It was encouraging to see another healthy turnout Saturday for Efest, the festival at Lakewood Ranch that serves to inform and enlighten us about environmental issues that threaten the future of Mother Earth, and to offer alternatives for greener living.
We hope the message means more to people than enjoying a glorious November in Florida with balloons, juggling and free entertainment. Because our planet, to steal an old expression from my mother, "is going to hell in a handbasket.''
Our Sunday coverage of Efest included a story by correspondent Wendy Dahle, photos by Tiffany Tompkins-Condie and a column by East Manatee Editor Jim Jones, who spoke to vendors setting up for the event. Jim's takeaway:
Until Efest arrived, I couldn't have told you what a "double flush toilet'' is. Or that a skylight can be installed that conveys light around a 90-degree bend.
Well, that's a good start. Jim applied the prediction from a fortune cookie to the mess we're all in with the environment: "A crisis is coming your way. Get ready for it.''
Meanwhile, a loud warning was sounded in our lead World story of the day, out of Valencia, Spain. According to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, representing the world's top climate experts, the effects of global warming are "so severe and so sweeping that only urgent action will do. We are all in this together. We must work together.''
Events such as Efest and Earth Day are helpful in creating public awareness. But the United States — recognized as one of the world's worst polluters — must quit dragging its heels and become a global leader in the cause.
Jim
Monday, November 19, 2007
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3 comments:
I'm happy you enjoyed your time at the festival. I was one of the volunteers for this year's event.
My concern for the environment is one of the reason is sacrificed a lot of time (outside of Saturday) to the festival. However, I do not believe the Climate hype or anything generated by the extremely bias IPCC. There are tons of other issues (drinking water, alt. energy, clean air) that are being basically ignored because of the anti-capitalist arm of environmentalism.
All these hyperbolic scaremongering reports are just going to end up doing more harm than good when the “tipping point” never comes.
Hopefully “cooler heads” will prevail.
I sure agree with the previous post. I have always been a reasonable environmentalist. I do not agree with Al Gore or anything he believes. I believe Gore is a hypocrite who is getting rich from his global warming hype. We had global warming back in the 1930's. It caused the dust bowl. I dont believe man has much control over global warming. It is caused mostly by sun cycles, volcanic cycles and almost nothing from man. Things like compact fluorescents are not the answer. In fact they pollute the area because of all the mercury in them. Most of this is hype by people that either have a political bent or financial interest. If anyone was truly wanting to cut greenhouse gases, then lets promote nuclear energy.
Do as I say, not as I Do
Global warming is caused predominantly by excess carbon in the atmosphere. Trees remove carbon from the atmosphere. Say, aren't newspapers made by cutting down trees?
Oh, and if everyone on Earth lived to the excesses that Al Gore does, to use his rhetoric - the Earth would be an inferno.
To effect meaningful environmental change, people must change their ways - from the bottom up. This applies to daily choices about consumption to deciding how many children to raise to doing the right thing in our professional lives. Shrugging responsibility off on the US government or deferring to some other top-down solution is status quo.
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