Simple questions for conservatives about environmentalism

For all of you conservatives who don't believe in global warming, I have questions:

Please explain to me, even if you don't accept global warming, why is it okay to be wasteful of your own money and resources? What's so "conservative" about that?

After all shouldn't conservatives "conserve"?

How is it "in your own rational self-interest" to be wasteful - even if you are an Ayn Randian, CATO Institute loving, Libertarian? If I told you I could save you $30 in energy costs by replacing a single incandescent bulb in your house with an equivalent fluorescent bulb and another $10 in replacement bulb costs, why would you intentionally throw away $40?

How is it patriotic to unnecessarily waste energy that we must obtain at great cost of national blood and treasure in the Middle East from countries that don't particularly like us?

How is it patriotic to waste important materials in "a time of war" if you believe that this is indeed a time of war as the President claims? In World War II, we rationed gas, car pooled, and recycled everything. A famous war poster of that time said it well "If you're riding alone, you're riding with Hitler". Why is it that we feel no need to recycle or conserve anything in this war?

Finally, how is it "Christian" to be bad stewards of God's creation through waste, pollution, and extravagant consumption if you believe that God created this Earth? Remember that to those to whom much has been given, much will be expected.

Perhaps the reason you've never asked these questions yourself is because so many of the world's problems seem hopeless and we often find ourselves giving up on solving them.

Instead, we disengage and deny. We distract ourselves with meaningless nonsense rather than face the problems at hand.

Therefore, while you are wrestling with the answers, here are a few things you can do that don't require you to change your ideology or political affiliation.

1. Start by replacing the light bulbs in your house with fluorescent bulbs. Over its lifetime, a 23 watt fluorescent will produce the same light as a 100 watt incandescent, last 13 times as long and save you about $40 in the process. Who couldn't use an extra $40?
2. Set the thermostat to save you money when you leave the house to go to work. In the winter time turn down the temperature when you leave to 62F. In the summertime turn up the temperature to 82F Why heat or cool an empty house for 6 or 8 hours when you aren't there?
3. Replace that old glass tube CRT with a new LCD screen. It will pay for itself in electrical costs in about a year if you use it a lot.
4. Learn how to use the energy saving features of your computer. All computers built in the last 5 years or so have energy saving features to turn off the hard drives and monitor after a certain period of inactivity and to go into hibernation if not used after a somewhat longer period. This will save you money and save on greenhouse gas emissions at the same time.
5. Listen to you dad. Don't leave the TV, lights or other appliances running 24/7 or leave all the lights on or other appliances going when you aren't using them. That's just money down the drain and more global warming for no good reason.
6. Get an energy audit performed on your home - many utility companies will do this upon request at no charge. They will inspect your home and make recommendations for you on how to save energy in your particular home like installing better insulation, better door and window seals, appliances, etc.
7. Install a flow conserving shower nozzle. These cost about ten bucks at the hardware store, you still get quite a satisfying shower, but the hot water lasts a lot longer and you use far less of it. This is another easy way to save money and reduce greenhouse gases at the same time.

Read counterpoint here.

Tags: Global Warming - Stuff you can do - Environmentalism

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