Debunking Lomborg and other things

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Garret is having a great weblog conversation on just how *off* Lomborg’s The Environmentalists Are Wrong is.

it’s just that i’m surprised that so many are buying what this individual is selling, without using their baloney detection kit. or, at least spending a minute or two on google.

I posted my take to Garret’s discussion – Even if the Lomborg’s right with his facts (and like others I seriously doubt it – but who am I to argue? :))… He’s saying the monentary value of adjusting to the climate change is cheaper then preventing it in the first place. So his conclusion is that we should adjust instead of prevent. That’s bullshit. His whole argument is that we should take the route of least resistance. Just because something is easier doesn’t make it right. Just because something is cheaper doesn’t make it right.

I’d argue we need to do both. Help countries with fighting poverty *and* invest in technologies and practices to sustain and improve the environment. With America leading the way by actions and not words. Those actions can happen at a local level. At a personal level.

A great point Garret made,

“the market is driving a push to sustainability, because of pollution in urban areas – *not* the environmental movement. sustainability and development are local, regional issues too … not just linked to global warming.

Now read this Yahoo! news story on a report issued by the Natural Resources Defense Council, American Rivers, and Smart Growth America.

Suburban strip malls, office buildings and other paved areas have worsened the drought covering half the United States by blocking billions of gallons of rainwater from seeping through the soil to replenish ground water, environmental groups said on Wednesday.

Atlanta loses enough water to supply the average household needs of up to 3.6 million people a year, the report said.

The Boston area was next with between 44 billion and 103 billion gallons of water lost. Next came Philadelphia with 25 billion to 59 billion gallons of water unable to return to the soil, the report said.

“Sprawl development is literally sending billions of gallons of badly needed water down the drain each year — the storm drain,” said Betsy Otto, senior director for watershed programs at American Rivers.

“Sprawl hasn’t caused this year’s drought, but sprawl is making water supply problems worse in many cities,” she said..

Confirms Garret’s point doesn’t it?

Mike starts with attacking the sinner and not the sin, but ends up making some great points once past that. I wonder if our notion of poverty is cultural? If not then I have to disagree with this,

“Only when people are rich enough to feed themselves do they begin to think about the effect of their actions on the world around them and on future generations.” Yeah, Bjorn. We have seen that happen in Europe and North America. It is indeed as you say. What do you do all your life? Watch the fiords freeze over? Eat LSD with your cornflakes? That has to be the dumbest statement anyone arguing a point such as yours could put forward.

I come from a ‘disadvantaged’ background, and from my perspective, on this point, Bjorn is positively right. When you can’t feed yourself – all you think about is your next meal. I return to my point above. Fight poverty and lead by example on environmental issues. That’s IMHO.

Wanna see a perfect idea for protest on a very local level?. I love it!

Alwin nails why I have issues with IndyMedia,

I think that Portland Indymedia is doing an important job. I realize that Indymedia sites have an agenda, and it’s pretty plain what it is. I just think it would carry more weight if it was written with more attention to the facts.

I hear the outrage in the voice, can even empathize with it- but it’s place is in a more personal space (like a weblog) not in something purporting to be “Independent media.” Independent means not taking sides (emphasis added by Karl). Doesn’t it? Or have we changed the meaning of the word?

Alwin – I’ve been wondering who are the contributers to IndyMedia for a while. For such an ‘independent’ forum, they sure are biased in one particular direction. They are the leftist O’Reilly Report. Where are those that just want to report the truth and not their editorial opinion?

Changing the Zen of Programming

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…Our languages are changing from the static to the dynamic. I can remember when a program was developed as a single, self-contained and monolithic piece of code.

The advent of dynamic libraries allowed us to defer some of the functioning of a program until runtime, but the idea of a program as a single, known entity for which we had detailed knowledge and which didn’t change over the life of the program is still with us.

…the dynamic nature of the Java environment is basic to the functionality of the language, and it allows us to deploy systems that can be changed, upgraded and evolved over time as the requirements of the system change.

…we need to spend more time dealing with faults and exceptions, and less time adding features, which changes the nature of what we do.

…Using the network means we have introduced new ways in which our systems can fail, but it also means we can build redundancy into the system so that the failure of a single piece of hardware need not cause the failure of the overall system, making the whole system more reliable.

…Just as Socrates found that he was the wisest of men because he knew that he didn’t know anything (as opposed to others, who thought they knew something but were wrong), programmers must come to the realization that their knowledge of systems will be more and more Socratic.

Rather than knowing everything, we will know what it is that we do not know.

I really like this article by by Jim Waldo. Food for thought. Not that I don’t already preach this at work.

Welcome Opie and Anthony fans/detractors from Google

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Pleased to meetyas. Anyway, feel free to look around the site or post comments in the O&A threads Clear Channel to Opie and Anthony – we have no interest or Opie and Anthony Canceled. For or against. You’re all welcome.

If you’d like to know about me, I’d like you to consider a beef and beer in support of the Sleeping Angels Fund. A non-profit that helps families in need memorialize their lost children.

