A rant against 'Drive' & enviro correctness

[Brent]

Disclaimer: This is an unashamed rant, so switch off now if you don't like reading these sort of posts.

I was waiting for a coffee at a shop outside my place of work this morning and I quickly flicked through the 'Drive' section of The Age newspaper. Anyway, there was a short snippet on the XR6 Turbo. In a nutshell, whilst the writer was quite pleased with the car itself, the comment was made that he doesn't really like "muscle cars" and every time they review a car like this, they get bombarded with emails expressing outrage that Drive would test such a car. He finished of fby saying he wouldn't own one because its just too politically incorrect nowadays.

Now, is this guy for real? Is 'Drive' seriously happy to print this sort of crap? The article read exactly like they were apologetic to the general populace to text a 'performance' car. I assume that the usual global warming thing is pushing this attitude. So, the agenda of the writer in question is now going to be dictated by the emails he receives from cretins and nimrods who have nothing better to do but whinge and push their own political agenda onto everyone else. If these guys are so limp-wristed, then they should stick to test driving Honda Prius and 4 cylinder Camry's or better still, stop printing "Drive" each week full stop which will save countless tonnes of C02 emmissions and paper wasteage. Now THAT would actually be good for the environment, rather than virtually apologising for testing a performance car.

On a wider scale, I've just about had a gutful of the way the global warming issue has morphed from scientific analysis into a new religious cult. Don't get me wrong, I have deep concerns about the effects of climate change on our planet, but in traditional Australian fashion, its turned into a trendy political bandwagon. If you're on it, its a soul cleansing experience, letting you take the moral high ground and point fingers at others. If you're not, then you're an enviro-vandal of the worst kind, a non-believer, and you're given the socially equivalent punishment of being burned at the stake. All perspective has been lost. China builds a coal fired power station every 10 days. Australia's carbon emmissions equate to 1.5% of total world output, yet we have people and governments running around here trying to tell you what car you can drive, or proposing to levy V8s and 4WDs with more tax due to their carbon footprint. We're luanching into a carbon trading scheme where nobody knows how it'll work, and even less people know how much it will cost our economy. Honestly, we've lost the plot here. People in general (pushed by the media) are going hysterical. The moral lecturing and grandstanding around this issue is getting out of hand, and I for one, have just about had enough.

Rant over.

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[S3SR]

as much as i agree its the exact same as you said to begin with "switch off now if you dont like reading this!"

i didnt read all of it but you should post that middle paragraph to them.... they might use it and youll have whatever they want to give you for free ... win win

[InfernoSR]

Originally Posted by S3SR

i didnt read all of it but you should post that middle paragraph to them.... they might use it and youll have whatever they want to give you for free ... win win

You make a very good point there alone

[4Vman]

Originally Posted by S3SR

as much as i agree its the exact same as you said to begin with "switch off now if you dont like reading this!"

i didnt read all of it but you should post that middle paragraph to them.... they might use it and youll have whatever they want to give you for free ... win win

Agreed, while we might not like what we read (and its only an opinion) at least we have a choice.. lets not ever kill freedom of speech.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by 4Vman

Agreed, while we might not like what we read (and its only an opinion) at least we have a choice.. lets not ever kill freedom of speech.

Indeed. Free speech must be protected. Yes, it is only an opinion and we do have a choice. However, 'Drive' is a motoring publication ferchrisakes, with a pretty wide distribution, and the way I read it, the writer in question was basically apologetic for writing about a performance car. A certain element of irony about that.

[|||]

if the age is so concerned about the environment they should switch to carbon free paper.

[Sourbastard]

next week the column will probably be called "peddle" instead of "drive"

I have no problem with free speech, I just object to so many people blindly taking journalistic opinion, as verified fact. "I saw it on Today Tonight, so it must be true."

If you want a real rant, I'm waiting for the new carbon emissions scheme to get posted up here, I'm sure there will be a queue forming to spit venom and people cursing the day they ever lodged a vote in any political system.

[4Vman]

Originally Posted by sourbastard

If you want a real rant, I'm waiting for the new carbon emissions scheme to get posted up here, I'm sure there will be a queue forming to spit venom and people cursing the day they ever lodged a vote in any political system.

Yes... and because some clown decided it would be a good political stunt to sign the kyoto proticol we're now locked into some rediculous carbon emissions taxation rort that's going to hurt everyone in the hip pocket..... :

[Plugg3r]

Yeh this BS about Global Warming si going to a new extreme.

Like seriously the governments around the world are pushing this crap down our throats and scientists and geologists are saying the opposite.

