Category: WTF

The Power of Words.

The Power of Words.

Spin doctors – copywriters – marketing hype etc., all rely on the power of words to tell you a story.

The latest comes from the oil industry who have finally come on board with the whole climate thing. In other words, no longer saying it’s a hoax.
But now, especially in the U.S., since the new government is back into the whole ‘save the environment’ mode, big oil is getting the message out that ‘natural gas is now ‘low carbon gas’.

Come again?

Yes, you read that right. The ‘low carbon’ talk is being ramped up and being spun in all sorts of directions. ‘Low carbon solutions’ or how about ‘low carbon technologies’? These are the words that are currently being used.

Now methane (short-lived but 86 times more potent than carbon) is a massive problem. It comes from many different sources, including leaking out of pipelines or being burned off at refineries. By the way, methane emissions are increasing more rapidly than scientists thought, and in the past 20 years, it’s risen by 150%, whereas carbon’s gone up 50%.

So our friends at big oil want us to keep our eye on carbon and are getting us to believe that natural gas is the ‘good guy’ because it is ‘low carbon’. Don’t fret your beautiful head about methane – it’s short-lived, so not the worry.

It’s all bullshit. No matter what the industry or governments, for that matter, tell us. Coal, gas, oil, animal agriculture, rotting food all play an enormous part in the mess we find ourselves in as they all emit methane. And my money is on methane being the elephant in the room.

So ‘low carbon’ is just another play on words that is being spun to the plebs to get them to believe they are doing something that will help reduce emissions.

And on we will go – forever forward and upward with our emissions.

Research ref:  Research.noaa.gov

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Two Sides to Everything

Two Sides to Everything

There are always two sides to everything, but two sides from the same person has me thinking ‘huh????’

Recently in the USA, the Covid relief bill finally passed in the Senate, scraping through with the Democrats 50 to the Republicans 49 (it looks like someone didn’t vote at all).

Why am I that interested in US politics? I hear you ask. Because I have a daughter living there and this current package is going to help her considerably.

The plan is $1.9 trillion, and it should have been released months ago but was held up due to old farts being more concerned about their party politics than the struggling people who make up the majority of citizens.

But it was this tweet by Mississippi Republican Senator Roger Wicker who riled my feathers (and others) at his sheer audacity.

 

two sides

Independent restaurant operators have won $28.6 billion worth of targeted relief. This funding will ensure small businesses can survive the pandemic by helping to adapt their operations and keep their employees on the payroll.

Great sentiments.

Hang on!

He voted AGAINST the bill (as did all Republicans). How can he be so two-faced and flip his opinion so quickly?

  • Is he trying to curry favour with his constituents?
  • Does the party bully the Senators into voting a certain way?
  • Are the Senators swayed because everyone can see who votes for what?

Seeing this tweet certainly was a WTF reaction and had me asking way more questions and doubting this man’s integrity more than anything else.

Politics! I honestly don’t know how some people actually get voted in at all. Perhaps the general voters have short memories.

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Move Over Ted Cruz

Move Over Ted Cruz

We have our own Ted Cruz right here in New Zealand!

Do you know the recent story about Ted Cruz? Well, do you even know who Ted Cruz is? If not, I’ll fill you in and if you do – skip the next paragraph if you want to.

Ted Cruz is a Republican senator from Texas who did a runner with his family to Mexico when the massive snowstorm hit Texas, and the lights went out. Well, it was more than lights; it was quite a disaster as people died in this dreadful storm.

The press had a field day with this news, and Ted was shamed into returning, giving some ridiculous excuse about his daughter wanting a holiday. He maintained he was just escorting her (and the rest of the family) to Cancun to get them settled into the hotel. Does that mean he doesn’t trust his wife to do this?

(Sorry, Reader, I know, that was two paragraphs.)



Anyhoo, it appears we have our own Ted Cruz, which became apparent just before the recent lockdown in Auckland. Brian Tamaki (aka Bishop Tamaki, leader of the Destiny Church) and his wife Hannah (who aspires to be a politician) jumped into their vehicle and drove from Auckland to Rotorua a few hours before the Level 3 lockdown shut that fair city off from the rest of N.Z. Talk about the the monied elite’s ability to escape hardship.

running away

As Ted left his constituents in a time of crises, so did Bishop Brian leave his parishioners – right when they needed him most. And, just so you know, he didn’t go back!

Now maybe the press wouldn’t have been so hard on him if he had gone back, but interviewing both of them separately, it seemed like they couldn’t even get their own stories straight. Brian was adamant that the trip was for business. However, Hannah said it was the annual hunting trip that always happens around this time of the year. – who was telling the truth?

