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Saturday, March 28, 2009

I Want My Carbon Offsets!

Saturday night is something called Earth Hour where we are all encouraged to turn off the lights for an hour to apparently "make a statement."

I was invited to an Earth Hour party and today on my cell phone got an SMS via Evite that the party was cancelled.  If a Google search generates 7 grams of  CO2 how much does an Earth Hour party evite times 100 guests including invitation, responses, reminders and cancellation?

When I'm working, writing, on the computer, etc. - event at the office - I prefer minimal light.  At home while blogging I typically only see by the light of the computer monitor and turn on and off lights as I pass through rooms.  I bet doing that everyday saves a lot more energy than one Earth Hour party!

I also walk to work everday, generally driving my car at most two to three times a week.  I last filled up the tank on March 8th and I have about a third of a tank left (mainly due to two business related trips to the Westside/South Bay earlier in the month and a trip to Gardena for a memorial service last weekend). Even when I do drive, mostly on the weekends, it's almost always patronizing businesses in my zip code.

I also use cloth grocery bags.  I got started on that shopping at HOWS but my collection now includes Ralphs, Walgreens and Superior Produce Market. I keep enough of them in the car, buy extras when I need and always chastise the checkers "Yes I want you to use the cloth bag and not the plastic or paper."

So all of these things are helping the environment and saving me money, time, hassles, etc.

Don't make a "statement" by going to a party to be cool.  Make a statement by living your life.  Ed Begley, Jr. is one of the few environmental activists who actually practices what he preaches.


Which leads me to the conclusion - why must we have the government force us to do these things?

Who do I send my invoice for my carbon offsets to?

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19 Comments:

Blogger mary whoopee said:

C'mon... all this "Earth Hour-Ed Begley Jr.-don't drive-go green" is just a bunch of pointless horseshit. Well, it is! And using those dumb canvas bags when you go shopping is just gonna make you look faggy. Besides, if you don't have plenty o' plastic or brown paper bags on hand, then you have to actually BUY trash bags, right? And those are plastic. There's no such thing as canvas trash bags.Gotta use the still-free shopping bags or purchase plastic trash bags, so why even bother w/ the whole "wholistic-
-Al Gore-turn-off-
your-sex-toys-for-an-hour" ridiculousness?
Now I've had to expend a certain amount of dwindling natural resources just explaining the futility in your actions-- AARRRGGHH!!!!

March 28, 2009 12:55 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

I'm proud of you for that Michael. You will not look faggy in any way, shape or form.

I'm not going to respond to the Rita post because her ignorance is mind-boggling! Pointless horseshit? She can't be serious. She isn't really that tacky, right? Come on - you like her. She can't be that bad, yet... she appears to be.

She thinks we have to buy the plastic bags as opposed to being fined for using them, or should I say, it's supposed to be an incentive NOT to use them. I bet she doesn't believe in global warming. And she probably thinks Bush was awesome and that one day we'll find those weapons of mass destruction.

March 28, 2009 2:12 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Yeah, good for Ed Begley, Jr. He got sucked in to supporting Measure B. If you are going to be out front as an environmental activist at least dig into the details of what you are supporting.

March 28, 2009 8:31 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Believe me, there are few fags in this world who'd want to fuck Higby.

The same can be said for the women of the world.

March 28, 2009 9:08 AM  

Anonymous matt dowd said:

the only thing he forgot to mention was the CFL, the energy saving bulbs.
they're incredible, just on a personal note, do you remember Michael last time we discussed these? I still haven't needed to replace them since that discussion.

but Rita is right the one hour thing is bogus as hell. unless Asia and I mean China and India, unless those two countries all follow what we're doing, its pointless. they got 2 billion people pumping endless CO2 and open fires to cook and gas guzzling american hand me downs and all manner of poorly maintained smog producing vehicles and stuff.

but do be personally responsible, and that's the best you can do. turn off the printer. that's 20 watts of standby that definitely just wastes all day long.

March 28, 2009 9:43 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

I always request paper only bags they make great kitchen trash containers that may be useable more then once and the ones with the handles are even better.
I find that canvas sacks are more of a value for transporting miscellanies items that is
Where the priceless value of the canvas sack lays and I always give the bagging person
The sign of peace after packing my groceries.

March 28, 2009 10:01 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

8:31: Ed Begley did "dig into the details of what he's supporting." Typical of you people to claim anyone who doesn't agree with you is stupid or duped.

March 28, 2009 10:35 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

I agree with Rita about plastic bags because I don't want to have to buy them for my cat litter and dog poop.

I reuse them for my pets and line my trash cans with them, they don't go to waste. This law is because lots of pigs throw them in the street where they end up in the drains.

When they cost a quarter you'll see more people leave dog poop on the street. Yeah they have those cheezy ones you have to buy for this purpose but they're not as strong. And then we still have to buy heavier-duty trash bags. This is all because some people are pigs. And the people most behind this law are little old ladies and single guys like Higby who don't have to buy ten grocery bags worth of food every week for a family. NO way can we stuff all that food in some cheezy little cloth bag. Plus even the singles have to wash them often, and how much energy does that use?

March 28, 2009 10:40 AM  

Blogger Debbie said:

Michael Highy, in a million years...you could never look "faggy" (now what the hell is THAT all about?) no matter what you're carrying, wearing, whatever.