Anyways, the day V8's and Turbo's aren't reviewed before P.O.S Hybrid's which damage the enviroment in its building process more then V8's will be the day the world is ran by the Green's.

[swapper]

Originally Posted by Plugg3r

.

Like seriously the governments around the world are pushing this crap down our throats and scientists and geologists are saying the opposite.

i dont really want to start a big argument about whether global warming is really happening or not, but can i ask where you got this info? its the total opposite.

the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) who are generally to be considered the most knowledgeable group on the issue conclude tht global warming is human caused! every national academy of science from all major industrialized countries have supported the conclusion that global warming is human caused, and not 1 single one has gone against.

now why would governments push it down our throats? they would much rather the issue not be there! why? because IT COSTS THEM BILLIONS.
why do you think he Howard government refused to say that global warming was human caused, he always said hey weren't sure! even though the nations scientists said it was! i was his major argument for not signing the Kyoto treaty, which you guessed it would have cost the government money.


nobody denies that the earth constantly warms and cools, the big thing is how fast it has been happening, the amount it has changed in the last 70 odd years in the past would usually take 1000s of years.

The theory is that in the early Jurassic it was apparently about 50 deg C on average.

it was actually 16.5 not 50

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic#cite_note-2

not that wikipedia is a great source of info, but it does the job for this discussion

[Sourbastard]

Originally Posted by swapper

i dont really want to start a big argument about whether global warming is really happening or not, but can i ask where you got this info? its the total opposite.

the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) who are generally to be considered the most knowledgeable group on the issue conclude tht global warming is human caused! every national academy of science from all major industrialized countries have supported the conclusion that global warming is human caused, and not 1 single one has gone against.

Actually the scientific community is still well divided on the issue.
http://www.oism.org/pproject/ 31,000 US scientists so far have signed a petition against the Kyoto treaty. There have also been petitions to the UN secretary general about the bad science coming out of the IPCC. The only people who are sure about this, are the Media. Disaster movies sell for a reason.

now why would governments push it down our throats? they would much rather the issue not be there! why? because IT COSTS THEM BILLIONS.
why do you think he Howard government refused to say that global warming was human caused, he always said hey weren't sure! even though the nations scientists said it was! i was his major argument for not signing the Kyoto treaty, which you guessed it would have cost the government money.

It doesnt cost the government 1 CENT. It costs us the tax payers the money, and Labour was voted in on a platform of eco-happytreefriends, so the mob has spoken and they are only now realizing what the bill is for services rendered.

nobody denies that the earth constantly warms and cools, the big thing is how fast it has been happening, the amount it has changed in the last 70 odd years in the past would usually take 1000s of years.

Oh? 14,700 years ago with a 22-degree-Fahrenheit spike in just 50 years, we left the last glacial period. In the last 50 years he warmest spike has been in alaska, which was 4.5°F. Which is hardly surprising during an ice retreat.

[swapper]

Actually the scientific community is still well divided on the issue.
http://www.oism.org/pproject/ 31,000 US scientists so far have signed a petition against the Kyoto treaty. There have also been petitions to the UN secretary general about the bad science coming out of the IPCC. The only people who are sure about this, are the Media. Disaster movies sell for a reason.

there is not one major scientific study or organization that has concluded that global warming isn't human caused, its only to which degree we have caused it, and to how big the effects will be, that they are divided.

the IPCC might not be perfect, just through their high profile work they are always going to get criticism, but the fact remains, he scientific community still generally rates them as the most knowledgeable organization on the issue of global warming, they are hardly a shoddy operation, they have also won a Nobel peace prize for their work

It doesnt cost the government 1 CENT. It costs us the tax payers the money, and Labour was voted in on a platform of eco-happytreefriends, so the mob has spoken and they are only now realizing what the bill is for services rendered.

using that argument, nothing costs the government a cent, because they pay for everything through taxes.
in the coming years they will pay out more $$$ than they get directly through "carbon taxes" etc
it costs them through pressures that the issue puts on the economy, which was Howard's 2nd big argument for not signing the Kyoto agreement.

anyway like i said, im not trying to start an argument about the issue, its been done to death, i was just merely correcting 2 comments

the 1st being "governments around the world are pushing this crap down our throats and scientists and geologists are saying the opposite." as i said every national scienific acadamy from the industrialised world has supported the theory of human caused global warming

And the 2nd being the fact that the average temperature on earth in the Jurassic period was 50 degrees.

[Sourbastard]

Originally Posted by swapper

there is not one major scientific study or organization that has concluded that global warming isn't human caused, its only to which degree we have caused it, and to how big the effects will be, that they are divided.

