands you to sing Silverchair's Straight Lines in the shower; not wash your car so often and make the kids you're babysitting draw on the back of your english assignment. And you have to do this stuff or his black eyes will come and eat your face (or not). Tips are divided up into categories, including easy, medium and hard, and when you browse there for a while you'll see just how much stuff you can actually avoid doing under the guise of helping the environment.
- Nag your parents, or whoever pays the bills, not to be an energy-waster-er. This one is easy since we exist to nag our parents anyway. Here's the idea: get your parents to look at ways they can not kill the earth. One of the biggest things to do is switch to a green energy company - that is one, that supports sustainable energy such as solar, wind and water. Nag the parentals to ask if their company supports this type of energy and if not, switch to one that does (Origin is a good choice). My mum actually did this herself after I naggered her, and our old company called us and asked why we changed, and we were all like YA GOT NO SUSTAINBABLE ENERGY PLANS, WHORES! And there's also the household stuff that goes without saying, like buying energy-efficient appliances (bonus - cheaper to run) and recycling and not spending ten years in the shower shaving your legs with the water on.
- Save water, on that note. I'm going to provide an example of my laziness and also how much I love myself by linking you to the article I had published at Kiwibox.com on super easy ways to save water.
- Don't buy a plasma TV. I'm being serious when I say they're actually being gradually phased off the market because of their gigantic energy consumption. They just got phased in and they're already being phased out, LOLLL.
- Calculate and offset your carbon emissions with Climate Friendly. This is a really cool site wherein you calculate how much carbon you've emitted in your day to day activites and then pay for it to be offset by contributing to the renewable energy industry. I know, a lot of big words there. Basically you go on there when you do nasty carbon-emitting stuff, and chuck them a couple of bucks to pretend it never happened. You can go all the way and pay for your car and home emissions, or pop over there to offest carbon-heavy things like flights. My return flight to Queensland I'm taking in December? $21.48. Cheap as, dude.
- Keep up to date with Greenpeace and sign up at The Big Switch. They're like the original and the best envrionmental campaigners and they do crazy stuff nowadays like standing in these freaking hilarious looking polar bear outfits outside the PM's house to remind him of the melting ice caps. Look at that one slouching on the right. That's one badass polar bear. Anyway, so, yes, half of Greenpeace members may be your garden-variety hippie, but they do great stuff, particularly for animals and wildlife-based causes. Their current focuses are on the threat to polar bears from global warming, and the hunting of whales. Their climate change website, The Big Switch, is the real home of the creepy polar bears, who apparentaly are turning up to every event possible, and ranks politicians from both major parties by their commitment to climate change on a number of levels. You can also sign up to get updates on what politicians in your electorate are doing, which is all the more relevant now the election has been called.
- Vote. I'm leaving it at that for countries wherein voting is optional. If you live where it isn't, i.e. here, try and make at least a vaguely informed decision when voting - not even on issues relating to the envrionment, on all issues that are going to affect you and those close to you. It's not hard to google the candidates and see what they could do for you if you vote for them. If you're of age to vote you have the option of making a decision that isn't based on all the political defamation going on right now and is based on what you think and what their policies are for this country.
I'm sure you are now all ded from the fanciness and politicalness of this post, so COMMENT and then GO AND PLAY SOME MUSIC OR SOMETHING! so you don't hate me. Sayoneraaaa.
Put simply, environmental shiznit is an issue I do happen to care about, and quire honestly I think it's sad that more cool people aren't as informed or involved in environmental issues as we should be. Global warming is already happening - the warning signs are already there. I'm sure all you guys can remember when you were 8 or 9 and a 35C degree day was considered super hot. Nowadays a really hot temperature is considered something around 40-41 degrees (possibly higher depending on where you are) with summer weather stretching well into autumn. We've got irregular weather patterns sprouting up worldwide - floods, fires, droughts, tsunamis, hurricanes and cyclones. None of this is going to go away if we just ignore it. In my userinfo, I have 'people who think global warming is a myth' as one of the things I dislike, because even if you believe global warming is a natural phenomena (despite there being research to the contrary) that occurs every few hundred years, it doesn't mean that anything changes. Just because these extreme weather patterns are not man-made, it doesn't mean that we didn't do anything to cause it, and in turn, that there's nothing we can do to stop it. Because there are things we can do, even if like me you're really really lazy.
...which brings me to my next point - a bunch of enviro-links for really lazy people like me who would prefer to do stuff lying on a couch. I shall point out the stuff below the cut is pretty cracktastic.