I'm proud of you, too!

xoxo

March 28, 2009 12:10 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

In a few years the Hollywood goofballs and the radical lefties will have moved on to the next "issue du jour". Even though there are probably more than 5 times as many people living in So Calif than there was 50 years ago the air is cleaner, the water is purer, the food is safer than it was back then. Due to this and modern drugs people are living longer healthier lives than ever in human history. And there is nothing wrong with using your own shopping bags, planting a few trees, and picking up trash.

March 28, 2009 12:17 PM  

Anonymous g said:

I BELEIVE IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT BUT DID NOT SUPPORT MEASURE B. SOLAR ENERGY COULD BE GREAT BUT IT'S HOW YOU MAKE PANELS AND HOW YOU USE IT. THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD ENCOURAGE THESE MANUFACTURERS TO IMPROVE HOW PANELS ARE MADE AND CREATE PROGRAMS TO MAKE IT LESS COSTLY FOR PEOPLE TO INSTALL THIS TECHNOGY. IT SHOULDN'T BE RUN BY THE GOVERNMENT BUT BY PRIVATE INDUSTRY WHERE COMPETITION CAN IMPROVE THE PRODUCT AND LOWER IT'S COST. CHANGING THE WAY WE DO THINGS IS JUST THAT!! MAKING ARE AIR,WATER CLEANER AND SAFER WILL HELP DECREASE COSTS FOR HEALTH CARE DO TO CANCER, ETC. DESTROYING THE EINVIRONMENT IS NOT REVERSIBLE LESS YOUR A GOD.

March 28, 2009 1:11 PM  

Blogger Michael Higby said:

For Rita and the people who want plastic or paper bags I'm all for the choice to use them. I don't believe the government should ban or tax them. It's up to the stores if they want to give them out for free or charge you or even encourage you to recycle them in their collection bin, whatever, it should be a business not a government decision.

For me the paper bags and plastic bags don't work. First off if I buy a weeks worth of groceries, which is about 3-4 paper bags, I will collect more paper bags than I will ever use for trash. Also, the plastic bags are lousy for carrying groceries in. And when you go somewhere like CVS or Walgreens, the geniuses who work there have to put one item in a bag. How they hell do you carry out ten bags?

I forgot to mention CFLs. It's an amazing invention. The last time a bulb blew out here (a rare ocurrence since most of the lights are out) I replaced it with a CFL. Though I liked the soft white bulbs, its not bad.

We can also use CFL lights because WE WANT TO and not because the nanny state makes you.

Don't even get me started on the DWP paying day laborers to go door to door passing out light bulbs.

March 28, 2009 1:43 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Ed Begley can afford to do all those things to reduce his carbon footprint. Most people can't afford to install solar panel, replace the carpeting, the light fixtures, buy a hybrid car, install rain collection systems, replace irrigation systems, etc.

If the people at the store are packing your items in too many plastic bags, ask them not to, or bring your own canvas bags.

March 28, 2009 5:40 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Leave it to LA and the gang banger Mayor to make the city look like morons. The purpose of today is to send a message. But Mayor is having a big party downtown so figure how much all the electricty, DOT, LAPD, street closures, permit fees etc. are going to cost. The Mayor of Oakland was asked NOT to speak at the funeral yesterday by one of the families. For sure Weiss will lose because of that press conf. photo op with cholo Antonio yesterday. All Antonio has to do is tell his homies to give up their guns.

March 28, 2009 6:01 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Higby, Ed Begley who you admire endorsed Jack Weiss and did the big photo op thing for him -- all the real environmentalists know that Trutanich is a fraud, really the anti- environmentalist. So now are you going to suddenly change your mind about Begley? I don't follow Begley's doings but it seems that he's widely respected in the world of environmentalists.

March 29, 2009 1:51 PM  

Blogger mary whoopee said:

Hay Anon 1:51-- if we needed to vote in an environmentalist in some sort of official capacity, Ed Begley JOONYER would surely win. However, what's up for grabs here is the office of city atty, an office that Jack-Ass Weiss is unqualified to fulfill. Everybody hates him. He's a big jerk. He's Mayor Tony's puppet. Need I say more? Cuz I will, no problem. Go "Nuch!" Or "Tru!" Or whatever they call you, ya big upstanding man of Polish descent, you! Just go and win-- we need you.

March 29, 2009 7:43 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

I noticed that Clear Channel's digital billboards totally ignored Earth Hour and kept burning their 28,000 watts!

March 29, 2009 9:25 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Rita -- stick to talking about your big boobs, all the traffic going into your bedroom to see your boobs, I mean, brownie badges, and hide it all under that ratty mop of hair.
What you know about politics and who's qualified to do what wouldn't fit into one of those um, badges.

March 29, 2009 10:19 PM  

Blogger mary whoopee said:

Oh, yeah? And you're too ashamed of who you are to reveal yourself. Let's see your fat ass and your receding hair line. On second thought, dear, spare us. Don't bother. I know a lot of people, like you, poor thing, are incredibly envious of my wit, charm, looks, artistic talent, show-biz connections as well as my vast political savvy. Gee, it's tough being me ...BARTENDER!!

March 30, 2009 3:30 AM  

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