So even though we dont know if this is a climate shift, or an aberration, you have somehow concluded we are to blame? So what caused the last climate shift which occurred pre-industry which was far higher in the same period? Co2 is the poorest excuse ive heard, especially as water vapour is a far more powerful greenhouse gas, yet you cant measure that through an ice core can you? So lets blame Co2.

And this, all based on 50 - 100 years of temperature rise, which isnt as high as other periods in the past. You cant make climatic predictions on 100 years of data, short of the ground catching on fire every time the sun hits it. We are making economic decisions based on 45 seconds of a blip in climate change. Funnily enough, every time a study finds destruction on the horizon, there seems to be cash to fund the next expedition. Its a nice little business that employs many and pays well.

31,000 scientists have reviewed the same findings, and disagree, thats an impressive amount of disagreement.

the IPCC might not be perfect, just through their high profile work they are always going to get criticism, but the fact remains, he scientific community still generally rates them as the most knowledgeable organization on the issue of global warming, they are hardly a shoddy operation, they have also won a Nobel peace prize for their work

And yet the scientific community still disputes their findings, regardless of their popularity contest achievements. http://co2sceptics.com/news.php?id=1551

Its a theory, it hasnt had enough peer review, yet its reported by the media as fact without any thought, and most people dont have enough knowledge to question the reports. This is my issue.

[4Vman]

Originally Posted by sourbastard

It doesnt cost the government 1 CENT. It costs us the tax payers the money, and Labour was voted in on a platform of eco-happytreefriends, so the mob has spoken and they are only now realizing what the bill is for services rendered.

.

I froth at the mouth about this.. the last election was determined on a campaign of attracting green votes and angst about work choice reforms.. so far green/kyoto has turned out to be damn expensive and without any solid basis to justify cost or reason, there was a damn good reason why it wasnt signed by the previous govt....., the second reason has quietly been swept under the rug without even a hint of action.... and will probably eventually get wheeled out in a very watered down version.

[Auslandau]

Originally Posted by swapper

i now why would governments push it down our throats? they would much rather the issue not be there! why? because IT COSTS THEM BILLIONS.
why do you think he Howard government refused to say that global warming was human caused, he always said hey weren't sure! even though the nations scientists said it was! i was his major argument for not signing the Kyoto treaty, which you guessed it would have cost the government money.

As SB said, doesnt and will not cost them 1 cent, as per todays statement by the Enviroment Minister ...... 19% increase in electricity over the next 12 months, as stated "As a direct result ..... " and a freeze in the excise on petrol ..... for 3 years only then what? A decrease??



| [/url] |

[Sourbastard]

Next time you get cornered by some whining Prius driving troglodite demanding you get rid of your v8, heres an interesting site with some facts you can bash them around the head with.

http://www.geocraft.com/WVFossils/ice_ages.html

They wont believe you, but its good to vent at them. The site actually corrected a few misconceptions I had, so its always good to learn good science than the "science lite©" that we get from the eco-media.

[Hunter]

'Global warming' / climate change has merit, but now that its being misused and abused it suits those who are damaging the environment quite nicely because no average person will take any of it seriously anymore...

[4Vman]

Originally Posted by Hunter

'Global warming' / climate change has merit, but now that its being misused and abused it suits those who are damaging the environment quite nicely because no average person will take any of it seriously anymore...

I agree it should allways be a point to remember, but we're now faced with meeting targets as part of an obligation we're locked into and the Govt are going to tax us to "force" us to comply....

Originally Posted by 4Vman

I agree it should allways be a point to remember, but we're now faced with meeting targets as part of an obligation we're locked into and the Govt are going to tax us to "force" us to comply....

It's the Labor way.

[RG]

I still don't fully get this "Global Warming" phenomenon. Records only go back so far yet they are saying that this has never happened before, well bugger me without any hard facts all it is is speculation and educated guess work.

Remember the Ice Age ended somehow....

[Sourbastard]

Originally Posted by Russell

I still don't fully get this "Global Warming" phenomenon. Records only go back so far yet they are saying that this has never happened before, well bugger me without any hard facts all it is is speculation and educated guess work.

Remember the Ice Age ended somehow....

Give that site I posted a read Russ, its plain English and backed by a fair amount of the eco-handholders own data, without the hype and hysteria.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Russell

I still don't fully get this "Global Warming" phenomenon. Records only go back so far yet they are saying that this has never happened before, well bugger me without any hard facts all it is is speculation and educated guess work.

Remember the Ice Age ended somehow....

If you take the results from ice that can be tested back to the dinosaurs. There was a time (during the heat/cold cycles) where the earth was hotter then what they have measured now. The earth didn't die and life went on.

