Welcome to Just Stop Breathing, a candid look at today's political environment and a tongue-in-cheek response to the hysteria surrounding our planet and man's impact.

Our Mission:  To bring a little levity to a overly hyped topic, and to perhaps point out the obvious implication of going carbon neutral.

Al Gore - It Isn't About Saving the Planet Really that says it all. For a site focused on having fun, Al Gore is too easy of a target. Regardless of his movies, the recent Academy Awards, the nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize, it isn’t about saving the planet. It’s the issue he wants. I could join the chorus condemning his $500‐a‐month pool heating bill, or talk about the fallacy of carbon offsets. I won’t because I support his right to have and pay those bills. I will say though, his alarmist rhetoric has started a whole new category of names and naming conventions. On his own website below, Al Gore spends some time talking about the need to live Carbon Neutral Lifestyles, or for communities to be Zero Carbon Net, whatever that means… What is Zero Carbon Net anyway? Or a Carbon Neutral Lifestyle? How does it work that a guy like Al Gore can travel around the planet, often in private planes, is driven around in large automobiles, owns four homes with a very public record of bills, and still claim that he is carbon neutral? He isn’t. Don’t get me wrong, the stove replacement project, and other projects he contributes to can raise the living standards of poor people. Shouldn’t that be the simple goal though? Al Gore isn’t really carbon neutral, the people he helps may generate less carbon dioxide, but nobody stops. Nobody is Truly Carbon Neutral, until they stop breathing…. Ahh, too funny isn’t it? So I linked to a clip from Al Gore’s SOS website. At around the 39th minute he takes a shot at those who don’t believe that Global Warming is the most important thing facing our planet. He compares doubters or those in climate denial, to folks who believe the moon landing was faked. http://liveearth.msn.com/

Prince Charles A Climate hero? Or just against the Chunnel?

I’m sure you saw late last year how Prince Charles, in an effort to reduce his ‘carbon footprint’, decided to forgo a flight and ski trip to Switzerland. It’s a laudable goal to be sure. Who doesn’t want to be a good steward of the planet? The deeper issue though is the implied politics of denial. In this case, Prince Charles could have taken the train to Switzerland. I mean, haven’t the trains under the English Channel always lost money? Seems a natural win‐win‐win, lower‐impact, people still get to travel and ski, and the trains make money finally… The point though is that he didn’t go at all, and what that means for the average Joe. After all if he’s willing to toss his vacation overboard, will he encourage legislating the same for yours? It isn’t difficult to see a large carbon tax imposed on all travelers into and out of London. Think about a world of limited travel options. How available is affordable fruit year‐round? In 60 years, if you want to expose your grandchildren to foreign cultures, that might be the town 3‐4 hours away by expensive automobile, with a trip to a capital like Paris, London, Rome limited to the few rich who can afford the imposed (i.e. carbon taxes) high‐cost of travel. That’s the politics of denial. Aren’t there better approaches? http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007‐01‐20‐charles‐travel_x.htm

Clean Up International Shipping

So I just read that the 90,000 or so ships that regularly cart all the goods around the planet are one of the most substantial contributors to global pollutants, I mean like, harsh pollutants, not just poor beaten down Carbon Dioxide. Check this out. Of the Industrialized Nations that signed up for the Kyoto Protocol, international shipping, (those 90,000 ships) emits more CO2 than all but the largest 10 nations. The international ships emit more sulfur dioxide than all the cars, trucks, and buses combined. They emit a sixth of all the nitrogen oxides. Perhaps instead of piling the costs of saving the planet on the backs of the American consumer, and calling the American driver the root of the problem, there are other easier problems to solve. Just looking at the numbers, I’d say that tackling 90,000 ships is a much easier problem logistically than 10’s if not 100’s of millions of cars. Don’t believe me? Look at these:

http://fe23.news.re3.yahoo.com/s/afp/usshippingenvironment

http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,2025725,00.html

http://www.theicct.org/documents/MarineReport_Final_Web.pdf

How Did It ComeTo This?

I mean seriously, for the last 30 years, American car makers have had their clocks cleaned in market after market by Japanese and Asian import cars. Now Toyota seems to have tackled the last bastion of strength in the American car market. No I’m not talking about trucks; I’m talking about the time honored American tradition of paying too much for too little car. Am I right? Here comes Toyota and others delivering hybrids that have marginal real‐world benefit especially when compared to other high mpg cars like the late 90’s Metro and Civics. They carry a significant premium to the market, and the consumer who laughed at having finally caught on to the American carmaker’s scheme, proudly displays the overpriced, under‐performing, car that they waited in line for. After all, if this was really about emissions and saving the planet, these same folks would have been driving Geo Metros and Honda Civics for the last 15+ years where the 40, even 50+mpg cars have actually delivered a lower ‘carbon footprint’ for years. Plus they could keep the extra $10,000 for several vacations in all the small towns they are trying to save from Wal‐Mart. Unfortunately, nobody knows your saving the planet  if you’re driving a Geo Metro. Toyota Prius performance claims

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/hybridwatch01.html

http://autos.msn.com/advice/CRArt.aspx?contentid=4023458

Recently available High MPG cars

http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Spec_Glance.aspx?year=2000&make=Chevrolet&model=Metro&tri

http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Spec_Glance.aspx?year=1998&make=Chevrolet&model=Metro&tri