Celebs blaming humans for SoCal fires
harrymanback
Posts: 435
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20153859,00.html
Comedian George Carlin and actress Jamie Lee Curtis this week both suggested that the devastating wildfires raging in Southern California should not come as a surprise to a population that ravages the environment.
Offering his provocative opinion on The View Wednesday morning, Carlin paraphrased an old comedy rant of his, and characterized the fires as cosmic payback from a planet stretched to its breaking point.
"People are selfish," he said. "These people with the fires and the floods and everything, they overbuild and they put nature to the test, and they get what's coming to them, that's what I say."
Joy Behar replied, "That's a little harsh, George."
But the 70-year-old comic continued: "People think nature is outside of them. They don't take into [themselves] the idea that nature is a part of them." Pointing to his chest, he said, "Nature is in here, and if you're in tune with it, like the Indians – the balance of life, the harmony of nature – if you understand that, you don't overbuild, you don't do all this moron stuff."
Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Jamie Lee Curtis gave a similarly grim assessment of the situation, suggesting people are in "ultimate denial" about what they're doing to the environment.
"Global warming, combined with people building houses in places they shouldn't, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera," she said. "It just compounds to become, as they call it, a perfect storm experience here. It's not by accident. This isn't an act of God. This is an act of man."
Comedian George Carlin and actress Jamie Lee Curtis this week both suggested that the devastating wildfires raging in Southern California should not come as a surprise to a population that ravages the environment.
Offering his provocative opinion on The View Wednesday morning, Carlin paraphrased an old comedy rant of his, and characterized the fires as cosmic payback from a planet stretched to its breaking point.
"People are selfish," he said. "These people with the fires and the floods and everything, they overbuild and they put nature to the test, and they get what's coming to them, that's what I say."
Joy Behar replied, "That's a little harsh, George."
But the 70-year-old comic continued: "People think nature is outside of them. They don't take into [themselves] the idea that nature is a part of them." Pointing to his chest, he said, "Nature is in here, and if you're in tune with it, like the Indians – the balance of life, the harmony of nature – if you understand that, you don't overbuild, you don't do all this moron stuff."
Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Jamie Lee Curtis gave a similarly grim assessment of the situation, suggesting people are in "ultimate denial" about what they're doing to the environment.
"Global warming, combined with people building houses in places they shouldn't, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera," she said. "It just compounds to become, as they call it, a perfect storm experience here. It's not by accident. This isn't an act of God. This is an act of man."
I don't want to be hostile. I don't want to be dismal. But I don't want to rot in an apathetic existance either.
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I mean... 10 years ago, the same fire would have taken out weeds on a hillside. The tragedy is, the hillside now has houses on it. The seasonal fires don't care if it consumes weeds or homes. We do.
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The same thing goes to the homes built in flood plains. If there are no homes there... it's just high water. With homes... a disaster area, right?
Hail, Hail!!!
Very true.
If it is not built in the middle of a forest, who really cares how big his mansion is. It is more about where you build not what you build.
Remember everybody saying about New Orleans......"how dumb do you have to be to build a city under sea level". Same as building in a forest which seems to burn every year.
I think this is true too. Jamie Lee Curtis can blame global warming all she wants ( and don’t get me wrong I am totally for making efforts to reduce the human causes of climate change), but I think this has more to do with wildfires being a part of the natural cycle of nature in the forest or wherever. The fire burns one season cleans out all the burnable crap, and then you are good for many years to come. But if you keep putting out the fires and moving closer to where they might start, the burnable crap builds up and the fires get more and more intense. Then evetually stuff gets so dry and built up and has not burned for a long time that you have situations like this.
And... you have to remember... in Southern California... we have 'Brushfire Season'. These hillsides were designed to burn on a regular basis. There was a huge fire in Glendale in 1963 and several homes were lost. If that same area burns today... thousands of homes would be lost.
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Maybe, instead of moving into the places where the chaparral grows and the mountain lions call home... we should clean up the run down parts of the city where there aren't annual brushfires and mountain lions to maul your spawn.
Hail, Hail!!!
I agree... Global Warming... not the problem. Where we build... problem.
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Example... why the HELL would anyone build a house in a place that is nicknamed, 'Tornado Alley'? I mean, the place is fucking called, 'Tornado Alley'!!! Isn't that a big fucking clue???
Hail, Hail!!!
Admin
Social awareness does not equal political activism!