[perthxr6t]

Makes me want to go out and burn a couple of old tyres i have in the back yard.

I'm over the bloody do gooders.. Everytime they come up with an idea it costs us normal folk more money.

I have an idea! We'll drive as normal and all the do gooders can catch public transport to work and that way we'll cut down on co2 and at the same time the roads will be clearer for us :

[DoreSlamR]

Originally Posted by perthxr6t

Makes me want to go out and burn a couple of old tyres i have in the back yard.

I'm over the bloody do gooders.. Everytime they come up with an idea it costs us normal folk more money.

I have an idea! We'll drive as normal and all the do gooders can catch public transport to work and that way we'll cut down on co2 and at the same time the roads will be clearer for us :

Not everyone is out to take our money for the "greater good"

I posted this before recently but seriously the more people that know about it, the better.

Turn normal windows into solar panels
Related story

And coz we all love a good video to explain the concept.

There are people out there who are developing useful, environmentally smart concepts.

[Silver Ghia]

Typical sort of stuff published in 'The Age', which is the paper preferred by the greenies and other people on that side of the political fence.
You should have read the rest of the paper, the rant would have gone much further.

[LOCO XP]

I'll join the rant session. Although I donate to Australian Conservation Fund (for improving rivers, pure and simple), I'm not a greenie and I'm also not convinced on the global warming issue. Even if its true or there's some degree of truth, I don't care.

Since fuel is going to be $8/litre next week, and we're all gonna die from pollution and climate change blah blah blah, I'm ordering a fleet of clapped out smokey big block Cadillacs getting 8 gallons to the mile and giving one to all of my friends, fuelling up and going on a road trip to make the most of it before fuel prices go through the roof, oil reserves run out and before Australia goes under water from the polar ice caps melting.

Seriously, I don't know who or what to believe, being from a science based background, and seeing all the "so-called" scientists caving into political, media and business propaghanda, science based theories are becoming so stretched that environmental BS has become a cult. I have always been somewhat eco-friendly but I'm sick of all this extremist dictatorSH#T.

[Rob]

Originally Posted by LOCO XP

I'll join the rant session. Although I donate to Australian Conservation Fund (for improving rivers, pure and simple), I'm not a greenie and I'm also not convinced on the global warming issue. Even if its true or there's some degree of truth, I don't care.

Since fuel is going to be $8/litre next week, and we're all gonna die from pollution and climate change blah blah blah, I'm ordering a fleet of clapped out smokey big block Cadillacs getting 8 gallons to the mile and giving one to all of my friends, fuelling up and going on a road trip to make the most of it before fuel prices go through the roof, oil reserves run out and before Australia goes under water from the polar ice caps melting.

Seriously, I don't know who or what to believe, being from a science based background, and seeing all the "so-called" scientists caving into political, media and business propaghanda, science based theories are becoming so stretched that environmental BS has become a cult. I have always been somewhat eco-friendly but I'm sick of all this extremist dictatorSH#T.

Agreed - I actively try to recycle as much as I can, at work and at home. I feel guilty wasting paper, and I always try to dispose of oils and automotive waste properly.. but this carbon trading is just rubbish. The more and more I hear it, the more I reject it.

[Force6]

Whether climate change will be the catastrophe some people claim it is going to be or not, ask yourself the question:
Would you rather be prepared for the effects of climate change if they come, or be caught completely unawares.

[yanknbank]

Regards the climate change issue (alledged that is), the fact of the matter is, the earth for much or most of it's history has been a lot warmer than it is now. It's unusual for instance to have ice sheets at both the north and south poles at the same time. You could perhaps say that at the moment, the earth is experiencing a 'mini' ice age. The planet warming up again is a no brainer. Climate change does and is happening as we speak. The climate has been changing almost constantly, for the last 5 billion years without respite. And it will continue to change for the next 5 billion years. Humans are responsible for only a very small percentage of the total carbon emmissions annually and that Human's have an effect on the climate I've got no doubt.
But as to whether we are totally to blame for this change, I've got serious doubts.

the comment was made that he doesn't really like "muscle cars" and every time they review a car like this, they get bombarded with emails expressing outrage that Drive would test such a car. He finished of fby saying he wouldn't own one because its just too politically incorrect nowadays.

Well, what else would you expect from a socialist, left wing trendy newspaper such as 'The Age'. They've been writing this sought of thing for some time now and it's only getting worse.

[JMO]

I recall hearing that the hole in the ozone layer was showing signs of repairing itself, this was a few years ago now. Doesn't that mean that our emissions are down and that all is not as bad as they want us to believe?