"Opossum" is the correct spelling for "possum". __ Possum is acceptable. There really are Opossum shrimp. I never ate a mouse either.
Gay termites eat wood peckers though.

KEM PATRICK

i think dispositioning is on the wrong thread..........
i think also that possums aren't the same as o-possums. never heard of those shrimps. are you having us on? save a mouse, eat a pussy.........

NAMASTE

couldn't get that link you mentioned. i have trouble with itunes for some reason.

You eat opossum pie? We have opossums here too, ___ and beavers. ___ I never ate an opossum.

I have had opossum shrimp, they are called that because they carry their eggs between their legs, sort of like opossum carry their young in a pouch.

Kelmer, possums were introduced to New Zealand only. They are native to Australia. And on that matter the NZ possum fur industry should never be compared to Brazilian forestry.

Bless Wikipedia:
"There have been numerous attempts to eradicate them because of the damage they do to native trees and wildlife, as well as acting as a carrier of bovine tuberculosis. For New Zealand, the introduction of possums has resulted in as much of an ecological disaster as the introduction of rabbits has been in Australia."

You see killing possums in NZ = saving trees (+ Possum Pie + furry mittens)

KEM & COCO -- Oprah has graciously dedicated time (mondays) and arranged (oprah.com) for re-broadcast over web (Tuesdays) - for a 10-wk transformative journey.

See (link takes your web browser, and uses it to start up iTunes, which then is directed to Oprah & Eckhart's free weekly "A New Earth" podcast ).

Perhaps KEM, your iTunes will allow to play this video (it's free from apple.com, and runs on both PC & mac)

Namaste

Hi ~Fat Lady~ That sounds a lot like Limestone, Maine. You get the Northern Lights there too. On a cold windless night when it's really quiet, you can hear the crackling of the electrical charges from the Aurora.

Thank you for the book info ~Nam~.

Well I am sure many did their little part for Earth Day. I live in the country so when the lights go out it is dark. Great clear sky last night, astronomy has been a part of my life for many years. I think I may start my own Earth night at home. One night a week turn off as much electrical stuff I can. Now if we could just get rid of the 2 to 3 feet of snow on the ground and the couple feet of ice on the pool.

ANNE FAITH

you have to laugh even though things are pretty horrible. never lose your sense of humour. i laugh long and hard every day. it's a good cure and you don't get as many wrinkles..............

KEM PATRICK

i must say i am always amazed when i look up at the stars.........wish i could see them from your deck. sounds wonderful............

NAMASTE

thanks for the book link.

KEM -- Eckhart Tolle has a wonderful explanation of that, in his book "A New Earth" (which is well worth reading as we're all in this together).

He says that it's the space betwixt the stars that pulls upon our our consciousness, as we and it both share an ineffable dimension of the non-physical beingness - that backdrops behind ALL existence - that actually is indispensable for the physical dimension to even exist.

It's like music is a combination of sound pieces interspersed with silences (voids), so that neither exist without the other.

Blessed are the stars that draw us ever more.
Namaste

When people come to visit us, we always take them out on the deck about 2am. They are awe struck, it is so beautiful, quiet and peaceful____ and after an hour of star gazing silence, we feel so tiny and insignificant.

It's good for the soul.

Ain't she fun!!!

Coco, you've got me rolling on the floor laughing. So true!

I will land on the positive of this event. I will go look at the stars and the milky way. We should do this every month.

Hi ~TRUTHMONGER~ 11:04am.

Thank you for putting that link in for us. What is scary about the METHANE article is the sentence. ___( Once it starts, there is no turning back, no do-overs. Once the Arctic methane releases, it will play all the way out.) __ As it is most important, I will post the link again.

http://www.energybulletin.net/3647.html

The other two times that happened in Earth's history, almost ALL life, except some deep sea creatures and bacteria were exterminated within 24 to 48 hours. We may have ten years or less, maybe fifty or more, unless we attempt to stop the greenhouse effect and the resulting global warming, it will happen and it WILL play itsself out. Ten years or less? Sadly it is quite possible.

