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sweetredwine

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Earth Hour 2011: It's Time to Go Beyond the Hour

Sounds good, but where are we really willing to go?

Pass your cursor above the lit squares and you can see our ideas:

"Today I'm turning off the lights in the house"

"Sleep early get up early"

"Shutoff gadgets"

"I will buy a Kindle to use less ..."

"Turn off my pc"

"i use tumbler in the office instead of using the disposable cup."

...etc...

What is this - a joke??? Who do we think we're fooling??? :Thinking:

Why doesn't someone - anyone - say "I'm giving up my car / job / vacation / something really meaningful ?

:wtf:

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With the job situation in this country the way it is, what sane person is going to say "I'm just going to give up my job"? That's ridiculous.

Cars are tangible assets, jobs bring income and vacations are meant to allow you to unwind.

You all are right, and even before the "job situation" became worse practically no one ever seemed to want to give up their job ... and/or anything of tangible material value, really ... even if that would have preserved or strengthened their interpersonal relationships (so that one doesn't get so "wound up" to begin with)

You could ask people to stop breathing to save oxygen, but they may ignore that request also.

whether or not they want to breathe is up to them, but it's really sad to see them (or "help" them to) live that way

9 Of The Most Polluted Places In The World (PHOTOS)

slide_9914_130666_large.jpg?1301160921249

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You all are right, and even before the "job situation" became worse practically no one ever seemed to want to give up their job ... and/or anything of tangible material value, really ... even if that would have preserved or strengthened their interpersonal relationships (so that one doesn't get so "wound up" to begin with)

whether or not they want to breathe is up to them, but it's really sad to see them (or "help" them to) live that way

9 Of The Most Polluted Places In The World (PHOTOS)

So it's better to leave them in the street with nothing? Let's say their interpersonal relationships would have failed anyway.

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So it's better to leave them in the street with nothing? Let's say their interpersonal relationships would have failed anyway.

As long as we've got Mother Nature we've got something, something very very important.

The real question is: what price do we expect Mother Nature to pay to have the "priviledge" of our presence here ?

And then we ought to remember: Mother Nature doesn't have money to spend ... :whistling:

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What is this - a joke??? Who do we think we're fooling??? :Thinking:

I would say it's already too late. In less than 50 years the planet will have over nine billion human inhabitants. That's nearly twice as many as it can comfortably accommodate. Resources will start running out and panic will set in. The biggest one will be fresh water. Some places are already feeling this.

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I would say it's already too late. In less than 50 years the planet will have over nine billion human inhabitants. That's nearly twice as many as it can comfortably accommodate. Resources will start running out and panic will set in. The biggest one will be fresh water. Some places are already feeling this.

"... I'll try to get a few thoughts on paper before I forget everything.

1) There can be no question whatever that mankind now stands at one of the crucial thresholds of his existence. In some sense it is the most crucial, since his entire future is to a great extent in his own hands. In the sense that he can determine that future, but not in the sense that he knows entirely what he is doing since he cannot foresee all the results of his decision. And also it will do him no good to hang back or try to avoid the decision, because even not deciding is a decision and will have its own (I think unfortunate) results.

2) Man now knows enough to determine his own future without knowing quite what all the implications are going to be. That is of course characteristic of human acts and human freedom. What is new is that now man can decide not just for himself and his immediate entourage as individuals, but he can decide for the whole race. He can commit the future to a certain quality of life --- or no life at all.

3) It seems to me that we must not be too naive about this situation. The fact that it is excitingly new should not blind us to the other fact that man is still acting in the same wrong ways that he should have learned to avoid. In other words, we have to face the new without forgetting crucially important lessons from the past. Our decision must be a life-affirming and loving one but a life-affirming decision is not likely to emerge from a thought system that is largely programmed by unconscious death drives, destructiveness, greed, etc. And yet it still can, if we take account of a few vital and by no means new imperatives: to refrain from the wanton taking of life, to avoid selfish greed and the exploitation of others for our own ends, to tell the truth (and that goes for governments and corporations as well as for individuals), to respect the personal integrity of others even when they belong to groups that are alien to us, etc., etc.

4) We must face the challenge of the future realizing that we are still problems to ourselves. Where the religious dimension enters in is not just in pious clichés but in a radical self-criticism and openness and a profound ability to trust not only in our chances of a winnning gamble, but in an inner dynamism of life itself, a basic creativity, a power of life to win over entropy and death. But once again, we have to pay attention to the fact that we may formulate this in words, and our unconscious death-drive may be contradicting us in destructive undertones we don't hear.

In other words, we have all got to learn to be wide open, and not get closed up in little tight systems and cliques, little coteries of gnostic experts. ... Your work in bringing people from different fields together is symptomatic. It shows the realization of one of our greatest needs: a real expansion of communication to its worldwide limits. I wish you success."

Da: Thomas Merton - A Life in Letters - pagg. 219-220

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What is this - a joke??? Who do we think we're fooling??? :Thinking:

Why doesn't someone - anyone - say "I'm giving up my car / job / vacation / something really meaningful ?

:wtf:

I turned on all my tungsten light bulbs.

