08 December, 2009

Burning the candle at both ends

I read in the local press about a Dubai resident who is organizing a ‘candle light vigil’ on Umm Suqueim beach tonight to raise awareness for climate change. But actually, she doesn’t want to just light candles. What she really wants is to save the planet. The organizer encourages people to bring along families and friends. To save the planet or light candles; I’m not sure which.

I believe you’ll find that you don’t actually need candles on the beach next to Jumeirah Beach Hotel and the Burj Al Arab. The area is usually well lit by several thousands of metal halide floodlights of the hotel grounds, so ‘Hopenhagen’ won’t have trouble finding its way here.

But anyway you should go and help her light a candle. You know deep down that you are making a difference. For example to the small grocery on Beach road that sells candles.

And when you reach there please note that there is ample parking for your 4.8litre Range Rovers and 5.6litre Ford Exhibitions close by.

31 comments:

Kyle said...

Hey Nick:

Admit it!

You're just jealous because she got the invite to burn the midnight oil - oops I meant a skinny candle while you didn't!

Hey, by any chance does that grocery sell perfumed candles? I just might stop by with my kids and add some aroma to the ongoing frolic!

Anonymous said...

this is too funny...i fell off my chair laughing!

Dubai Jazz said...

Nick,

I understand your sentiment on the hypocrisy. So please don't go to the vigil.

But I'll also assume that you aren't suggesting climate change is a hoax. If you are, then maybe going to the vigil could help.

Para Glider said...

The planet's perfectly safe. It's just some of the life on its surface that is in danger...

hemlock said...

i want to save the dollar (pun intended).

Dave said...

Nice night for it too, as long as you don't mind sucking in the sand.

Darko said...

How does going to a vigil help save the planet ?
While we're at it how does taking a walk find a cure for cancer ? How much money actually gets raised for these things (is that even done in Dubai) ?
Raising awareness sounds nice, but seriously, does anyone need to be aware of cancer ?
Actually you know what raises the most awareness and money for research of any given disease ? I have an answer for this one: when a celebrity gets it ! Not many people gave a rats arse about Multiple Sclerosis till lovable Michael J Fox got it. Not that I have anything against MJ Fox, he sure can draw in the research money, in fact more celebrities should be given diseases to help research !
Let's expand on this idea, let's send all celebrities to live on a melting iceberg in the arctic ! Move over polar bear...

Al Gore said...

You people are taking this global warming, polar bears, ice melting, Maldives sinking etc etc very lightly, aren't you?

Have you'll not seen what global warming symbolizes in 2012 & The Day After Tomorrow or was it the day after? I can't remember which day it was but that is what I am talking about, one day.

You've been warned :/

P.S.: Both those movies were crap but you'll got the picture of what's to come, I presume!

hut said...

Jazza,
Climate change is no hoax; it's a reality. In fact, it's been happening on this planet since millions of years. Climate is changing whether we like it not. it is changing whether we drive cars with 8litre engines, or solar powered tricycles; whether we light candles to raise awareness or stick them up our arses.
There is no conclusive scientific evidence showing global warming to be MAN MADE.

(NB: The curent 'Climategate' scandal in the UK actually proves otherwise. Namely that statistics have been doctored with for years by scientists with an agenda. there isn't even proof today that worldwide temperatures have risen in the last twenty years at all!)

That's the issue: We, as human race (plus all the farting cows and sheep on the planet) have very little impact on the changing climate. It just changes.

Kyle said...

Nick:

You might enjoy reading this. All that in addition to those candles in town.

Anonymous said...

Wow! What a move!
I personally admire her intention, but as you say, the area chosen does raise some weird questions: Why Jumeira, and why not Rolla, or Ajman, or anywhere else? Why on earth lighting a candle? Wasn't there any better way apart from burning paraffin or wax?
Perhaps the reason doesn't connect to changing anything, except her own status - leave alone an awareness for climate change! Perhaps she belongs to that fabulous herd of "Jumeirah Jane" which dotted the Dubai coastline once, and who later moved towards JBR, Marina, Arabian Ranches, - and most of whom have taken the first opportunity to scoot when the recession landed in Dubai last year!
I am pathetically chauvinistic perhaps, people like her just want any ***king reason to talk about, get media and blog coverage, just to keep their own candle burning somehow! Not with a wish or effort to really do something more effective.

Dubai Jazz said...

Nick,

When addressing a scientific issue, I'd like to seek scientific answers. Not politically motivated editorializing.

What does science say?