SJC_1

all you said is right and true but there are so few taking heed of the problems that will result in the demise of humankind...............

ANNEFAITH

'i didn't know there was so much humor to be found on cd'

welcome to the initiated

but to pass the true test and become a regular, you have to at least piss off one poster, post profane language, post a link that doesn't exist, post in an obscure language (ie: chinese or similar), hate jews, arabs, blacks, orientals, democracts, republicans, green party, factory farming, factory fishing, terrorists, canadians but most of all 'riverman'..................

Conservation does not mean freezing in the dark, but it is much more than just a personal virtue. All the people that are aware of our planet and its diminishing finite fossil fuels know that we must take collective widespread action NOW. We can have a very comfortable and modern life without the waste and insanity that continues so that a few can make a fortune and doom the world to a future that can not be saved.

Our fossil fuels and this planet are gifts that need to be used wisely. It is time that all of us that know so much more than those "conservative" voices take charge of the ship of state and get it on a correct course for a secure future once and for all. All intelligent and knowing people must be heard now in a major way. If we are not heard and do not take charge, it will be business as usual with a future that is so damaged that it can not be repaired. That is a future we will ALL face and those same conservative voices will be saying "it is not our fault...who knew?"

You guys are cracking me up. I didn't know there was so much humor to be found on CD. It's very refreshing. I've got just a few minutes before lights out. It took me quite a while to turn off all the gadgets and lights and unplug the alarm clock, plug-in flashlight, energy-draining LCD TV (which uses more energy even when it's turned off - but still plugged in - than the frig), and so forth. Maybe I'll just leave that stuff unplugged when the hour is over.

mas1946, you must live in Florida, because the same thing happened to me. I cut way back on water usage (both to be green and to save money), and the utility voted to impose a surcharge to make up for lost revenue. Ain't that a kick in the head?

Well, time for lights out.

KEM PATRICK

you are so lucky. i remember the first time i ever saw the milky way. i was on a boat just off shore in the red sea. i thought it was a cloud in the sky..................

I don't care about 13 million migrant workers treated as indentured slaves as much as ushering in a green slave planet. Slave planet forever, please. Pass the organic carrots would you.

Honey, where I live in the high southwest mountains, there are no city lights. I can see every constellation every clear night with my one good eye. When a full moon rises, it looks to be so close, we can almost climb aboard. The Milky Way is a wide silver pathway. When we lived near Philly, I thought the Milky Way was a few hundred stars, not the trilions we see now and sometimes we could make out the big and little dippers, but not often. Last night we heard the cry of a Mexican wolf, it was spine chilling and rather sad.

KEM PATRICK

well, one thing i've learned with my blackout experience: it's a bugger going to the bathroom in the dark.................but i did venture outside and looked at the stars. it was really beautiful and only marred by the surrounding lights of the neighbourhood. so you guys only have another 4 hours to wait for your totally 'earth hour' experience. use it well. you never know if you'll have the chance again...............

Hi all,

In spite of the negative comments of some posters, I plan to finish reading that book that's waiting for me...by flashlight. Is someone gonna preach about pollution caused by dumping old batteries in the landfill? Mine go to the hazardous waste center.

Yeah, so one hour a year now is probably just an example and a drop in the bucket. But, what if worldwide we did it every month or week. You can bet the utility companies will scream bloody murder, ...then raise the rates, because their CEO's wouldn't be able to afford those fine perks they get.

I live in an area that was short of water last season, and the utility company asked the population to conserve. In fact we did so well, they raised the rates due to their losses.

Still, if the practice helps even just a bit, I think it's worth it. The more we little people do it and the businesses do nothing, the more they are shown to be part of the problem and not part of the solution.

When we have our depression caused from Bush's war with iraq ~CoCo~, you can think about us too. We won't need electricity, the light given off from the burning cities will light up the sky.

so i'll just sit in the dark and think about the poor iraqis and other people who do not have the luxury of electricity.

