Thursday, January 16, 2014

Musings: No Limits

Out at dawn, two sweatshirts warding off the chill, moon round as a basketball about to drop behind the clear summit of Makaleha, sun rising red over a beach washed clean of all but ruddy turnstone tracks, I turn to call Koko and see a double rainbow, reminder that joy and beauty have no limits.

Dr. Lee Evslin had a good letter to the editor yesterday about the need to limit radio frequency exposure — especially with kids — before getting into the comparative RF dangers of cell phones and smart meters, and the latter's risk relative to our reliance on fossil fuels.

It did a great job of underscoring two facts that humans like to ignore: we live in a world of risks of our own making; and our willingness to expose ourselves to those risks is determined by how much value we perceive we're getting from the risky activity.

Which is why we have people with cell phones fighting smart meters on this island, even though, as Dr. Evslin notes, “it would take you a year and a half of standing near a smart meter for 24 hours a day in order to be exposed to the same level of RF as you are on a 10-minute cellphone conversation.”

Which is why we have Moms Against Monsanto, but no Moms Against Tablets — even though the same American Academy of Pediatrics that warned against pesticide exposure in kids also says no screen time at all for babies under 2 years old, and just one or two hours per day of entertainment screen time for older kids.

Which is why we have a letter to the editor from Kapaa resident Anna Nimitee (say that name aloud and tell me if you think it's fake) complaining about the “scorched earth” policy of biotech companies operating nowhere near her, while folks working in those same fields have no problem with the pesticides.

Which is why we have people burning fossil fuels in cars and jets to protest against the feared health impacts of GMOs, even though, as Dr. Evslin noted, “Annually, there are over 34,000 deaths and 18 million hospitalizations directly related to pollution from fossil fuels.”

Which is why we have people bitching about how the government — and KIUC, with its smart meters — is invading their privacy, even as they happily post their every thought and move on Facebook, carry a smart phone with GPS tracker and work for the government..

Which is why Americans spend billions fighting terrorists, but fight single-payer health care —  even though they're 17,600 times more likely to die from heart disease than from a terrorist attack.

There's no limit, it seems, to the irrational foolishness of human beings.

Which is why I make sure to get my daily dose of nature's joy and beauty.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

hy·poc·ri·sy


/hiˈpäkrisē/





1.


the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense.



Anonymous said...

If we spent as much money on preventative health care (instead of TSA)....including membership to a gym, supplements, and dietary counselling, we would have a bunch of happy un-employed people.

Illness makes money (for drug companies and doctors), not good health.

Eat more GMOs! Take more drugs, and buy more medical insurance.

Dr Shibai

Anonymous said...

“Hypocrisy is the resin that holds the plywood of society together.”
“Adversity draws men together and produces beauty and harmony in life's relationships, just as the cold of winter produces ice-flowers on the window-panes, which vanish with the warmth.”
Soren Kierkegaard

Anonymous said...

yes but Joan what are we supposed to do? I wish I had enough money for the electric car.. I would buy it. I'm against the gmo's...and I'm against the smart meters because they are added inteferences. we don't need any more. if they brought fracking to this island would you call us all hypocrits for protesting it because we drive cars? We've got to fight our battles bit by bit. there are so many and we are dependant upon cars which are unfortunately dependant upon fossil fuels..it's not like the technology's not out there to take away our dependence on fossil fuels. it's out there..it's just been successfully hidden and bought out by big oil. I mean if you're against fossil fuels then are you a hypocrit for living in a house. we have to start somewhere..and the smart meters have hidden waves which are are harmful to us as are cell phones. I have a cell phone but I use it sparingly and I also have a headset because every time I put it up to my ear it hurts my ear. in the past year since they've put up these smart meters I've noticed significant impacts on my mental and physical health...and not the same kind while I was using cell phones. I don't understand why you're so against the anti gmo movement. we've got to get them off this island. they are harmful for our health. more harmful than cars. placing us in this impossible position of having to take all or nothing is taking the position of the oppressors and businesses which want to continue harming our health. it's a total fox news maneuver and quite frankly I'm disappointed in you for using it. and quite frankly, it's making me wonder about what your real intentions are and who you really represent.

Joan Conrow said...

Dear 2:29:
I am not against the anti-GMO movement. I am just pointing out its flaws, as I do with government and corporations.

I represent myself, and only myself, and my intentions are to get people to think and reflect.

Anonymous said...

Smart meters are designed to assist us in lessening our dependence on fossil fuels. But that ain't happening as long as people continue to oppose smart grids, windmills, hydroelectric, etc.

Anonymous said...

Anna Nimitee = Anonymity

Why does TGI print fake letters?

Anonymous said...

The odds of an Iraqi being slaughtered as a result of a terrorist attack on the US is greater than the odds of an American being killed in one.

Anonymous said...

The odds of an idiot commenting on your blog...

Anonymous said...

. . . at 4:47 in the morning? 100%

Anonymous said...

@6.49AM............ROTFLMAO