As the World Burns: The Inconvenient Truth of Greendale Rages On & On & On
The inconvenient truth of Neil Young's Greendale just gets grimmer and grimmer with each passing year, month and day.
As the 2010 global warming summit wraps up in Cancun, Mexico, NASA has just announced that 2010 will be the hottest year on record with still 2 weeks remaining in the year.
As Climate Progress blogs:
The extreme warmth in Northeast Canada is undoubtedly related to the fact that Hudson Bay was practically ice free. In the past, including the GISS base period 1951-1980, Hudson Bay was largely ice-covered in November. The contrast of temperatures at coastal stations in years with and without sea ice cover on the neighboring water body is useful for illustrating the dramatic effect of sea ice on surface air temperature. Sea ice insulates the atmosphere from ocean water warmth, allowing surface air to achieve temperatures much lower than that of the ocean. It is for this reason that some of the largest positive temperature anomalies on the planet occur in the Arctic Ocean as sea ice area has decreased in recent years.
More on the prescient and inconvenient truth of Neil Young's Greendale.
Greenpeace Display at Cancun
by thrasher@PermaLink: 12/12/2010 01:56:00 PM
11 comments
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11 Comments:
I think a lot of things are going on all at once, as usual. This is a topic not easily reduced to coherency because there are so many varying interests either sincerely advancing their views, or purposely muddying the waters to serve one form of corporate or political agenda or another. I am by no means an expert, and there is simply no way to dispute that there are weather and temperature anomalies, but the nature and cause of these things is far from clear. For instance, I have done a lot of reading that makes it very clear that Al Gore's theory of greenhouse gasses is simply farcical, and more reading to suggest possible political agendas that coincide with so many others of Al's dubious political "affiliations". Without going into any of that, if Gore was not so dangerous I wouldn't bother to even acknowledge him. Then there are the conservatives of various stripes, who deny the indisputable reality that our weather is changing, who don't want anything to interfere with their pursuit of profits- the devil take the hindmost. I have also read and heard serious scientists who suggest that the world may in fact be entering another mini ice age, who use examples such as record low temperatures world wide during the winter months, and the fact that you can't get a decent Georgia peach any more, and citrus crops in Florida are regularly lost, because the dew line is moving north.
What do I think? I think that there is indeed global warming, and global cooling, occurring in indiscriminate ways, not due to the activity of men, but due to the instability of the earths core and magnetic field, instabilities which are mirrored not only by the sun, but by all the planets throughout the solar system. How do you explain warming on Mars, where there are no smokestack induced greenhouse gasses? How do you explain the fact that the suns ionosphere has disappeared? What role do solar flares play in this all? These and other factors require a whole different discussion having to do with the nature of space, celestial energies, and a whole list of other considerations, none of which can be easily presented in a single post.
The bottom line for me is twofold- 1) the earth is experiencing and will continue to experience weather and temperature disruptions, that not only have the potential to fundamentally alter the way we live, but which also require thinking and responsible people to start thinking and doing right now things to anticipate the various scenarios we may face, and 2) regardless of anything, we should be engaging in a race-to-put-a-man-on-the-moon style effort to develop clean, safe, and sustainable forms of energy, forms which are neither harmful to the environment, or to human health.
Finally, this is not an effort that is going to come from within existing spheres of influence, and political and corporate power centers. The changes we need to make will expose these parasites like a turtle without its shell. I agree with Neil that there exists now, and there will continue to grow, a sub current of thought among the young, the intelligent, and the caring, to go around and over the intransigence of established ideas- creative people who will come up with new technologies, new forms of communication, new hopes and aspirations, and new spiritual awareness which will thrive on love and joy, rather than mean spiritedness, ignorance, and ruthlessness. Call it wishful thinking, but the world is on the precipice, a decision point where people are going to have to choose to either be a part of the problem, or a part of the solution. "We are the people we have been waiting for". For those on the fence, "I hope someday you join us".
A Friend Of Yours
Good thoughtful and measured analysis, Greg. But you are much too generous toward the fraud that is Al Gore and his scare tactics and his dubious business interests all geared toward the hoax of global warming as it relates to man's activities. Did the media report the record cold temperatures that gripped Cancun during the "climate change" summit last week? Hell, the enviro wackos have even changed the name from global warming to climate change because everywhere Al Gore shows up, record cold weather appears.
I find it extremely arrogant of people to somehow think that we as a species can actually affect and/or control the climate at all. The Earth was around for billions of years before man arrived/evolved. We know that the climate has gone through catastrophic changes due to many many variables. But to buy into this notion that the very gas that we exhale is a pollutant is laughable at best.