IKE KAY

ha ha ha ha, that made me really laugh..............

KEM PATRICK ET AL

ok, i'm doing a test run now. it's 19.38 and i've switched off all the lights. i have a few candles going and this lap top. i thought about sitting outside and looking at the stars, but the sun only set a while ago and it's still relatively light out there. but in another 20 mins it might be dark. and another thing, it's quite chilly. and i really don't want to make myself ill and have to pay doctor's bills which will be infinitely more expensive than the light bill..............

New York would not take part in saving energy, they need the light on in all the buildings round the clock for the those there to count how they have ripped off the rest of the world.

Kem Patrick, it's 8:00 p.m. local time. Wherever you're at (Eastern, Central, whatever), it's 8:00 p.m. So it started in Australia, then it goes to Asia, then to Europe and then to the Americas, with San Francisco being the last big city to participate.

Is that 8pm EST?

~CoCo~, you have nailed it again. You have a high degree of good common sense.

~Fat Lady~, Okay, tuck that recipe away just in case you ever do start to gain weight sometime in the future, when you start having hot flashes, or go into male menapause, if youze a boy and decide to buy a Harley. Hey, you have great common sense also.

TRUTHMONGER

i just read your link..........what you didn't say (or perhaps notice) is the fact that this article was published on 15th dec 2004. what has been done since that time about this inevitable catastrophe?. i've long since thought that there is an 'inconvenient' secret that is being deliberately witheld from the general public. and that the wilful destruction, wars, evil-doing is a result of this secret.

BIG_MONEY

that's the point entirely. it's not much use just a few cities around the world shutting down for an hour once a year. we have to shut down permanently. but like you said, who's gonna do that? i've already contributed by going car-less and i do a lot of recycling. but i believe this is minority. we have big recycling bins nearby, but i still see glass and paper and plastic next to the ordinary bins not a few metres away. people are just lazy and don't want to do anything until they are directly affected. then they'll all cry waaaaaaaaah what's happening??? waaaaaaaaaaah. where's the oil, where's the electricity, where's the FOOD & WATER.......................

That is scary stuff about methane in the Arctic. I'm sure the administration and the media don't want to hear about this. Then again, this might be an excuse to drill anywhere, do whatever they want since the end is near anyway. In other words, business are usual.

Here's a link to the story:
http://www.energybulletin.net/3647.html

I was under the impression the 8 PM was your own local time. No use turning lights off in the middle of the day that are not on. Sort of a Zebra effect with each time zone as it hit 8 PM.
KEM, The Fat lady has sung is a figure of speech not a phyical figure. As in the Opera is not over till the fat lady sings. It is my view of the path America is taking. Do you think all that spinich wouldn't cause more methane gas and more global warming? I will see if CBC.ca web site has the shows I was taking about. I know my lights will be turned off at 8 PM tonight and my computer as well

Goooooooood heavens. I'm going to be participating to the hugest extent possible, and acheing at any number of family households to play too. But wow, when I read the comments people put, not here, but on the MSM, I can feel my blood pressure rising. Do most people really think that global warming is some kind of scam? Do most people really think that someone is going to be making money off this? I think what my dark cynical side is learning from Earth Hour is that most people absolutely refuse to spend 1% of 1% of their time doing anything at all about the biggest problem facing the human race, much less even think about taking some tangible steps. oooOOOOOoooo people are no more advanced than the blue-green algae that spent a billion years sealing their doom by giving off 02 emissions. (Oh, thanks, blue-green algae, don't know where we'd be without you...) Okay, we are more advanced, we can poison our pool so much quicker.

This global warming thing is really serious. Now if we can get Hilary Rodham Klanton and Johnnie "Straight Lies" McCain to shut off their hot air before it's too late. These long US political campaigns don't help either.