;)

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It's a matter of finding a healthy balance in the ecology. When in doubt, you decide in favor of the human population.

In this case Police: Ohio Woman Choked Walmart Greeter, 71

the human population might be favored by closing down the store ... you see, the whole situation is absurd: stores are open too long, too many people (young, old, male, female) want to work outside the home, people shop too much, people consume too much, everybody is miserable and everything is suffering, but we refuse to "step back" individually - and prefer to wait for the day that some "real jerk" (who in reality would be a saint) forcibly tells everybody to STOP ? He'd be hated, hung and forgotten immediately! :bubble:

... and people would go right back to their misery ...

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In this case Police: Ohio Woman Choked Walmart Greeter, 71

the human population might be favored by closing down the store ... you see, the whole situation is absurd: stores are open too long, too many people (young, old, male, female) want to work outside the home, people shop too much, people consume too much, everybody is miserable and everything is suffering, but we refuse to "step back" individually - and prefer to wait for the day that some "real jerk" (who in reality would be a saint) forcibly tells everybody to STOP ? He'd be hated, hung and forgotten immediately! :bubble:

... and people would go right back to their misery ...

It's great that the stores are open, that there are opportunities to work outside the home for those who do not want to remain shut in, that people are able to purchase goods and services, and that free markets do a bustling and healthy trade. When sufficient wealth is generated, you can always hire someone or if money is tight, assemble a volunteer oversight committee to do damage control on the problems, eyesores and any of the downside areas to improve the process of trade and make shopping more pleasant for all concerned. Free trade is a good thing overall. They can always change the schedule for the hours that a store is open if it is a problem.

Of course finding a store manager who will listen to reason, when he or she is already too busy can be a daunting task. Most of the time managers are driven by production numbers. They're bound to look at you as if you're crazy if you make a comment about the quality of the shopping experience. So many people are indoctrinated by their company's culture that they don't think well independently. That's the problem with teamwork sometimes. The peer pressure to have something in common with the group means that people sacrifice their individuality.

There is something to be said for urban planners who design the living space in communities to allow for proper recreation and to foresee and alleviate potential problems. Kyoto, Japan has zen gardens that permit people to unwind and focus on their spirituality. These gardens have lasted over a long period of time, and still attract visitors.

The problem with those who behave inappropriately in stores is that the other areas of their lives are out of balance. Obviously that was not the right time for the Ohio woman to do her shopping. She probably should have been chilling out somewhere. And she may have behaved wrongly in any other area of her life when she was particularly stressed, we don't know. In this case it happened at Walmart, but she could just as easily have come unglued on the freeway, or somewhere else in the neighborhood.

But man does not live by bread alone. Christ told everyone to stop, but He did that in a place of worship, not the general market place. He may seem forgotten, but He's the first person who people turn to when they approach the last day of their life as they know it here on earth. You must talk to someone when that time comes. He is usually a friendly sort who gets along well with others. It's good to pray for those who appear to be in misery and do what you can to make them smile. That's what is meant by the saying "take time to smell the roses." :angel:

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Christ told everyone to stop, but He did that in a place of worship, not the general market place.

True but his society wasn't the consumerist nightmare that ours has become, and back then it must have been very rare to see anyone working (much less working and shopping) on the Sabbath - considering that he and his disciples were criticized for picking grain to eat on the Sabbath because they were hungry! Luke 6

It's great that the stores are open, that there are opportunities to work outside the home for those who do not want to remain shut in, that people are able to purchase goods and services, and that free markets do a bustling and healthy trade. When sufficient wealth is generated, you can always hire someone or if money is tight, assemble a volunteer oversight committee to do damage control on the problems, eyesores and any of the downside areas to improve the process of trade and make shopping more pleasant for all concerned. Free trade is a good thing overall. They can always change the schedule for the hours that a store is open if it is a problem.

Well I really don't think Jesus would have been pleased seeing stores open with loads of people working and shopping on the Sabbath. Unfortunately Christians have contorted and distorted the "Keep Holy the Sabbath Day" to mean just about anything they want it to mean nowadays.

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True but his society wasn't the consumerist nightmare that ours has become, and it must have been very rare to see anyone working (much less working and shopping) on the Sabbath - considering that he and his disciples were criticized for picking grain to eat on the Sabbath because they were hungry! Luke 6

Well I really don't think Jesus would have been pleased seeing stores open with loads of people working and shopping on the Sabbath. Unfortunately Christians have contorted and distorted the "Keep Holy the Sabbath Day" to mean just about anything they want it to mean nowadays.

You can worry too much about what other people do on the Sabbath.

Matthew 7-3

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You can worry too much about what other people do on the Sabbath.

Matthew 7-3

Well the specks of sawdust in our brothers' eyes amount to a lot more than one plank when we've got billions of brothers - whereas Jesus had less than 150 million -

map1s.gif

map2020s.gif

Each dot represents 1 million people (Human Population through History)

Of course, we ought to work mighty hard on whittling down our own individual plank(s), too.

