By Bill Maher
It's been said that there are two sides to every issue. And in between the two sides there's a lot of what's called nuance. But, in our Congress, there's one party that doesn't believe in nuance because the word "nuance" sounds French. What used to happen is that the parties on each side of an issue -- especially the critical issues that require action -- would reach a compromise. A compromise is usually a shitty solution but at least it's something and doing something is generally better than doing nothing. But now, we have one party that consistently opts for doing nothing.
The National Climatic Data Center recently announced that, in 2012, America experienced its hottest year ever, by far. Usually these records are set by a tenth of a degree, but this past year's average temperature was 55.32 degrees, an alarming full degree hotter than our hottest year ever and 3.2 full degrees hotter than our average for the 20th century. Crops and livestock were decimated, rivers and lakes dried up, wildfires consumed millions of acres and scientists, even after allowing for natural weather variations, say there is zero doubt -- zero -- that fossil-fuel-induced global warming is accelerating our climate change at a rate even faster than they had predicted. Plus, simple arithmetic bears out that global warming's resulting weather events are costing us way more than the suggested solutions.
We're frying the planet, we know it, we know how to arrest it and one side's solution is to privatize Medicare and close Planned Parenthood. In other words, do nothing.
It's just another case of not being able to craft a solution or even begin a discussion because one side is dealing in science and facts and reality and the other is stuck in a state of uninformed, ideologically-based paranoia. It's like a city council trying to debate whether or not to put up a stop sign at a certain intersection to keep the kids safe, when some of the council members deny the existence of cars.
It's been said that there are two sides to every issue. And in between the two sides there's a lot of what's called nuance. But, in our Congress, there's one party that doesn't believe in nuance because the word "nuance" sounds French. What used to happen is that the parties on each side of an issue -- especially the critical issues that require action -- would reach a compromise. A compromise is usually a shitty solution but at least it's something and doing something is generally better than doing nothing. But now, we have one party that consistently opts for doing nothing.
The National Climatic Data Center recently announced that, in 2012, America experienced its hottest year ever, by far. Usually these records are set by a tenth of a degree, but this past year's average temperature was 55.32 degrees, an alarming full degree hotter than our hottest year ever and 3.2 full degrees hotter than our average for the 20th century. Crops and livestock were decimated, rivers and lakes dried up, wildfires consumed millions of acres and scientists, even after allowing for natural weather variations, say there is zero doubt -- zero -- that fossil-fuel-induced global warming is accelerating our climate change at a rate even faster than they had predicted. Plus, simple arithmetic bears out that global warming's resulting weather events are costing us way more than the suggested solutions.
We're frying the planet, we know it, we know how to arrest it and one side's solution is to privatize Medicare and close Planned Parenthood. In other words, do nothing.
It's just another case of not being able to craft a solution or even begin a discussion because one side is dealing in science and facts and reality and the other is stuck in a state of uninformed, ideologically-based paranoia. It's like a city council trying to debate whether or not to put up a stop sign at a certain intersection to keep the kids safe, when some of the council members deny the existence of cars.
9 comments:
Why hasn't a leader stood up at the United Nations and asked 'What the fuck is the plan for our planet over the next 1000 years?' Our focus on the near present will be our doom.
The corporations and oil companies actually want global warming even if they dont say it. They dont care about the planet they care about profits and keeping the northern shipping lanes open all year saves them billions of dollars.(for example its much cheaper than going all the way to the panama canal} I just wish someone/more people would talk about the shipping lane aspect.
Namaste Mr. Maher - you ROCK!
Here in Canada, the Conservative government has recently taken action to UNPROTECT thousands of fresh water lakes and rivers (A 443-page omnibus bill, Bill C-45)
This demonstrates UNACCEPTABLE environmental leadership, providing a good example of when doing nothing is BETTER than doing something!!
TRANSPORTING without ACCIDENTS, ENERGY or EMMISSIONS. at a few per cents of today’s cost is not a structural, technological, or financial problem. Something that could have been crudely achieved without most in the late 1800’s in the ability to produce a 15’ dia. pipe which can smoothly accommodate the transition of today’s vehicles and containers utilizing rails and electric motors. Without nearly all in the 1940’s. And in today’s abilities, not consuming but cleanly generating energy.