This earth hour is symptomatic of why we have gotten into such a major ecological dilemma in the first place. It is much easier to shut a light off then refrain from driving to work or taking your home "off the grid." I fear that the few people that actually participate in this venture are simply doing it for the warm fuzzy feeling. I don't buy that this practice raises environmental awareness. Nearly everyone can see the brown clouds that sit over major cities, read about the latests 220 mile ice collapse in the antarctic, and hear reports of unprecedented climate shifts around the world. No doubt, I am part of the problem, and I am weary that the United States and the world will not be making significants shifts to conservation and away from non sustainable energy until a major irreversible disaster befalls us. As a species it seems we are either poor on foresight, or incapable of mobilizing globally, or both.

KEM PATRICK

i like your spinach diet. you can do it with brown rice for 10 days and lose cellulite too. it works, i've done it. thankfully i have not seen any mcdonalds, burger king, jack in the box, wendys, barbies, etc. but we do have clocks and they work. i don't pay much attention to time though. i prefer to live by the sun, moon and stars.......

A large part of the world will be participating - involuntarily. Millions of people who don't have the option of turning off their lights simply because electricity has never reached them, and whose 'candle light ' dinners have a somewhat different connotation than the proposed Australian celebrations.

Thanks ~Good Luck~ but we can't get TV from anyplace up here in our mountains, except by Dish. No Canadian channels available on our program, we have several Mexican channels. I mosty watch educational and the History channel. Or any XXX if they come on Saturday night and my mate is sound asleep. I watch Keith Olberman and some news, but I hate the news channels.

CoCo, do they have clocks and high tech stuff like that over there? You gettin Americanized? Bet you don't have a McDonalds.

I was told that the energy 'saved' would simply be lost, and that when the lights are turned back on there would be a greater pull and therefor loss. Science isn't my field...so? But I do know that I wasn't happy at seeing both the MacDonald's and CocaCola's corp. signs featured in one of the clips. I firmly believe in grassroots movements and the power of people working together...yet there is something about this Earth Hour that makes me feel suspicious. We have to do something yet if the power that be isn't behind it , if high energy comsuming products are still being pressure peddled , if there is no radical change in the economy, if .... I think it would be a far better idea for people to leave their cars home for a day, not turn on television and not use their phones ... or something like that ...in order to show 'our' power...or a world-wide strike ...we are going to stop the world ... which is what we should do ...simply stop the world, and keep stopping it until 'power' realizes that there is no other way other than taking serious measures.

Hey ~Fat Lady~, try my diet. All the cooked spinach you can eat, three times a day and two slices of whole wheat toast a day, one apple. Water only and nothing else for thirty days, except a one-a-day vitamin pill.

If you're over weight, you'll lose a hundred plus pounds. It works in a city jail in Meeker Colorado, or it did fifty years ago anyway. A friend of mine was the Sheriff. Everyone came out good and healthy after thirty days. Most of the guests saved the toast and some spinach for a midnight snack. One old friend of mine, still loves cold spinach sandwiches. He quit drinking and spotting deer too.

some of the participants include: new zealand,fiji,china,vietnam,papau new guinea,dubai and san francisco.............

fat lady: some of us are on a different time scale. it's 9.37am where i am in europe now.

NO POSTINGS BETWEEN 8&9 PM EDT we will see who was part of Earth hour by the posting times. There should be no discussion on this web site or others from 8 till 9 PM.

Kem:
If you can catch CBC TV out of Canada do it. Passionate Eye is one show the USA bans on a regular basses since it tells the truth.

Great way while the lights are off to replace those old bulbs with low E. Then when paranoid of the dark America turns them back on they are using 1/3 as much power.

There was a very importnat article here for __ONE__ full day this week, It's about a huge Anarctic ice shelf which just broke off and the rest of it, about as large as New Jersey, is hanging by a thread. That's very serious. The scientists were (shocked and amazed) by it. It is most important and a fore-warning of things soon to come because of global warming and come much more quickly than ever predicted.

Common Dreams archives, Wed Mar 26. ___ "Giant Anarctic Ice Shelf Breaks Off Into The Sea" ___ Good article.

