January 14, 2008

• Bollocks.
• Why's that, Hank? If there is such a thing as Seasonal Affective Disorder, why wouldn't long-term climate change have a correspondent effect?
• First of all, nature isn't stable and never has been. Secondly, climate change (even man-made) acts on such a slow scale that we barely notice decade over decade. It still gets cold in the winter and hot in the summer, after all. If I moved to say, Australia, I might develop some mental problems, but it wouldn't be because of the weather.
• BURN!
• Sadly, quite a lot of things are changing quickly enough for people to notice and feel sad about them. Drowning polar bears make me sad. Speaking from a geologic perspective of the history of the Earth, it's neither unusual nor remarkable. But it still makes me sad.
• Polar bears practicing cannibalism, losing many of the birds that used to hang out around the house, whales that are slowly dying off, my girlfriend's house burning in the fire from a dried out and dying forest, and fish dying of algal blooms from current changes...yeah, Hank, that affects me mentally--I am sad, and I'm worried, and I'm mad. Affecting the idjuts that deny climate change? Well, considering that they've solidified their minds anyway, I doubt it. What they WILL notice is when they have to pay through the nose for clean water, when they can't grow a lawn, when they can't afford air conditioning or heating, when their insurance skyrockets because there's major fires in places like California, major tornadoes, major hurricanes, major flooding, unprecedented snowstorms...oh, wait! We have those already! Yeah, it will affect your wallet, THEN it will affect everyone's mental state, believe me.
• There are a few ecosystems in our state that are already under significant stresses. Working for a science organisation, I often hear about these things before they get out into the media - it is amazing how slowly we are reacting. If things go as badly as they could go, I will take cold comfort for being aware of these issues and advocating for changing things while a large majority of people put their hands over their ears and sand 'la la la'.
• I bought some reusable grocery bags at Safeway last month. I haven't used a single plastic grocery bag so far this year! That'll save us, right? P.S. Say yes.
• If I can't get #2 into the habit of taking our reusable bags to the supermarket, then I must take full responsibility for the world's destruction and the cannibalistic ickle polar bears.
• We've been good with the reusable bags recently. They are covered in Sainsbury's logos, which has two disadvantages: * I am shy about using them in Tesco, and * Every time I use them in Sainsbury's, I get asked to confirm that I did already own them when I came in. I don't know whether it's due to global warming, but my brain does appear to have liquefied over the Christmas period.
• > * Every time I use them in Sainsbury's, I get asked to confirm that I did already own them when I came in. I have the same problem - in my local supermarket, someone is supposed to stamp the base of a bag when you've paid for it, but it seldom happens. I've taken to signing and dating the bags myself and when challenged, I show them this. They look at me like I've got two heads, and then go about their business.
• > * Every time I use them in Sainsbury's, I get asked to confirm that I did already own them when I came in. For this reason I've got myself one of those wheely-bag granny-trolley things, which is great, if not the most attractive of accessories. Also stops backache when lugging bottles and bags of potatoes around. Tesco give clubcard points every time you use your own bags, which is a good idea I think.
• I always get plastic bags at the grocery store, but it's ok because I re-use them in my "stringless kite" hobby wherein I launch each bag into the updraft off my balcony and watch it float away as I clap my hands in glee. What?
• Perigot does a nice granny trolley; bit pricey though.
• I have bags from our local Tops Market. Nobody in my town is shy about using bags from one market at the other. Nobody ever questions whether they're mine. I must just look more honest than you shifty lot of losers. For those that get asked to confirm ownership of your bags, unless they're black why not take a black indelible marker and write your name, or "paid" all over them?
• I have a big cheap canvas-type bag (probably it's meant to be a beach or swimming bag normally) which I take shopping, as in to the mall or bookshop. Most shops are unsurprised when I say up front not to put stuff in a plastic bag, but some actually stop and squint at me and say, "Really?" The reusable bags at the supermarket are currently an inconvenience for the staff because the powers-that-be have not redone the packing area to make it easier to pack the cloth bags. They don't sit over the hooks that plastic bags hang from, and don't sit properly on the little weight-bearing shelf underneath, so the bagger has to hold the bag open with one hand and pack with the other, which is awkward for them and slow. It's the fault of the bag's or the packing area's design though and the chain managers could easily do something about it.
• Another thing that makes them tricky for me is that I use the self-checkout whenever possible, and the scale underneath the bag is only set up to recognize the weight of the empty plastic bag, not the reusable one*. So, the cashier who's assigned to the four self-checkouts has to rezero the scale for me. *They may have fixed this; I haven't tried it in a little while.
• Yeah, the whole bag thing isn't supported by the man. Get with it, grocery stores! What really disgusted me last night is listening to the car manufacturers announce their new "green" gas hog pick-ups and SUVs. Dammit, what the world DOES NOT need now is a 500+cc V-8 engine. WTF is with Detroit??? The other thing that fries my bacon is the claims about how great ethanol is for the environment. It still has to have massive amounts of oil to produce, still major CO2 emissions, and we're screwing other countries economies. Bread's gone up HOW MUCH in third-world countries since we've started this? (changes every time I look, and I gotta go--you google.) Thinking about this is affecting my mental state. Gotta go.
• I continue to be surprised that it's possible to buy cars with a top speed that greatly exceeds the legal speed limit. What's up with that?