Wanna Save The Planet? Die!
There’s a lot of talk these days about global warming. It seems that most scientists believe the earth is warming. The debate seems to be whether our burning of fossil fuels is to blame.
The argument that this warming is part of a natural cycle got a boost recently with the discovery of a third red spot on the planet Jupiter.
The Space.com article about the new spot included this, “The latest Hubble and Keck images also support the idea of Jupiter undergoing global climate change. Warming near the giant planet’s equator and cooling at the South Pole could be destabilizing the southern hemisphere, causing jet streams to go haywire and spawn new storms.”
Now unless there are a lot of cars driving around on Jupiter it would seem that whatever is warming Earth up is also warming Jupiter.
But even if the warming is natural, all the crap we are dumping into the atmosphere can’t be helping. I think that for health reasons, as well as global warming reasons, it just makes sense to try to cut back on the release of carbon dioxide and other warming gasses. It may not help with the warming, but it can’t hurt.
Some people though have gotten so militant about our “carbon footprint” that I think they are actually causing more harm than good. One example of this is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
The Register is reporting that ABC’s website has a new feature called “Planet Slayer”, aimed at children, that advises that the best way to leave a small carbon footprint is to die early!
“The site is aimed at 9-year olds. However even a ‘virtuous’ rating (e.g. not owning a car and recycling) is outweighed by eating meat, or spending an average Aussie income - with the result that many 9-year olds are being told they’ve already outstayed their environmentally-compliant stay on the planet.”
“(The) science blog Watts Up With That points out, the site clearly breaches Australian broadcasting guidelines on ‘harmful or disturbing’ content.”
The reporter for The Register visited the site and took the test. When he answered honestly he was told he should have died at age 3.9 years in order to save the planet. He went on to say, “After a couple of run-throughs, it appears that eating meat is a major factor. But this is overshadowed by claiming a) very low earnings and b) spending what remains of one’s pittance on organic food and ‘ethical investments’.”
“Whether that’s a life worth living is another question entirely. But the message from the Carbon Cult seems pretty clear: humans are a stain on the planet and should die; yet should they be permitted to live, they should live a life that’s as miserable as possible.”
You can take the test yourself here. According to my test, I should have died at age 4.4 years.
Do you think it’s appropriate to tell children that they should die to help the environment? Do messages like this create more hatred toward the “green movement” or do they help the cause? Did you find out anything about your lifestyle by taking the test that you might change? The test aside, are you doing anything to reduce your “carbon footprint”?