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Well the specks of sawdust in our brothers' eyes amount to a lot more than one plank when we've got billions of brothers - whereas Jesus had less than 150 million -

Of course, we ought to work mighty hard on whittling down our own individual plank(s), too.

One constant remains.

for dust you are and to dust you will return

Genesis 3:19

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Wow, another person who realizes that pumping out kids is truly the root of all our problems. Very few consider the "less is more" idea, and yeah, the ones who speak of that are outcasts. It's refreshing to see your posts, isn't it too bad others can't relate ?

Step lightly, leave no footprints....take only pictures ! :D

Your linguistic expressions are exaggerated and aggressive, and your insinuations are incorrect and not appreciated. Attitudes like yours often result in a negative attitude toward life and children and can be very dangerous, something that China has had to learn the hard way

China's Alarming Spate of School Knifings

The idea that large families should be obliterated is against nature, as is humiliating (or forcing to abort) those who feel a sincere calling to enrich the world with a large, closely-knit, loving, united and caring family.

Instead, greater care should be taken so that unmarried people act responsibly, that they not involve themselves in actions that produce children (meaning no sex outside of marriage), and society should return to valuing virginity as virtue ... and yeah, the ones who speak of that are definitely outcasts.

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Wow, another person who realizes that pumping out kids is truly the root of all our problems. Very few consider the "less is more" idea, and yeah, the ones who speak of that are outcasts. It's refreshing to see your posts, isn't it too bad others can't relate ?

Step lightly, leave no footprints....take only pictures ! :D

Your linguistic expressions are exaggerated and aggressive, and your insinuations are incorrect and not appreciated. Attitudes like yours often result in a negative attitude toward life and children and can be very dangerous, something that China has had to learn the hard way

China's Alarming Spate of School Knifings

The idea that large families should be obliterated is against nature, as is humiliating (or forcing to abort) those who feel a sincere calling to enrich the world with a large, closely-knit, loving, united and caring family.

Instead, greater care should be taken so that unmarried people act responsibly, that they not involve themselves in actions that produce children (meaning no sex outside of marriage), and society should return to valuing virginity as virtue ... and yeah, the ones who speak of that are definitely outcasts.

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I never said we should obliterate families that are already here, but we SHOULD have smaller families starting NOW, yesterday actually.

There is no enriching the earth when people reproduce like cockroaches and take up space, consuming the limited resources we have on this planet.

Married or unmarried, until we slow down the population growth, they'll only be more and more problems.

If you observe the problem from a sincere and honest viewpoint, you'll see the truth: sex outside of marriage is causing the overpopulation problem in most western countries nowadays.

Take a look at the "family" in that article http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/03/29/police-ohio-woman-choked-walmart-greeter-71/?intcmp=obnetwork: the pregnant mother - who has her other two children with her on this shopping trip - said "the greeter would be dead when her boyfriend learned of the incident".

Where is the father in that "family", and why isn't he her husband? Where is the grandfather "patriarch" figure?

Truth is, these roles no longer exist, and most people prefer it that way - because they want to have the freedom to divorce and remarry, and the freedom to not marry at all if they don't feel like it.

How did this nightmare begin: Who told us it was "okay" to have sex outside of marriage?

I guess I read your post wrong, maybe it was all quotes or somesuch, but it was truly refreshing to see I wasn't alone in the thought of SLOWING DOWN !!!!

I'm with you there, it's definitely time to slow down and treat sex as the sacred act that it is, an act to be reserved exclusively for people who are married to each other.

Sorry my comments aren't appreciated, but don't get angry in traffic when you're stuck or get rammed by someone in a hurry or get irked when there's a food shortage at the grocery. If you buy into the population explosion as a good thing, then you have no right to express unpleasantness at the symptoms of that.

I for one, have not reproduced, so YOU have more space because of it. THAT should be appreciated by you.

ZPG

Blame needs to be placed where it is deserved, and that is definitely not on innocent children. Almost everyone - and practically every institution - is to blame nowadays for believing that sex outside of marriage can be tolerated, because - look at the whole situation honestly! - it can't if we hope to raise future generations with solid, intact families that support the goals of community life.

Truth is, even if you have not reproduced but have in any way, shape or form promoted the false idea that sex outside of marriage is okay, you deserve partial blame for the overpopulation problem.

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Virginity has always been regarded as a state of innocence, but I guess when people are too rigid in their views that doesn't always work. Relationships don't always go as planned, but true love conquers all. I guess that some love affairs, like some marriages, remain in a state of grace despite the dictates of a rigid society. Society sometimes clings to marriage only for appearances sake, locking people into what is professed to be a state of holy matrimony when in reality it is two people living a lie in a living hell.

Blame needs to be placed where it is deserved, and that is definitely not on innocent children. Almost everyone - and practically every institution - is to blame nowadays for believing that sex outside of marriage can be tolerated, because - look at the whole situation honestly! - it can't if we hope to raise future generations with solid, intact families that support the goals of community life.

Truth is, even if you have not reproduced but have in any way, shape or form promoted the false idea that sex outside of marriage is okay, you deserve partial blame for the overpopulation problem.

And that goes for you too, Silver Rider ... B)

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