I wouldn’t have bothered writing about this, even though it did make me laugh at the sheer audacity and selfishness of the couple. But now I’ve heard that this evangelistic leader of a cultist type of non-profit organisation has come out criticising politicians and church leaders for not backing him against the bad press.

Wait… there’s more

He also has claimed that all the bad press he’s received over this caused the recent earthquakes and tsunami warnings.

The couple ended up in the South Island, citizens of which publicly announced they didn’t want them! The poor lad was refused entry into Invercargill and had to go to Queenstown to conduct his Sunday service to the whopping big crowd of 20.

I have the feeling the wealthy in Queenstown are not really the Destiny Church’s ideal parishioner’s profile.

 

 

 

 

 




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A Bit of Red Seaweed Does the Trick

A Bit of Red Seaweed Does the Trick

What do cows and red seaweed have in common? Don’t know? Neither did I until now.

I happened to catch a wee story about red seaweed the other day that made me shake my head … so I just had to put it under the category of WTF!!!

It appears that scientists have discovered that feeding this abundant red seaweed to cows will reduce methane by up to 90%! Of course they have! Scientists have been working on creating environmentally friendly cows for ages. God forbid if a person is denied the cow juice in their latte.

red seaweed for cows

The seaweed is known as Asparagopsis armata, and it grows in N.Z. and Australian waters. (It may sound like asparagus, but it’s vastly different.)

My first thought was – ‘Truly? Are they going to harvest this seaweed and make another ecosystem suffer because of the love of cow’s milk?’

But then I sighed a bit of relief when I discovered that they would grow and farm it like any other crop.

As I kept reading the article, I discovered that this seaweed is good for fish farming too. Because it is a plant that feeds on the nitrogen produced by fish, fish farms could potentially increase the number of fish they farm.



Dr Meller (from this biotech company) said

“So, it is entirely feasible that a fisherman today in Southland could increase stocking capacity, decrease costs not having to move those pens around and have a third revenue stream of Asparagopsis that we would teach them how to farm, that we would buy back from them at cost, plus a margin of profit.”

He also said

“There are no environmental impacts from farming the native seaweed, and growing it helps in a small way to address ocean acidification.”

Maybe it is a way (shrugging my shoulders as I write) to help with the mess in the ocean??? I just hope the government continues to encourage reducing cow numbers and not make this an excuse to keep or increase the herd sizes.

I want to see ecosystems return.

You can read the article here:  Seaweed

A Bit of Red Seaweed Does the Trick

 

 

 

 

 




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Clean Water Plans for New Zealand?

Clean Water Plans for New Zealand?

Last week the Minister for the Environment put forward the Clean Water Plans for New Zealand.

What a joke that was!

The plan is to have 90% of rivers and lakes swimmable by 2040. That’s gone up by 10 years. From my understanding it was going to be cleaning them up by 2030, but now, again, the goal posts have been shifted.
Well, Massey University freshwater ecologist Dr Mike Joy says the Government is “trying to pull a swifty” with its new swimmable waterways plan.

You see it’s all about how much E-coli (and other stuff) is in the water. This is how I understand it:

540 E.coli/100mls of water gives the swimmer a 1 in 20 chance of getting sick. However, the Ministry of Health recommendation is 260 E.coli/100mls of water and that’s what it used to be. That would equate to 1 in 1000 chance of getting sick.

Big damn difference – again, shifting the goal posts.

read: Unswimmable Lagoon Now Swimmable

The problem is that the Government wants to intensify the dairy industry, meaning, more cows per herd and more dairy farms. Although I have no idea why – with the downturn of dairy and the rise of plant milks, dairy is definitely on the way out (albeit slowly).

cows in river

The only good thing they announced was that all farmed waterways were to be fenced… however, yes, there’s a ‘BUT’ to this. – doesn’t have to be done till 2040!!!! How much damage can be done till then????
Besides with cows in paddocks, they’re still weeing and poohing and that eventually gets into the water table.

And one last thing he said? Don’t go swimming if there’s been a decent amount of rain. Instead of cleaning the water…..

a big rainfall event that brings all the crap in.” – Nick Smith

If you want to find out more, head over to Stuff News “The New Swimmable Fresh Water Target”

What’s the water like in your neck of the woods?

 

 

 

 

 




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About Me

Thanks for dropping by, my name is Fee O’Shea. I’m a mother and grandma, an author and an Improver. I’ve got a resource website to help peeps go plant-based, I’ve scribbled six books centred around veganism, and have helped others write and publish their own stories.
But this blog is for my thoughts, my rants, raves, reviews and things that have grabbed my attention. From politics to social media to beauty, health and the environment. Fee’s Ramblings Over Coffee is written to bring you a smile or get you thinking. Enjoy.

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