Government Conspiracies
Agenda 21, Light Bulbs, and Smart Meters
A
few weeks back I opened the local paper. I was sitting at work on my lunch
break, and as I often do I turned to the Readers Tell Us column, a local
section where readers can call in and leave their personal remarks on local and
national issues. A individual had called in to complain about the current
federal regulations restricting the sale and manufacture of incandescent light
bulbs. This is a complaint that has been
made repeatedly by every one from presidential candidate Newt Gingrich to local
Tea Party groupies. But this time the argument, or compliant, was not about
having his personal liberties encroached by the new restrictions. The
individual was insisting that his home heating bills had increased do to the
removal of incandescent light bulbs from his home. He claimed that the bulbs
had produced so much heat that their absence was causing a increase in his
heating bills.
This
sort of argument is becoming more and more commonplace. Today the New York
Times printed an article featuring a number of arguments about how local plans
to develop green spaces, reduce carbon footprints of local communities, and
even smart meters where all products of a U.N. conspiracy to create a new world
order.[1] In
the past these concerns would have been brushed aside as non-sense. Today with
the growing presence of local Tea Party Groups these sorts of arguments are
having considerable impact on decision-making on the local level.
If
we look to the Chicago-Sun Times we see how misguided such fears are.[2] To
steal a quote Kateri Callahan president of the Alliance to Save Energy, stated:
“There is a lot of misinformation… Retailers
don’t have to take inventories of old bulbs off the shelves. The government is
not going to come into homes to check. ... You’re still going to be able to buy
incandescent bulbs. They’re just going to be 28 to 30 percent more efficient.”
So
the gentlemen above may still not be placed at ease because more efficient
bulbs mean less of the ambient heat that represents the primary source of
wasted energy. Although the pro and cons of ‘light bulb home heating’ seem like
something better left up to the Myth Busters we can rest assured that when big
brother does invade our homes it wont be to check our desk lamps. For the time
being make sure to check out this article and Wikipedia for a break down of the
different kinds of bulbs:
Newt
and his Tea Party fans commonly cite the same UN resolution when defending
their fears of a new world ‘lighting’ agenda. It is ominously titled ‘Agenda
21.’[3]
Apparently no one at the UN has a degree in marketing, because naming your
environmental initiatives in the same way B-movie directors name films is no
way to win over the masses. Upon actually reading Agenda 21 you’ll find a very
vague plan for reducing consumption and limiting development in rural areas.
The plan for in acting this agenda is more carrot then stick. It involves
offering developing countries special financing for local planning and
developing. For big countries it means mostly education and out reach. If this
is the new world order we’re to fear, then we truly have nothing to fear but
fear it self.
That
is simply what most of the Tea Party’s outrage boils down to, blind fear.
Individuals who, do to a lack of education, old age, misinformation from media
and politicians, or simple laziness, lack the ability to adapt to an ever-changing
world. This is not new. It is a story as old as time. People fear change. Therefore
people fear funny shaped light bulbs. What do you fear?
Cheers
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