This post hereby brought to you by:
Some of this stuff may be Australian-centric, but if you are not Aussie some of it will still be relevant. And you totally need to see the scary Greenpeace polar bears before you click away.
- Bookmark The Wilderness Society and sign some petitions and cyberactions. While I've focused on global warming here so as not to go on and on, there are of course over envrionmental concerns that need to be addressed. WS most recently came into the spotlight due to their recent legal appeal against Gunn's proposed pulp mill in Tamara Valley, Tasmania, which is going to devastate millions of tonnes of native forest as well as the logging needed to fee dthe pulp mill. WS allows you to sign petitions and cyberactions online which are referred to politicians in order to facilitate a change. I know there are reasons for this pulp mill, BTW, but it just seems like a terrible idea and I really apreciate all WS are doing to try and get the government to reconsider. That's how hardcore these dudes are, they took the government to the federal court. Seriously!
- Do some super easy, fun envrionment-saving type stuff from the large amount of tips at Future Makers. The creepy-looking black-eyed WWF panda hereby commands you to sing Silverchair's Straight Lines in the shower; not wash your car so often and make the kids you're babysitting draw on the back of your english assignment. And you have to do this stuff or his black eyes will come and eat your face (or not). Tips are divided up into categories, including easy, medium and hard, and when you browse there for a while you'll see just how much stuff you can actually avoid doing under the guise of helping the environment.
- Nag your parents, or whoever pays the bills, not to be an energy-waster-er. This one is easy since we exist to nag our parents anyway. Here's the idea: get your parents to look at ways they can not kill the earth. One of the biggest things to do is switch to a green energy company - that is one, that supports sustainable energy such as solar, wind and water. Nag the parentals to ask if their company supports this type of energy and if not, switch to one that does (Origin is a good choice). My mum actually did this herself after I naggered her, and our old company called us and asked why we changed, and we were all like YA GOT NO SUSTAINBABLE ENERGY PLANS, WHORES! And there's also the household stuff that goes without saying, like buying energy-efficient appliances (bonus - cheaper to run) and recycling and not spending ten years in the shower shaving your legs with the water on.
- Save water, on that note. I'm going to provide an example of my laziness and also how much I love myself by linking you to the article I had published at Kiwibox.com on super easy ways to save water.
- Don't buy a plasma TV. I'm being serious when I say they're actually being gradually phased off the market because of their gigantic energy consumption. They just got phased in and they're already being phased out, LOLLL.
- Calculate and offset your carbon emissions with Climate Friendly. This is a really cool site wherein you calculate how much carbon you've emitted in your day to day activites and then pay for it to be offset by contributing to the renewable energy industry. I know, a lot of big words there. Basically you go on there when you do nasty carbon-emitting stuff, and chuck them a couple of bucks to pretend it never happened. You can go all the way and pay for your car and home emissions, or pop over there to offest carbon-heavy things like flights. My return flight to Queensland I'm taking in December? $21.48. Cheap as, dude.
- Keep up to date with Greenpeace and sign up at The Big Switch. They're like the original and the best envrionmental campaigners and they do crazy stuff nowadays like standing in these freaking hilarious looking polar bear outfits outside the PM's house to remind him of the melting ice caps. Look at that one slouching on the right. That's one badass polar bear. Anyway, so, yes, half of Greenpeace members may be your garden-variety hippie, but they do great stuff, particularly for animals and wildlife-based causes. Their current focuses are on the threat to polar bears from global warming, and the hunting of whales. Their climate change website, The Big Switch, is the real home of the creepy polar bears, who apparentaly are turning up to every event possible, and ranks politicians from both major parties by their commitment to climate change on a number of levels. You can also sign up to get updates on what politicians in your electorate are doing, which is all the more relevant now the election has been called.
- Vote. I'm leaving it at that for countries wherein voting is optional. If you live where it isn't, i.e. here, try and make at least a vaguely informed decision when voting - not even on issues relating to the envrionment, on all issues that are going to affect you and those close to you. It's not hard to google the candidates and see what they could do for you if you vote for them. If you're of age to vote you have the option of making a decision that isn't based on all the political defamation going on right now and is based on what you think and what their policies are for this country.
I'm sure you are now all ded from the fanciness and politicalness of this post, so COMMENT and then GO AND PLAY SOME MUSIC OR SOMETHING! so you don't hate me. Sayoneraaaa.