That important article is in the CD headlines archives for last Wednesday, Mar 26. Any who may deny global warmng will have a problem with that occurrance. It was not published, or talked about in American news, or on our beloved TV news channels that I saw. It should be big news, but the big news is people telling Hillary to drop out of the prez race. They should be telling McCain to drop out and take Bush with him.

It's a method of enlightening through darkness.

That link wouldn't open, ~RUTHU~ says it's not available. __LOL,__ an apppropriate post.

geo522,

flatearthsociety.org. You're at the wrong site again. Better yet, try 1%certainimnotanidiot.org.

It's so good to see there is a blogger here who's smarter and more informed on the subject than the thousands of scientists and geologists, who have spent their entire adult lives studying the planet, the oceans and the atmosphere and have proven beyond any reasonable doubt, by studying thousands of ice core samples, that burning fossil fuels is responsible for the current global warming, which has resulted in dramatic climate change.

One does not need a degree in any science to observe with their own eyes what is occurring in regards to glaciers melting, ice caps melting on every mountain range on the planet, serious climate changes on every continent, major river levels dropping and lakes drying out in the Arctic, etc.

But, do any really care if some ULTRA SMART idiots blog stupidity here and deny the obvious. Well, yes I care, for it is that type of ignorance which is preventing any sensible action on the most serious issue we face being taken by the world's leaders.

Here's an idea, turn off everything except your computer and they google or you tube Climate Change Hoax and look at some of the ligitimate opposing views. CO2 caused global warming is just not a 99% certainty, as I have heard so many times, in fact there are scientest who resigned from the IPCC because they disagreed with what the
report was going to day. How many times have you seen or heard that fact in the news. I know that there are many who think this must be true because the current administration is trying so hard to derail the effort, guess that only goes to show how dumb these people really are, even with the facts on their side, they still blow it!

OK turned off all my lights but the street lights are still on: council lazy bones asleep again zzz

Those seals carry rabies COCO. Gotta get rid of em,___ besides, they eat a lot of fish.

Here's a fun thing to do. GOOGLE Arctic methnae gas, then scroll down to the article "Methane Burps, A Ticking Time bomb".

That's what global warming is doing and time is not on our side. Don't fret rising sea water, fret methane gas. We may have 50 years, we may have 20, and we may have less than ten before the light will go out everyplace,___ forever. The guys and gals in the space station will have a sight to see, they'll be the last humans to witness it.

Bu$h the inferior's occupation has made most of Iraq dark all night.

Who knew he was into environmental symbolism?

A tracking optical concentrator can be an oven by day and a reading lamp by night.

Right! Turning off your lights is going to help.
Did you not read that major buildings in Sydney turned off there lights. Now you tell me if The Empire State Building in New York, The Bank of America building in San Francisco, The City Hall in Los Angeles is going to turn off there lights.
That is what and why it had an effect. Do you really think that "W" is going to turn off the White House lights? Give me a break folks . . . There is not a city in this country that you could get to do this.
No way . . . . Great idea but let me know when you think it will actually happen . . .

O my....i guess it is just the human condition to react negatively to any idea that may be construed as a positive...yuck...and we wonder why there are wars...

sitting in the dark for an hour is the least we can do...WHATEVER it takes to increase awareness...instead of slamming ideas...come up with more and organize....let's bring humanity outta the caves...start thinking outside the box ....get creative!!!! stop attacking and start doing!!!!!

robertsgt40, the government is like a hammer. You can pick it up and smash the elites, or the elites will pick it up and smash you. It's your choice. Elites are the problem, not the government. It's very simple.

Gee, maybe something good can come out of global warming. Maybe the seal killers, instead of the polar bears, will be stranded on a piece of ice.

the seal killing has begun but the thick ice is hindering the killers. so far only 3 (out of the 275,000 allocated) have been killed. and apparently they are being more humane this year: they have to look into the eyes of the harp seal pup and make sure its dead after they have either shot it or clubbed it.........

now turn out the lights.....................

