Green Options » conservative politics

MJG #52: Limbaugh, O’Reilly, Hannity, and Beck: Environmental Superheroes

Joe Mohr — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 12:13:37 +0000

Long thought of as loud-mouth talking-heads that serve only to divide our nation with their far-right wing positions, it turns out Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck are secretly saving the world one small ecological-footprint at a time.

Here is the first of a series of installments shining a light on what these environmental superheroes are doing to help heal Mother Earth. I only hope the actions of the “Trust-Us League” inspire the masses!

Under the angry, doughy, white exterior lie the ‘green’ innards of men with an undying love for the earth and all of its creatures.

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Canadian Challenge: Canadian Election Debate, or American Vice-Presidential Debate?

Amiel Blajchman — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:13:42 +0000

Canadian political junkies are all busy programming their VCRs, Tivos, or getting all set up to Bittorrent tonight. Thanks to the vagaries of the Parliamentary process, there is a Canadian election called for October 14th. And, similar to the Presidential debates that have been, and will be happening, the leaders of Canada’s five major parties:

are participating in back to back French and English language debates (you can read coverage of the debates here). For those readers who are wondering, Canada is officially bilingual, and therefore the major party leaders have a debate in each official language prior to the election.

Civilized Communication About Global Warming, Energy, Environment And Stuff; Naysayers, I’m Open for Persuasion

Adam Williams — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 12:09:56 +0000

Why do we have give-and-takes like this?

A: “Global warming exists. Let’s do something about it.”

B: “Screw you! Global warming is a commie, liberal farce!”

A: “We should harvest the wind and sun for energy.”

B: “Screw you! My car is set up for petroleum; my house likes coal-fired electricity…commie, liberal farce!”

“We should care about Earth and each other. Nothing stays the same; we’ve got to evolve.”

“Screw…farce!”

And so on.

Oh, and on the relatively civilized tip…

A: “Science demonstrates that global warming exists.”

B: (In the eloquence of Dick Cheney…) “So.”

I’m perplexed of late by the glaring contrast of view points on some important issues in our world. Not to mention the venom and vitriol that charges so many of the outbursts. And not to mention that facts seem irrelevant to many people, even when they honest-to-goodness exist.

Republican or Democrat? Conservative or Liberal? Science or Religion? United States or Everyone Else? Rich or poor? Self or Others? Us or Them?

“Creating a Sustainable Future is not Political”

Heidi Suydam — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 23:55:47 +0000

I met Mr. Chen at a back yard bar-b-que in Tennessee last weekend. We were both passing through the area and happen to have a mutual friend. Admittedly I learned of his interest in sustainability by eavesdropping on a conversation he was having with someone else. My ears tuned in when I heard phrases such as “reclaiming rainwater” and “solar power”. You may be thinking “so what” there are plenty of architects who are applying sustainable techniques to their work. What makes Tien-si Chen different is that he is a Christian Conservative.

In 1991 Tien-si Chen was contracted to build a home addition. The woman who hired him to do the addition wanted the work completed with used materials she acquired from garage sales and throw away piles. Mr. Chen completed the addition and fell in love with sustainable building. He began applying sustainable techniques to his projects.

The remodel in 1991 used recycled materials and also employed passive energy design. He explained how he orients his projects to use the south, north breezeway creating air flow, using shade from trees on the property which reduces energy use. Mr. Chen explains that this is “taking part of nature that God has provided for us and using it in our every day living”. He referred to Frank Lloyd Wright and sharing that each time Frank Lloye Wright designed a building he turned it 60 degrees immediately because doing that creates a relationship with the sun, wind and shade. “Forces of nature that God created for us. He (God) created an environment and when we know how to use it we can benefit from it.” explained Mr. Chen.

He approaches his work as an opportunity to create a solution using green architecture. Applying these techniques to the entire building system from the air conditioning system to the plumbing. He is currently working on a new project in which they are separating all the water flow. For example sewer, shower, and rainwater will flow through different pipes in order to reclaim any possible water that is appropriate to reuse. This is a huge redevelopment project that I am unable to name at this point. When Mr. Chen receives permission from the development a follow-up will be posted to identify the project. He has worked on several projects for the same development company, applying sustainable techniques each time.

Mr. Chen is also connected with a man in Nigeria and is working on large projects there such as a 300 bed student housing building and an eco village. The eco village is a self-sustaining project using wind power and gas from reclaimed methane. This particular project is in the proposal stages.

Passionate about sustainable architecture, Mr. Chen loves to offer solutions for energy efficiency and to promote preservation of the earth he holds dear as he believes it is a gift from God. I asked him about his connections with the directors of these large projects which vary in geographic location from Chicago to Nigeria. My question specifically was “In the board rooms, are people hesitant about your political affiliation and Christianity?” He directly replied, “In that arena, it never comes up.” As we discussed this I discovered no one asks him his political or religious affiliation when they need an architect who is passionate about sustainability. He explained that many of the people he works for are Democrats, supporting Obama and on the opposite side of the spectrum politically. Mr. Chen concluded our conversation by stating “Creating a sustainable future is not political.”