And here I was thinking the days of flipping houses were over.

Or Oz ~ with those golden light rails, crystal trams, emerald skyscrapers, flying monkey developers, and that munchkin mayor.

Because because because because because... because of the wonderful things he does!

Quick, quick, buy a Prius, recycle, recycle, cut your power lines and live in a cave. Even though there is NOTHING that we can do to stop climate change (it's happened for years and years before mankind was on the earth) we need to look like we're doing something. Welcome to mother nature!

Right, n.o., because when you suck millions of years of resources out of the planet, redistribute them in the atmosphere, you don't affect the system that determined the equilibrium distribution in the first place.

You're right, we can't stop climate change, but we CAN moderate OUR impact on it and quit being so damned selfish. I thought conservatives were of the "behavior has consequences" mold. Right.

Hey Huck - be honest, if we stopped EVERYTHING or to put it another way, if tomorrow mankind ceased to exist on planet earth, would it change the climate back? The answer is no, change - all sorts of change are inevitable. You and I don't really know what the consequences down the road will be. We do know that plants use CO2 and we do know that some plants do better in a warmer climate (just as some do poorer). I don't know if the world will be better or worse, I just know that there is NOTHING that I or the rest of the world can do that will change the change. The Sahara was once a lush topic, now its a desert. Greenland was actually green, then it became covered with ice and snow, now it's tending towards being green again. Since we really can't change it, the best thing to do is get ready to live with it. Either that or continue to punish yourself in ways that make your life harder and more expensive but don't do a thing to the change that is and will take place.

Unbelievable. I agree with Native Oregonian. AND with Huck.

Being wasteful is not only stupid, it approaches blasphemy. Everyone should strive to live light on the land.

That said, most government approaches are even dumber. Outlaw incandescent light-bulbs in favor of mercury-laden CFC lights.

Build light rail lines that nobody wants. Kill bus services to support the "trains".

Kill a relatively clean coal plant that produces half of the region's power, and pave over wildlife habitat so that the same coal can be shipped to points east (or further west, depending on the view).

Recycle! Even though in most cases the environmental costs outweigh the benefits.

Drive a Prius! Even though, from an environmental perspective, two Hum-Vees are less damaging than one Prius.

This is why religion and government should not be co-mingled.

If I stopped drinking tomorrow, would it restore the brain and liver cells I've destroyed? The answer is no, change - all sorts of change are inevitable. I don't really know what the consequences down the road will be. I do know that some people can live a very long time while binge drinking every day. Some people say if I stop drinking, the damage won't get any worse. I don't know if I'll be better or worse, but I can't change the change that's already occurred. Since I can't change it, the best thing to do is keep drinking and learn to live with it. No sense in denying myself a drink if I can't guarantee things will get better.

Tornadoes happen:

http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2008/01/tornado_warnings_recall_deadly.html

Always have. Always will.

A tornado ripped apart my neighborhood down South when I was 12 years old. I know EXACTLY what the people in Aumsville are going through tonight (except those with considerable property damage. While several houses on the next block were heavily damaged, ours was largely spared.)

Thank god it appears no one was seriously physically injured.

Raging, I was going to vehemently disagree with every word of your comment until I realized what you were saying.

Raging - too many holes in your analogy. What IF, regardless of your stopping drinking the damage/change to your body won't stop? Because that is basically the situation regarding the changes that have happened to the earth over the centuries. It happened when mankind wasn't here and it is happening while we are here. In the case of drinking, stopping drinking will (to some degree) stop the damage where it is. Go eco-left won't stop/change or slow down what is happening to the earth. Not the greatest analogy.

N.O., your argument is fine, but your conclusion is misdirected. Of course human behavior isn't the ONLY factor in climate change. But that doesn't invalidate MAX's points - that living lightly is good behavior.

Driving a Prius or riding a bike leaves more oil for future generations and other nations. We have a right to use some, but not to waste it, or consume more than our share. What's waste? Well, that's the argument that's really going on. I say turning up the heat instead of putting on a sweater is wasteful of future generations' coal. Why? Because I don't really have to do it. However, turning up the heat to the point where, once I'm appropriately dressed I'm comfortable... that seems reasonable even though it's a relative luxury compared to the rest of the world. Should there be a tax on that energy that makes the choice more salient? Only if there's external costs that I'm not paying for, which it seems there are in the form of resource depletion.

Those are my opinions, I don't really care if anybody agrees with me, but if enough do, in a democracy, we're going to impose it on you. Those are the principles I want to see in our government - looking out for future generations, discipline over indulgence. I'm still waiting. You say it kills jobs unnecessarily? I say, "good, we don't deserve 'em." Until we start acting like grown ups with regard to civics, maybe we deserve a prolonged depression.

What's the difference between leaving a national debt to our children and leaving them a world with depleted oil, coal, and natural gas reserves? We shouldn't take it out any faster than it's created, and we shouldn't consume any more than our share as a country.

To argue that living more eco-consciously is only directed towards climate change (a great possible benefit,) is missing the point entirely.