5/23/2011- An utter embarrassment... ticketing failures too many to list.
the driest year since records have been kept
winds the can turn a small campfire into a 10,000 acre fire within minutes
unfortunately, this was bound to happen
"yes sir...all the time...ravaging fires...the big quake is coming....great view of the ocean though"
"perfect...let's build"
and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
over specific principles, goals, and policies.
http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg
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No funding. No one wants to pay for that. Even if the tax was called, "The Tax Specifically Used To Pay For Control Burns So People's Houses Don't Go Up In Flames Tax" and actually did exactly that... no one would go for it. Especially, the people who don't live on the hillsides... they don't give a shit about them.
Hail, Hail!!!
climate change could be a factor ... extensive drought (similar to what georgia is facing) can lead to the dry tinder ... plus, extreme weather events include wind ... i just got back from the grand canyon area and it's blowing 75 km/h in some spots ...
obviously, the bigger emphasis is on fire suppression and sprawl but climate change is definitely a contributor to this problem ...
I am not saying anyone deserves any of this, but sometimes we need to think a bit more about the environment first.
And I don't feel right when you're gone away
I saw a show on PBS awhile back about I think it was Yellowstone park and how they deal with forest fires. Some guy in charge (the head ranger or the fire marshal or something) basically said they could do controlled burns every year and it would significantly reduce the chance of massive forest fires. The only drawback was that every year when they would do the burns the people around would be irritated by the smoke. The had some sort of town meeting and it was amazing how many people living near the park came to bitch about how they didn't want to be inconvenienced by the smoke every year (even though it could prevent their houses from possibly burning down).
another trailer park goes up in tornado alley...
whoosh!
and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
over specific principles, goals, and policies.
http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg
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( o.O)
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yep......aren't people the best? :rolleyes:
But, we do have these cycles. This isn't the first time Southern California has been put on water rationing alert. Back in 1978, we had strict water rationing. Car washing, watering lawns, all that stuff.
The thing is... now, the droughts are worst because of Global Warming. All the more reason to quit building down here.
...'
Look at Southern Orange County... Brushfires and mudslides in the past haven't been such a big deal. A huge fire through Irvine.. Santa Margarita... and look out. People are going to be affected.
Hail, Hail!!!
do you find yourself funny? nice thing to joke about. classy guy
Dude that's gold.
loosen up your tampon a bit...
and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
over specific principles, goals, and policies.
http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg
(\__/)
( o.O)
(")_(")
That is typical.
In Laguna Beach... residents fought and won against county and state plans to build a run-off system that would channel rain water from the hillsides. Reasoning... "It would destroy the natural beauty of the hillside to have concrete rain channels traversing the hillside".
Well... a few years later... the rains came and the hillsides came down due to saturation and buried their homes.
go figure.
Hail, Hail!!!
It really makes you wonder. It's like curling up for a relaxing nap on a set of railroad tracks.
and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
over specific principles, goals, and policies.
http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg
(\__/)
( o.O)
(")_(")
I understand that pretty much everywhere you live an act of nature could easily wipe out your home (whether it is an earthquake, wildfire, ice storm or blizzard, tornado, hurricane or Tsunami). But if you are going to live in a very high risk area you should at least take steps to minimize your level of risk. The quote above is a prime example if you are going to live in a mudslide area, have systems in place to prevent mudslides. If you are going to live in a high earthquake or tornado area, make sure your house is built to withstand those events.
"what would jamie lee think?"
Of course attack the messanger instead of the message. She is right though. People in So Cal know that that area is prone to large brush fires during the dry season, so what do they do build entire communities dead smack in the middle. I feel terrible that these people are loosing their homes and their belongings, but at the same time you have to ask yourself why the hell would anyone want to live there. Why would humans knowingly build communities in a location that is prone to large brush fires.
Had this magnitude of fire occurred 20 years ago it would just be forests and dried up brush burning. No loss of property, no chance for loss of life, but now since we have to build on every square inch of land we place ourselves right in the path of Mother Nature's fury.
I'm currently reading a book about what would happen to the earth if all humans where to up and disappear one day. The author makes a great point that the Earth will eventually recalim what once once hers. That statement holds true in this case. Mother earth is just reclaiming her land.
second, why all the fuss about Katrina?
mother earth was just reclaiming her land...all those people choose to live there
The fuss was not over the flooding but rather in the manner which the local, state, and fedearl government handled the diseaster.
Are you reading "The World Without Us" by
Alan Weisman?
yes, i know this, but why should the fed gov't (bush) be raked over the coals because the people basically got what was coming to them?
Lemme guess... because he's the PRESIDENT.
Hail, Hail!!!