Summer Snowmageddon 2014 (split from Weather)

[Drury18]

Very impressed with the City response time. I filed a request with the 3-1-1 app yesterday at 9am about the broken trees on the street and mentioned they weren't causing immediate danger. By 3pm today someone had been by to cut them up and remove them from the sidewalk and hanging branches and piled it up on the boulevard for pickup. Along the entire block, not just my place.

The app is definitely the way to go.

[Daradon]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Sorry, didn't mean to pick a scab. I said it as an example of a random, uncalled for diss. Sorta like you saying "wow, when did everyone become tree huggers", in a thread that's all about how the snow heavily damaged thousands of trees in our city.

Not so much a scab, more of an explanation as I guess you never heard it, or more admission of being wrong, which is just as important as my explanation and reasons. I can admit when I'm wrong.

Back to the issue, I've got damaged stuff too, and as you could probably tell from my beliefs, the whole situation makes me very sad too.

The comment was less meant as a diss, and more as a wake up call. Wake up calls are often loud and surprising and even annoying. That's why they're named after an alarm.

Could I have said it better, or more politely? Sure. I'm kinda at the point though in environmental issues where I've realized speaking politely and asking nicely get you absolutely nowhere. (Course being a jerk probably doesn't help either, but I'm lacking a third option.)

And it's a real problem. Bigger scientists talk about it every year. Neil DeGrasse Tyson's whole remake of Cosmos built up to the idea that we are standing on the precipice of the point of no return with our environment. Nobel winners, and physics leader are joining with biologists and environmentalists in the chorus that something is seriously seriously wrong with what we are doing right now and we are already seeing consequences. But in Alberta, you mention any of this stuff, and your told to pound sand.

So I guess to reword my argument more politely and fairly I will just say simply this.

I hope that an event like this reminds people of just how important environmental factors are in our lives. I hope it gives people who never took a lot of environmental issues seriously an idea with which to educate themselves about issues. I would love it if people realized the trees and environment as a whole are just as important as the ones on their street. And lastly I hope that people think twice before using the term 'tree-huggers'to disparage a group that has such important people in it to shut down an important argument.

[Daradon]

Originally Posted by pylon

Again, I am not an environmentalist, yet I cringe, when I see the rain forests be obliterated, China un-apologetically poisoning their rivers and air for no other reason but profit, and Sharks being yanked from the Ocean and dismembered by the millions so someone can impress their wedding guests. This list goes on and on. Just because it doesn't happen in my back yard, doesn't mean it doesn't revolt me.

Unfortunately, I still have Pylon's bills to pay, and pylon's life to live, and until I am a billionaire philanthropist, expressing my disgust is all I am realistically able to do to really make a difference. As much as people think changing their facebook picture or signing an online petition helps... unless you have massive money and influence, unfortunately nothing you do, will help or change anything..... just like the Occupy Movement.

I get that argument, we all have bills to pay, and we do need balance of economy and environment.

There is still balance all of us can move towards though, while paying our bills. We have solved a few environmental concerns already, and that proves we can do the others, as long as we are honest about what they are, and we don't give all the control of our environment to the greedy.

The ozone layer is repairing, many species on the verge of extinction are rebounding, and we have a better view of our environment and our place as humans in it than ever before. There is reason for optimism.

We can do this, and pay the bills at the same time. We just need to understand it, and work at it. Not sweep it under the rug. Which I do feel is business as usual for some industries and leaders.

And as I mentioned in another thread, you think paying the bills is hard now? Try it when crops are facing near yearly drought, coastal cities are flooding, and pollution is creeping into the cities. Fixing it now will be cheaper and easier.

So I will apologize for my 'drive-by'. As I have proved by coming back to post, I did have a thought out argument behind it, which is a standard here one should follow. I also get upset by drive-bys so I guess your guys reaction was fair. As I mentioned above, it was a statement of surprise mixed with a wake up call. I guess I hope for more, that's all.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to explain.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

there is something wrong with you.....

How so?

[Aeneas]

Daradon, I do not always agree with you, but I always have respect for your posts and posting style. Intelligent and courteous. Thank you.

Ps Am in Czech republic and Calgary was a big item on the news. If not for a horrific act involving a missing little girl, this storm might have led the news.
I recieved some pictures from my daughter, but had no idea until this morning about the level of damage. Just no time to stay on top of news from home. I love my trees! I hope thay were young enough to be unscathed.

[Regorium]

Originally Posted by Daradon

Wow, how did everyone here become tree huggers all of a sudden?

I don't disagree with any of it, I just remember so many arguments and slams the other way on other topics.

It's amazing what we miss, or realize what we need, when it's truly gone.

It's because the vast majority of us care hugely about the environment. It's just that self proclaimed environmentalists have warped perceptions of the O&G industry, which leads to fervent defences and "slams".

O&G in Canada involves using the environment safely and sustainably, but is also a relatively large industry in a first world country. That gets us a lot of unjust hate, when there are examples of countries that COULD be taking the path that we are taking, but choose to just dump heavy metals in rivers (china), allow their pipelines to leak approximately 25% of all product (russia), cut down rainforest (peru/brazil/haiti), flare natural gas because they just don't care (middle east/africa).

Yet those places never get any flak from the "environmentalists" in the comments section of cbc.ca.

When stuff like a mine tailing pond failing, there is massive public outrage and immediate engineering, technical and political attention. That stuff happens in China? "We are not sure why our river turned red, oh well."

Personally, I'd like the anti-O&G people acknowledge that Canada is basically one of the world leaders in terms of sustainable development of oil and gas - and that includes the "tar sands". Then we can start a discussion on where the industry can continue to improve.

[Locke]

Yeah, I picked up my wife from work downtown yesterday and drove down Memorial Drive, now thats a damned shame.

On another note, once again I'm proud to be Calgarian, there were 4 dudes with chainsaws running around my neighbourhood cutting the fallen branches into manageable chunks just to help people out.

I stood there thinking to myself:

"In most places someone would have to call the police right about now."

[Huntingwhale]

I drove through Braeside last night and the destruction is pretty massive. There are fields full of tree limbs hanging and pile after pile all along the sidewalks. Looks like a tornado came through. I've always thought of Braeside as having the most trees out of any neighborhood in the city and it's sad to see how many have been ravaged.