movielib

Just a reminder that the Penn & Teller Bull **** season finale is on Showtime tonight at 10:00pm CDT (11:00EDT).

This is the one I've been looking most forward to because I think environmentalism, for the most part, has become pseudoscience at its wackiest and most harmful.

Here's a link to today's show:

Environmental Hysteria

Groucho

I'd watch, but if I turned on my television I'd be using valuable resources.

This is the one show that makes me wish I had Showtime. I hope it comes on DVD.

Red Dog

I have high hopes for this episode. It should be pretty easy for them to put these wack-jobs in a bad light.

Wizdar

Well, I work for a firm dealing with environmental issues, mainly groundwater and soil contamination. I don’t consider our work to be “wacky” in the least.

Oh, you mean the nutcases who ride around in rubber boats and sit in trees? Never mind.

I just got Showtime, so I missed all but the first one. I’m assuming/hoping they will be rerun, giving me something to look forward to late in the season.

The skewering they gave to chiropractors was priceless.

movielib

Of course there are legitimate environmental concerns. I have no doubt you're doing good work.

Unfortunately, the "movement" has been taken over by the wackos and it is publicized by their willing pawns in most of the media with indoctrination provided in most of the schools. It's very sad.

wildcatlh

I have no doubt this show will be on DVD at some point. I'd get it in an instant. It's the only reason I subscribe to Showtime.

wildcatlh

This is a f'n awesome episode so far. (I do love the dihydrogen monoxide petition. )

Wizdar

LMAO!

Reminds me too much of my hippie days. Well, OK, I was never that radical, but I knew people who were. Thought they were wackaloons then, think the same of these nutjobs now.

The broad who couldn't seem to put together a coherent sentence needs to get laid.

Red Dog

Good stuff. Laughed my ass off when the one idiot said that Florida would be gone in 50 years.

The dihydrogen monoxcide bit reminded of me of when Jimmy and Adam from The Man Show were getting women to sign a petition to end women's suffrage.

I would like to give the spokeswoman the benefit of the doubt and say that P&T hammered her with questions. However, those were some pretty basic questions they asked. The ending was classic.

movielib

Wow, what a great show! They saved their best show on a very important subject for last. Their experts: Bjorn Lomborg, Patrick Moore and Jerry Taylor made mincemeat of the environmentalist alarmists who just made claim after claim they couldn't back up.

I would recommend to everyone Bjorn Lomborg's book that was mentioned on the show:

The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World

Red Dog

496 pages! I don't want to hurt a tree. Actually, I definitely will check it out from my local library.

das Monkey

• Quoth Red Dog •<HR SIZE=1>The dihydrogen monoxcide bit reminded of me of when Jimmy and Adam from The Man Show were getting women to sign a petition to end women's suffrage.<HR SIZE=1>

Same thing I was thinking about. "Stop women's suffrage!!! Poor women are suffraging all over the country, and it has to stop!!!!"

This episode beats home the reason why I rarely take notice of protesters of anything that's politically attractive. I don't want to turn this anti-war/pro-war, but those environmentalists remind me of the anti-war protesters I've encountered here in Atlanta recently (note, I'm not saying anti-war is a bad position, just that the protesters don't know what the hell they're talking about). Wanting to protect the environment = good. Wanting peace in the world = good. And in every movement, there are plenty of protesters who are not only passionate but very educated on the topic for which they fight. But for the most part, 90% of these people just want something to do, a community to be a part of. Marching on the evil government makes them feel important.

Penn hit the nail on the head talking about our inherent instinct to want to make the world a better place as the primary motivation for most of these people. It's a shame they don't channel that energy into causes with a foundation in reality and based on actual facts.

das

movielib

Penn & Teller made a mistake by saying Earth Day started in 1971. Actually, it started on April 22, 1970. At Northwestern University, which I had graduated from the year before, they kicked off the modern environmental movement even before Earth Day on Friday, January 23, 1970, which happens to be my birthday (1947, not 1970). I was there with my then girlfriend who was a sophomore and I heard speakers talking about and Tom Paxton singing about the environmental disasters that were coming, none of which did. I actually believed a lot of that crap then.

I found this reminiscence by someone who still believes that crap:

Earth Day: From the Beginning - recollections of Charles D. Sigwart

Numanoid

Oh boy. One thought I had while watching this episode (let's call it the "Clueless Hippie" episode, since that what it pretty much was), was that one or more of the Other forum pro-war folks would use this as a springboard to comment on the anti-war protestors. One does not necessarily have to do with the other. I could point to the Flat-Earth society and claim that any group who publishes a newsletter is populated by lunatics. Not that there aren't a lot of followers in the anti-war crowd, but, let's face it, there are just as many, if not more, in the pro-war crowd. It's always a lot more fun to be on the popular bandwagon. But let's keep this a discussion about the Show's topic: the environmental movement.