GREAT IDEA. lET'S GET THE GOVERNMENT MORE INVOLVED,SO THEY CAN CONTROL ONE MORE ASPECT OF MY LIFE

Despondent militancy results when the uncompromising idealist is forced to confront realpolitik.

kelmer, do you have a link or source for that? (kelmer at 3:28 p.m.) The reason I ask is that at one point I contributed to WWF and had not heard of this. I've also given money to groups to try to stop the clubbing of seals and the use of fur, so it would be pretty twisted if I was funding two groups who are fighting each other on the same issue. (According to PETA, the Environmental Defense Fund supports animal lab testing, so I stopped giving to that group.)

In any event, I'm still going to turn my lights out.

World Wildlife Fund, started by hunters, supports seal clubbing by Canada and elephant slaughter. They support the fur industry in New Zealand(very convenient-supporting the killing of the non native broad tail possum which was introduced into NZ and Australia by..wait for it..the fur industry!). If its ok to kill possums for being dumped into NZ then its ok to massacre farmers in Brazil for destroying the rain forest--a much more serious attack on global ecology. But then that would mean being fair--and human supremacists, like their racial supremacist cousins, dont do fair.

Its a joke. They come up with little schemes like this just to get publicity.

For anyone complaining or slamming this event, come on, give me a break. It's a good start and if everyone participated it would make a difference. Looking at it like "geez all we can spare is an hour for the earth" or "or great make the environmental movement is in the dark ages" certainly isn't a big help. Aside from any emissions that won't get emitted, perhaps it will make some lifelong converts, maybe a lot of kids who will remember that they did this one cool thing with their parents one night and sat in the dark for an hour and talked about how much help our planet needs from us. So rather than sitting around and complaining about something that might actually help, start planning what you'll do with the hour or at least, just fight your urge to put fingers to keyboard.

Too bad the guys up on the space station,won't / can't show us the resulting darkness across the globe as this event unfolds.. now that would be a sight to see..

But i'm afraid that might show how wasteful it is to have all the big company lights on all night long even though no-one is there.. even the janitors leave the buildings at some time.. can't someone turn out the lights after hours?, or when they finish cleaning that floor?

barksnotbites, everyone can do it. It's tomorrow night, Saturday, March 29, 8:00 p.m., local time. If you want to participate, all you have to do is turn off your lights. See www.earthhour.org. I've been spreading the word to my friends, because I hadn't heard about it until today. Like Time Magazine said, surely we can find something to do in the dark for an hour!

Yes, it's gimmicky. But it does send an important message about how simple it is to save energy.

'mr harper said candlelit picnics and dinner parties would be held across australia'...........this is the norm for people in palestine, iraq, south africa, every day of their lives.

I miss the good old days, when Earth got a whole day. Now we're down to an hour?

Next year, we'll all pause for an entire Earth second to enjoy that super eco-righteous feeling...

It's a big deal in Toronto with the MSM fully supporting it. Many feel it is their duty to spread the word and encourage everyone to participate. The newspapers are playing along constantly reminding people of the symbolism involved here. It's a shame but not surprising that the American MSM will do their best to keep people "in the dark" about being in the dark tomorrow.

This is the first I've heard too. Ok. 8pm 8/29 in Australia and that side of the hemisphere. If somebody in California wanted to participate, do we need to organize our own or is it the same time for us?
I LOVE the idea of raising awareness of ourselves as citizens of one Planet, our common home; Earth. Thanks.

Aware of what the Australians have been doing ---
first I've heard of this being planned for tomorrow 3/29!
8pm --- OK . . .

All efforts for environmental awareness are good, but do we really have to set an example that being an environmentalist means we will be sitting in the dark with no modern conveniences?

Sounds like an environmental message crafted by the RNC.

We need to show the world that being sustainable and respectful of our environment can be done in fun, modern, and enLIGHTened ways