I support good environmental stewardship, researching genuine renewable energy resources, etc. But I also subscribe to the notion that God created the Earth and all living creatures. Apparently Neil does too - 'Peaceful Valley Boulevard' "God's creation" line - 'When God Made Me' from Prairie Wind. I'll put my faith and trust in God - not in corrupt world "leaders" who have latched onto climate change as a way of redistributing wealth and further taxing the money we earn. Worship God - not the Earth.
Oh and the temp graphs are beyond skewed - 131 years of recorded temperatures vs. over 6 BILLION years that we know the Earth has been around? Not exactly a thorough and even length of time with which to make broad sweeping conclusions about something as complex as global climate.
I don't come to this site to read a debate about global warming. What does any of this have to do with NY?
@Greg - thank you for all of the thoughts. If nothing else, it hopefully helps folks to snap out of their propaganda induced comas.
@Jonathan - Oh, Mother Earth, maybe?
@david.corr - Greendale ring any bells? Save the earth for another day. Attention shoppers. Buy with a conscious and save. Hello?
Neil addresses global warming, stewardship of the earth, and the need to be politically, socially, and spiritually conscious, in both thought and in deed, as represented in his music and lyrics, and by such things as his involvement in Linc Volt, and bio fuel conversion. This discussion may be somewhat tangential to those only interested in purely musical considerations, but it is not a stretch to say that a legitimate part of being a NY fan is to respond and become more aware of subject matter and advocacy that can be traced right back to the music, e.g. Greendale, Mother Earth(Natural Anthem), and Natural Beauty.
Also, not drawing too fine a distinction between the art and the artist makes it easier to understand this discussion- it's a package deal. I can understand why someone would want to avoid "political" talk, though. Trouble is, we're long since past the point where we can ignore this issue, another thing which brings us right back to a central message long associated with NY and his music. Thrasher engaging the message is an example of the state of consciousness Neil refers to in song and in interviews, and I don't see the odd "non music" discussion as a threat to the spirit of TW. We all have to start thinking in terms of doing our part, is how I see it.
A Friend Of Yours
@Greg - I need to run and grab a step ladder to help reach the level of discourse you're conveying here - and that is not sarcastic at all - I mean it. Damn right Neil's music begs the engagement of the topics presented in the lyrics from the listeners.
@Thrasher - dude the concept of environmental stewardship and respect for the Earth is noble, just, and to be applauded and practiced. But the "propaganda induced comas" are generated from the left and the media(but I repeat myself) in regards to how human beings are allegedly destroying the Earth. Even Al Gore came out very recently and admitted that ethanol subsidies were/are a mistake. I respectfully submit that it is you who are in a propaganda induced coma by peddling the mantra of man-made global warming.
Look I absolutely LOVE Greendale on multiple levels for a variety of reasons - I rank it as one of Neil's masterpieces of which there are many. Greendale is as much about the media as it is about the environment, right? The fact that I dispute the "facts" about climate change is not mutually exclusive of the ideas put forth throughout Greendale. They co-exist just fine and in good order.
I am thankful once again that we can debate respectfully here - all while holding firm the admiration and love for Neil's music.
Mother Earth indeed is to be revered and respected. Media frenzied hoaxes? I passed a long time ago...
Jonathan, thanks for the compliment. I would just add that when it comes to the erroneous, no one camp has a monopoly. I could make an argument that the mainstream media, which can be thought of as left leaning, is in reality part and parcel with media which can be thought of as right leaning. It's called "divide and conquer", and is as old as the hills. In my mind, it’s more accurate to say that there is an overriding mechanism of control, which attempts to keep in place the things we are trying to change, and is intent still further on any number of things that are not in ours, or the earths best interests. Granted, this mechanism involves the tactics you describe, but don’t ever think that the specter we are faced with as a country, as a world, has anything to do with the two-sides-of-the-same-coin politics of right and left, a coin firmly planted in the pockets of vested interests.
@Jonathan - We're in agreement on G-dale as an album. Maybe not the themes. Regardless, it's all about respectfully agreeing to disagree. And to you I say Thank you.
@Greg - Yes. This is really all about divide & conquer by the elite. Pure & simple.
Thrasher - thanks to you too. Since I know how much you love Greendale,the next time you give it a spin, notice the underlying theme about the media's intrusive role in our lives. Notice how outraged Grandpa gets when the cameras converge on his house. The paper with its "seedy shot of Jed with a motorcycle". Of course the environment is a major theme but so is the media.
Peace.
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