Should I start feeling bad that I'm driving around a 2006 Mitubishi Lancer Evolution IX that only drives on premium and gets about 25 miles to the gallon on highway? Does the fact that I care for the creatures and attempt to keep them healthy in a controlled environment matter?
You know its funny about electric cars. We can make a car that will go 0-60 in less than 3 seconds. we can also make a shuttle that can go into space. ( more than once ) and we can stuff donuts with cherry cream, but we cant make an electric car that works right and is afordable. kinda makes ya think about whos in charge of the fuel intake in the US. Just a thought
I have to confess to driving a full size SUV. But if another drunk guy in a truck hits me I probably won't get nearly so hurt. On the other hadd, before my accident we were seriously considering a hybrid. Maybe a full size hybrid SUV is what I need.
Al Gore's movie is a steaming pile. And I personally view any report that claims 50% of anything dying with a TON of speculation.
Probably forwarded by some hybrid-driving celeb who claims to be holier-than-thou but burns 11,000 gallons of jet fuel for a holiday. (Enough fuel to take a Prius to the moon.)
I have an SUV and I'm not giving it up any time soon. It's great storage space right now too, since I can't afford to fill the fricking tank up
__________________ "Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study Hard. Be evil."
The Palouse Region Aquarium Society is now PALOUSE REEFERS - http://www.palousereefers.com/
Abolish the IRS! Bring transparency and accountability to tax policy - close all loopholes and brings fairness to taxation. Support the Fair Tax plan... visit http://www.fairtax.org
I dunno, the movie made me think about my role in the world. I take up resources just like everyone else. But that's just me, by myself. I'm just one guy. What could I possilbly do to impact the world's ecosphere? Probably not much. If I drive a hybrid or an electric car, will that save the ozone? Probably not by myself. If we all did, maybe. But then ya gotta consider "third world" countries who's people struggle to just stay alive. Ya can't expect folks in those conditions to be worrying about the ozone!
What I'm saying here is, there is no one solution. There is no one problem. All I can do is do what I think is right. I'm not gonna get on a box and try to convice people of stuff they don't wanna be convinced of. People have strong beliefs and it's no my place to try to convince them otherwise (I'd be very blue in the face if I did ) But if there's just one person that hear's what I'm say'n then woo hoo! I'll be a happy man.
So if you like your SUV, more power to you. You're not a "bad" person just for driving an SUV. It's just a kind of a car. I didn't mean to come off "blaming" folks who drive SUVs... far from it!
But for me, it always comes back to the reefs. What can I do to help the reefs and the ecoshere in general. All I can do is do my little part.
Some people I know think I am a cigar chomping right-wing ***hole. Then, some people think I am a tree-hugging liberal.
Why? Because I am Christian, I am fiscally conservative, and - well, I do like my occasional cigar.
But in my down time I am very ecologically aware. No, I don't believe in the hysteria that surrounds global warming. I think a lot of it is crap. When I was a kid growing up, the second ice age was coming. I have heard many more scientists dispel and refute the claims made in that movie than corroborate them. But the bottom line is that if every person in the U.S. became ultra green, it is the third world populations on earth that are doing the most damage right now, not us.
Personally, the main thing I try to accomplish in my life is to eliminate waste. I recycle. I try to use every scrap of stuff I buy for projects. I compost. I try to minimize fertilizer applications. When possible I conserve water. I volunteer to clean up local streams and pick up trash along local roads and highways. Funny because I live in a college town, and 99% of all waste and garbage on the roads is coming from college kids, driving piece of crap cars, belching black smoke, and voting for environmental policies that make no sense but make us all "feel good."
That being said, one of the reasons I am working so hard to establish an aquarium society in my local area is because I believe strongly that the oceans are "out of sight - out of mind." Most folks never see below the surface, and therefore don't care.
However, as a diver - and a marine aquarium enthusiast - I come from a completely different point of view. Take Seattle, my old hometown. This city has been controlled by liberals my entire life... yet the amount of RAW SEWAGE that dumps int Puget Sound is starting to wipe out every living thing. Out of sight, out of mind.
Right now, I am also working with our local science center to build a marine display because I firmly believe in what Julian Sprung added as a footnote to one of his Reef Aquarium volumes... "We Protect What We Love." If I can introduce one person a month to the wonders of our underwater world and talk to them about the reefs, and issues of overfishing, then I feel like I have done a good thing. And because I don't run with the "granola eating, tree hugging" crowd (sorry) I feel like my testimony often has more impact than if it comes from someone with greenpeace stickers on the back of their prius.
Of course, the real conundrum here is that HOBBYISTS are RESPONSIBLE for a HUGE PORTION of the decimation of the worlds reefs. Argue me if you want, it doesn't change the facts. That's why it is critically important to encourage aquaculture whenever possible. We need to learn how to grow this stuff, if we truly want it to survive.
And now I am getting off my soapbox, and thank you for your attention. It wasn't my intention go get political here, so I do not intend to post on this subject again.
__________________ "Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study Hard. Be evil."
The Palouse Region Aquarium Society is now PALOUSE REEFERS - http://www.palousereefers.com/
Abolish the IRS! Bring transparency and accountability to tax policy - close all loopholes and brings fairness to taxation. Support the Fair Tax plan... visit http://www.fairtax.org
Last edited by Rob; 10-26-2006 at 02:21 PM.
Reason: editing colorfull language
On other boards, I wouldn't even consider entering this discussion. But here, I feel it's totally safe to have different views... even political ones! Jeff, you and I probably have only 2 things in common, our names and our love of everything that's in the ocean. But hey, that's what makes TR so awesome, right? We come from near opposite sides of the political spectrum, but when it comes down to it, we both want what's best for the world. We're just take'n different roads to get there.
btw, I hate granola. But I do hug the occasional redwood tree near my home.
thanks guys, i have to say im very impressed with the politeness and respect this conversation has kept, makes me proud of our member.. thanks guys..
great discussion
__________________
Show people you appreciate there advice, click the icon under there name and give them Reputation points
*peeks in* Great conversation, very informative and polite even. I like what I see...to include the passion.
Jeff-W... did you enjoy Rob's Zero Impact podcast? It is right up your ally. I too feel that we have a responsibility, as hobbyists, to not only look towards "aquaculture", but to bring the oceans to the public and create more awareness.
Now..with that said, I have to get into my Rav-4, stuffed to the brim with hockey equipment and hockey players..and get to practice
Keep up the great conversations and thanks again for keeping things civil in what could always be a heated topic.
For my new tank, which I'm a ways off from even getting the tank, I'm really interested in aquacultured critters. I heard the Zero Impact podcast and it really got me thinking about how I wanna set up my tank. The only thing that kinda sucks is with the fish, although I've heard of tank raised fish where the fry are collected and then raised in captivity. It's not Zero Impact but is it better than wild caught? I dunno.
I also agree with W and getting people more interested in the oceans. In the past, I've had nano tanks at my desk at work and I'd post daily updates on the tank to the whole company. People really got into the tank and I even got one guy to start his own reef tank at home. It's amazing how little people know about what's in our oceans. So whenever I can, I like to tell 'em about it.
You'd be amazed how many people ask me.. "are seahorses real?.. I thought they were fiction like unicorns".
For what it's worth.. I ONLY buy frags from friends and never from wild colonies. I always make sure that any fish that I buy are either bred locally or have the The Marine Aquarium Council (MAC) endorsement.
This is the same reason I bred Banggai Cardinals at my home and am now breeding H. Reidi.
icon under their name to add to their reputation. 
