Old Mower (the one on the right)
New Mower
A little background on the old mower--I got it off craigslist. I wanted a self-propelled rear bag model. The ad said brand new, barely used. It was not new nor was it barely used. I had to put more money into it to get it running than I paid for it. Anyway, I liked that it was self propelled and rear bag, but it never really ran well. I had to spend probably 5-10 minutes each time I cut the lawn to start it and keep it running.
This new battery powered model is not self propelled, but it does have a bag and starts instantly with the pull of the lever on the handle. I've wanted one of these for a while now, but the economics didn't make sense.
I've been watching the Cash for Clunkers (car style) story in the news and I don't really agree with the concept for a variety of reasons I won't get into here. Am I compromising my conservative values by participating in a program which taxes others and subsidizes my purchase of a new "green" mower? Or should I just not worry about it and enjoy my now smaller "carbon footprint"? gag me.
On another somewhat related note, how come it seems like conservative talkers on radio and TV ridicule many things related to saving energy? I'll give a couple examples--Pres. Obama on the campaign trail said we should make sure we inflate our tires properly and if we did the country would save x number of barrels of oil a year. He was ridiculed for it. Why? Another was a suggestion by someone that we should paint our roofs white to reflect the heat so we wouldn't have to run the A/C so much. Again ridicule. Can somebody explain this? Isn't convserving and being economical much of what conservatives are about?
Conservatives in my opinion could own much of this issue by making it about personal responsibility and self reliance. As soon as we can afford it, we're buying as many solar panels as we can fit so I don't have to rely on a power company or anyone else for my power. I can run my A/C if I please and I don't have to hear someone on the Green Network whine about my carbon footprint. Also it wouldn't affect me nearly as much when the president's plan for electricity rates to "skyrocket."
I understand that the primary reason for conservatives not getting on the green bandwagon is because the technology right now is prohibitively expensive and may not be cost effective. I look at it as an investment though.
I know this makes me almost sound like a granola eating, prius driving, environmentalist, but I'm not. I just think the conservative movement could be a lot stronger if we would embrace the self sufficiency aspect of this and not jerk our knees so much at good ideas that come from someone with whom we normally don't agree. We could also do it minus the "holier than thou" crap you see all over the place.
BTW, I believe we should respect the earth, but weren't we given dominion over it? Also, I don't believe that man is causing global warming. If I hear one more person talking about climate change...
Anyway, am I the only one with this view?
5 comments:
Wow! I love it! I hope our car is treating you well!
Great post. I feel the exact same way. I think it is very unfortunate now in politics that a good idea is only a good idea if it came from your party. Some of the things that Obama and Bush have said and done are quite similar, but because of the messenger solicit completely different responses. one of the hopes that I had with this new election was that both parties would be more willing to meet in the middle. It seems it was an issue in every political race in the country, not just the presidency. Its too bad it just isn't happening.
Great points with regard to energy. I feel the exact same way. Murset for President!
I know, I know, I already commented once. But I just read this article that I thought was appropriate and to the point you were making.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/03/ruiz.closed.minds/index.html
I also think that we need to take care of the earth.
What I hate are the guilt trips and the forced taxes that will be spent on "environmentally friendly" changes that may not help the environment at all. (Is it even proven that our so called "carbon footprints" are hurting the environment? I pretty much think that the weather is doing whatever it wants this year, regardless of what we do. :)) I feel so much money is being wasted that could be spent in other areas that would help PEOPLE or even the environment more.
This is a country about choice. If people want to donate to something--great! Just don't force anyone to donate for causes they don't agree with. That's called stealing. Let the Europeans do it if they want....
Nope, you are not the only one with this view. Just imagine Adam yelling at hippies in the streets of San Fran next time you feel alone in your principles.
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