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George Carlin - Saving the Planet

Dadniel2 HN recommenders · recommended in 2 months, 2014–2024
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comedy · general · evergreen · 2014–2024 on HN

George Carlin's stand-up routine arguing the planet will be fine and it is people who are in trouble. It mocks the idea of saving the planet.

HN quotes it in environmental threads as a famous, darkly funny take that the planet will outlast humanity.

12 comments from Hacker News

@kbr20002020-09 · in “Sir David Attenborough makes stark warning about species extinction”

Hey, you can be proud for having spent time thinking about it to start with. And for having tried! Feeling responsible for it yourself alone is not necessary, it's bigger than that. Here's a thought or two by Attenborough on overpopulation, one of the drivers of these problems [0] The problem will solve itself however (with certainty), and I cannot explain it better than George Carlin [1]. Enjoy! [0] link [1] ▶ this video

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@radiorental2019-01 · in “Insect collapse”

I view our success as a product of evolution. It is the driving factor that got us down out of the trees, cultivating our food and to where we are today. Would we be putting a little less pressure on the environment without people like Edward Bernays, possibly. However, I think our collective consciousness can put itself a little at ease. As we enter the 6 mass extinction event, it's a natural cycle and if it wasn't us, some other species would dominate the planet. It's never a bad time to listen to George Carlin's "saving the planet" ▶ this video

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@latexr2024-10 · in “Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid”

> It will solve itself, nature adapts fast Indeed. The first step is for the planet to get rid of the pesky pollutants, perhaps by way of launching several “natural disasters” such as mighty strong winds, excessive floods, and particularly pesky deathly organisms. Then it can deal with plastic at its leisure. ▶ this video

@Gravityloss2022-03 · in “Antarctic sea ice hits lowest minimum on record”

Now have time for a longer reply. There are a few different phenomena. First is that "fear" and "anxiety" are indeed used by the news media or politicians to get more attention. There I agree. It is cheap, unsustainable and harmful. But there's more to glaciers than news fearmongering. The second concept is "the planet doesn't care". George Carlin has his famous skit. ▶ this video Of course life will continue on earth, after relatively large temperature swings or 10 kilometer asteroid hits etc. That doesn't mean we don't need to care about anything. His skit can be seen as a wake up call (which he might or might not have meant). Why would we do anything? Why would you recycle instead of dumping plastic bags in the river? Why would you put the safety on in your gun? The planet will be fine even if you blow your leg off. But you will be affected. It's the people that are f.... That's the punchline. But I also disagree about his "don't meddle with nature, let the species die". If we change something, let's say, dump cyanide or mercury in a river, it's not "natural" for animals to die downstream. It's not "nature doing its thing". It's our responsibility. It's an untenable philosophical position to do something and then act as if the consequences don't have anything to do with the deed. But that's not the core point of the skit. So about caring. If there was an asteroid headed towards earth, I'd care. Yes, it's happened before, and life has survived. But I still care. It would have gr

@346792020-09 · in “How Big Oil Misled the Public into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled”

George Carlin: "And if it’s true that plastic is not degradable, well, the planet will simply incorporate plastic into a new paradigm: the earth plus plastic. The earth doesn’t share our prejudice toward plastic. Plastic came out of the earth. The earth probably sees plastic as just another one of its children. Could be the only reason the earth allowed us to be spawned from it in the first place. It wanted plastic for itself. Didn’t know how to make it. Needed us. Could be the answer to our age-old egocentric philosophical question, “Why are we here?” Plastic… asshole.” Full text: link Video: ▶ this video