I thought the episode was great. Really exposed not only the followers in those particular groups at the rallies (who were for the most part just kids who you wouldn't expect too much from), but the older, more "respected" folks who should be able to back up their arguments much better. You could tell Penn had a lot of sympathy for the protestors (perhaps prompted by his own past history with the movement), as he acknowledged their well-meaning zeal and really treated them with "kid gloves". He saved all the name calling for the older nuts who should know better, and probably do.

Best line (regarding dihydrogen monoxide): "no matter how much you wash your fruit, you just can't get rid of it".

das Monkey

• Quoth Numanoid •<HR SIZE=1>But let's keep this a discussion about the Show's topic: the environmental movement.<HR SIZE=1>

As with all these episodes, there's a dual topic: the people who know better who intentionally spread these lies for profit or political gain, and the people who don't know better who dedicate their lives to following along. Like you noted, they treat the former group with anger and disgust and the latter group with "kid gloves."

To me, the latter group is more compelling. What makes people turn over their hard-earned cash to these charlatans (pet psychics, anyone?). What makes well-meaning individuals dedicate their lives to a cause without spending half a moment to actually research that the cause is predicated on lies.

Anyway, if anti-war is too sensitive a topic for you, pick something else. I don't care. I just picked it because it's current. The point that a significant portion of the episode dealt with is the typical ignorance and herd mentality of ANY protest regardless of the merits of the cause being protested for/against. It could be a very valid cause or a complete load of crap; either way, the overwhelming majority doesn't seem to have a clue ... they just get in line and shout slogans. I'm reminded of the SNL sketch where McConaughey couldn't get his rally organized because no one knew what they were actually protesting and were just there for the sake of being there.

das

Josh-da-man

I hate to bring this up, but most of the anti-war protestors come off as being of higher intelligence, rationality, and independence than most of the pro-war protestors. Most of the pro-war protestors I've actually seen are rednecks with beer bellies and dirty hair holding up a pieces of cardboard hastily emblazoned with things like USA #1.

Probably not the example you could use to make your point.

das Monkey

Ugh ... nevermind. Just replace the phrase "anti-war" with "pro-widget" ... it doesn't matter. "USA #1" ... "No Blood For Oil" ... "Stop the Suffraging" ... "Ban Dyhydrogen Monoxide" ... mindless signs are the hallmark of all protests.

das

P.S. We went to war; why would anyone protest for it?

dgmayor

My favorite Anti-war protestor that they interviewed on CNN said "I support our troops. I support us bringing them home and making them teachers."

That sounds intelligent and rational to you? I'm sure all you have to say is that's just one person, you can't judge a whole by its parts, etc etc.

Lets just agree to disagree and return to the topic of Penn & Teller.

MrBob

My favorite part was when they showed the bitch that lived in the tree, going on how she doesn't use wood and thinks paper is bad. Then while she was ranting they showed her home movie footage of the wood she used for her tree house. That was great, damn hypocrities.

das Monkey

• Quoth MrBob •<HR SIZE=1>My favorite part was when they show the bitch that lived in the tree, going on how she doesn't use wood and thinks paper is bad. And while she was ranting they show here home movie footage of the Boards she used for her tree house. That was great, damn hypocrite. <HR SIZE=1>

Check out my website www.bantheinternet.com and purchase my book, "Printing Books is Murder."

das

Josh-da-man

Truth be told, I think that anyone walking around and protesting with a sign, for whatever reason, is probably a little goofy to begin with.

And, for what it's worth, the "peace" protesters weren't shouting obscenities at me for not honking to support them.

One of the guys had this sign, that said something like "HONK IF YOU SUPPORT THE TROOPS" or something like that. I don't play that game; I only hit the horn if I'm pissed at someone or to get their attention. So the mental reject starts calling me an ***hole and a bunch of other crap. So I gave him the finger and drove away when the light changed.

But, hey, that's just MY experience.

Spiderbite

Actually, I felt sorry for him. I was actually taught this by a teacher back in 9th grade. She was an Alabama history teacher (go figure) but would tell us things like Florida was sinking into the ocean and would soon just drop away. The only cool thing about that was that we would then get water-front property!!!


She also told us that Calfornia was going to soon break off from the U.S. and become an island. She said that this was all facts and I am sure she is still teaching this today wherever she is (shudder). This was around 15 years ago.

Great episode. This is the best original show on Showtime. I love "debunkers."

GeoffK

Loved the Ban Dyhydrogen Monoxide
The Rainforest Action Network 'Spokesperson' was a riot.

Great Epiosde!