Beyond that, two songs I wrote; Kensinton and The Future Knocks, tell you a lot. Yeah, they suck. But not too bad. Check out the stuff under “Main” for more. And check out the site’s in my sidebar. Some great ones there.

Recently I’ve gotten massive traffic from three things on the site (other then getting people pissed off); the funny and false divorce story tied to 9-11, the words “Kill Bon Jovi” (hey I’m a fan! Check out The Future Knocks. You can hear my influences. I was commenting on the scrawl on the back of James Hetfield’s guitar!), and O&A.

BTW – You can check out the first single from Bon Jovi’s upcoming album here. It rocks.

Speaking of music, hope you had a great time at the Bruce Springsteen show last night Bill.

Today’s O&A story is from CNN “Viacom should have known the risky-sex shock jocks would eventually go too far“

It was obvious from their antics that Opie and Anthony would go too far someday. Heck, this is the third time they did this sort of contest.

Viacom, however, was oblivious to this inevitability. It was willing to take the money the show made, but not willing to look over its shoulder and look for trouble BEFORE it happened. At best, it was lazy and, at worst, negligent. Viacom wouldn’t comment beyond its official statement on the matter.

Sure, the station manager and producer are getting punished too. But the corporate chieftains, who ultimately made the firing decision, should be held accountable too. At the very least, the corporation should donate some part of the profits it made off the show to the church it offended.

That’s who people should be pissed at. Whether you are an O&A fan or a someone who’s been offended. Because ultimately… they put out the paychecks. I’m a little disappointed in William Donohue, head of the Catholic League, who said, “I’m satisfied.”, after hearing that they were canceled. Sounds like simple retribution to me. I’m with the article writer above – they should make a donation to the church. They should apologize. I guess you can say I’d rather them repent then be punished. Instead, by cancelling them, they’ve been recast as the victim. Read some more articles on the web, or my message thread. They will probably come back bigger then before. You’ll see.

Other then O&A though, it’s gotta be said, there are bigger things goin’ on in the world.

Opie and Anthony Canceled – On Google I’m Number One

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Welcome Google users! For the discussion click here.

How’d it happen?!? For “Opie and Anthony Canceled” I’m number one on Google.

Here goes some more links:

DJs Opie and Anthony Canned

How Low Can They Go?

update: ‘nychick’ passes on that O&A were *not* fired. Their show was canceled. They’re still WNEW (NYC station) employees. Click for the discussion.

Clear Channel to Opie and Anthony – we have no interest

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Update 2/26/2002: Things have gone too far!

Now Clear Channel is moving to shut down Howard Stern!

Please click this url to continue the discussion.

Following is a previous post on Opie and Anthony:

Opie and Anthony got the door slammed in their faces by Clear Channel yesterday, as the radio giant said it had absolutely no interest in hiring the just-fired shock jocks.
“They don’t fit in with the brands we have in New York. God bless ’em, but we have no interest in them at all,” said Andy Rosen, Clear Channel’s regional vice president.

Read the rest in the NYPost.

I can’t believe someone actually thinks this is a free speach issue. Common! That’s bullshit. I *listened* to the show regularly and I still realize that just makes no sense.

Normal people have gotten fired for much much less. We may not like it. But that’s the way it is. If the employeer felt strongly enough, they could have took it to court. But it looks like Infinity caved. Don’t get mad if some Catholic groups are upset. They have every right to be offended.

You an O&A supporter and you wanna get mad? Get mad because Infinity caved. They are the employers. They held the cards. Could have took the fines. Could have went to court. Could have done as they did for years with Howard Stern. O&A were doing what they were paid to do after all. They just got fired for doing what they were told to do.

Believe me – back in the day – Howard Stern was way more controversial then O&A. President Bush was recently joking around with Ozzy! Do you realize the relationship those in power had with the entertainment industry in the 80s? Remember – the 80s were the PMRC decade. It’s a whole new ballgame now.

Lileks sets the matter straight.

It looks like good ‘ol free market capitalism is going to do it’s work. No advertisers – no jobs. But that’s temporary. I’m sure someone somewhere will take a chance on them soon enough.

Well I used to be king at this…

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Yeah it’s getting a lot of play elsewhere, but it’s fun. Here is the official home page of the Air Guitar Championships. Check out the MetaFilter thread.

It’s kinda weird going to concerts now and suppressing the urge. I mean, I remember this one concert where me and a guitar player friend of mine were putting on a real display while Metallica was on stage. A very pretty girl tapped my shoulder and told me I was putting on a better show then the band. conversation ensued. no lie! Aha… I’ve finally posted something potentially embarrasing to my weblog. At least it’s not a kitten picture 🙂

Java 1.4.1 rc supports “partial upgrades”

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Along with the Java Web Start changes, there are improvements to the Java Plug-in and its associated Java Runtime Environment (JRE). Prior versions of the JRE required a complete download to install a new version of the runtime environment. The latest version includes a Java Update mechanism that allows the runtime environment to be patched with a partial download.

Check out the rest in this JavaLobby thread.