Accomplishing our distribution processes of transport, energy, utilities, and communications in a network of continuous structure is not only by far the most ecological and environmentally sound. But its innovative provision of a secure and controlled environment will then allow the integrated processes to begin technologically evolving into vastly more efficient and enhanced capabilities.
The USA Federal and State governments annually spend $200B on highways which then unavoidably incur in just these two instances, another $300B in accidents and $1,500B in energy. When this same $2T annual cost at today’s 2% interest rate could support an investment of $100T in permanent components. Which at an allowance of $100m per mile, will alternatively support 1M miles of system, instead of the under 50,000 miles of interstate we know today. Yielding 20 times more interstate system whose automated flow rate capacity far and exceeds the largest multilane highway system which exists today. A smaller undertaking in permanent components whose limited cost in investment can then become divided by a dramatically increased usage rate.
The populations demand in its desires of transport have never been met. Always restricted by its cost in the required consumptions in time, energy, and resources. Little or none of which occur in this integrated distribution system.
I believe my modern society and indeed that all of our humanity is Standing at tha edge of taking it most revolutionary step ever. And it amounts to little more than modernizing our most important and influencing infrastructures into those vastly more efficient and capable processes that they are so capable of reasonably being. As to why this ability to produce a great and positive change has not been recognized and acted on before now? I am not exactly sure. Perhaps it is the current financial interest of preserving the reliability of its investments and markets they hold. That prevents them from considering much less investing in a innovative change which only presents itself as antiquating the very processes they provide. Which perhaps in this case may be a misconception on their part. That this change in processes can only occur over very extended period of time, Which goes far beyond the short lived investments period of today’s processes. An implementation would be hard pressed to meet the short retirement periods of today’s processes. The providers of our current processes are the experts and will be the same in this new system. That their losses can be absorbed and they will be invited to then invest less and profit more in the increased efficiencies and enhanced abilities achieved.
An event today, whose beginning, incremental, and increasing accomplishment, will profitably occupy the idled work force and return that lost economy in an unprecedented efficiency of time, energy, and resources.
I can think of no other effort in practical change that promises to bring to humanity its greatest level in wellbeing to the largest number of people and in the very shortest period of time.
As I understand it the most expensive undertaking ever accomplished by the USA was its accomplishment of the nuclear bomb. While this effort in accomplishing an Integrated Distribution System comparably does not even seem to have a cost. As its cost in accomplishment is at much less cost than what we know today.
The Corridor Concept
Exploring the feasibility in achieving a Integrated Distribution System
George Lloyd Schrader Jr 850 527 7612 GLSJr03@gmail.com
Here in Czech Republic, we have one of the most stupid president. He does not believe that mankind influence climate at all. Actually he believes that whole ecology is like religion - question of faith not fact. Fortunately, his mandate terminates on 7-Mar-2013. :-) Thinking of the Bill's movie Religulous, have you ever been to Czech Republic? We are probably the most atheistic democratic country in the world. Watching the interviews in Religulous...they seem to me like sci-fi :-) Any Czech politician that would suggest to write on our banknotes that we trust in God would finish in a mental hospital. We also do not swear on bible....it's just a book, nothing more.
May be the corporations and oil companies' leadrship and majority owners believe that after we totally destroy Earth, we will be given another planet by God to go on with our activities. :-) It will certainly not happen. Did God create Earth and then human to destroy it? Why he did not destroy it himself when he did not like it?
Petr Lochman
petr-lochman@centrum.cz
Now that the weather is warming up, maybe the 99%'ers will come back out and save us all!
Hey... we deserve what we get if all we do is piss and moan, while the same ass holes keep getting elected to keep the status quo...
...waitin' for Jebus to come and save the righteous and rape the shit out of Sarah Silverman.
Hey Bill,
Your "bullshit" 2nd Amendment protects your right to call the 2nd Amendment "bullshit". Your just the typical fake intellectual. Why don't you just go kill Animals in your PETA cult.
Bill,
Would like to see you interview Guy McPherson on Real Time.
Thanks
How about interviewing Guy McPherson on Bill Maher?
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