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=seven-answers-to-climate-contrarian-nonsense

As for the hacked email joke, or what the right wingnuts like to call 'climategate', please watch this video by a UK scientist, it addresses the 'controversy' very well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nnVQ2fROOg

Anonymous said...

I am mystified that people continue to take as fact the unproven claims of the various government spin machines and their paid scientists, do you really believe that these scientists on the various governments/UN payroll are unbiased?

Over 31,000 US scientists have rejected the theory of AGW, of which you can find a summary here http://www.petitionproject.org/review_article.php

And

“Environmental Effects of Increased Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide”

http://www.oism.org/pproject/s33p36.htm#Message5975

The reality is the earth is coming out of the last ice age and is getting warmer with or without our help, and yes, the seas may rise but switching off all the lights won’t stop it from happening.

hut said...

global warming

y a w n

Lirun said...

:)

Dubai Jazz said...

Anon 4:13

Do you understand what scientific consensus is?

"These basic conclusions [of the IPCC] have been endorsed by more than 40 scientific societies and academies of science, including all of the national academies of science of the major industrialized countries."

Dubai Jazz said...

Also, Anon, here's what SCIAM had to say about your pitiful petition:

Scientific American took a random sample of 30 of the 1,400 signatories claiming to hold a Ph.D. in a climate-related science. Of the 26 we were able to identify in various databases, 11 said they still agreed with the petition —- one was an active climate researcher, two others had relevant expertise, and eight signed based on an informal evaluation. Six said they would not sign the petition today, three did not remember any such petition, one had died, and five did not answer repeated messages. Crudely extrapolating, the petition supporters include a core of about 200 climate researchers – a respectable number, though rather a small fraction of the climatological community.

Kyle said...

Dubai Jazz:

One of these days when you have the time, do try and browse this site:

http://www.globalwarmingisnotreal.com/

I'm not saying it's hokey but there's something in there from a layman point of view that makes one re-think.

Honestly speaking, I would rather have a second opinion instead of simply accepting one side of the story. That is the reason I am presenting you the flip side.

P.S.: If you also have any sites that you find informatively interesting, please post links. Thanks :)

hut said...

Jazza,

Your reading comprehension seems to be suffering from all those shishas. Nobody with more than one braincell disputes climate CHANGE per se. It's normal for climate to change -honestly, don't fret over it.

You can cite youtube videos as much as you like (as scientific proof?) but there is NO scientific consensus that this change is MAN MADE.

Dubai Jazz said...

Kyle,

Thanks for the link. I will sure check it out more thoroughly this weekend. (but to be honest, it reeks of conspiracy theories like those sites for 2012 ..etc..)

Also, I will certainly share any more links should I come across anything worthy. :)

Dubai Jazz said...

Nick,

You are in a bit of a bind, aren't you? it's easy to pick up on couple of people organizing a vigil at some beach. But then you made a fool of yourself by claiming that climate change isn't man-made (yes, I read you clearly the first time), and that there is no scientific consensus on the subject... blah, blah .

Well, I guess your word on that matter is as good as Paris Hilton's.

As for scientific consensus, when 80-95% of the world's MDs (in this case, climatologists) diagnose you with a serious illness, and then the other 20-5% say, "nah man, you're fine", I guess you're stupid enough to follow the minorities' opinion, aren't you?

nzm said...

There's a whole lot of sense in this slide deck to start with.

nzm said...

Al Gore is now also on record to admitting that rising temps cause CO2 emission increases, and not the other way around, which is what he based his whole movie on.

Dubai Jazz said...

NZM,

Al Gore isn't a scientist. And that statement is an oversimplification of something much more complex.

In other words, CO2 does not initiate the warmings, but acts as an amplifier once they are underway. From model estimates, CO2 (along with other greenhouse gases CH4 and N2O) causes about half of the full glacial-to-interglacial warming.

http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2004/12/co2-in-ice-cores/

Dubai Jazz said...

To lighten up the mood, here's a good link pertinent to the subject.

(little NSFW)

At least we know the delegates are feeling a little 'hot' in Hopenhagen ;)

Kyle said...

Reposted via Bulaman over at wattsupwiththat.com

Courtesy: Anna Raccon/ Gloria Smudd

Nopenhagen: Hell no!
Gropenhagen: Go those free hookers!
Brokenhagen: What we all will be after this lot!
Jokenhagen: It aint funny!

Plus others?

hut said...

Jazz,

I think you still miss the point. I may think that climate change is not necessarily man made. That's why I don't light candles on the beach. ( do my own bit to reduce pollution and waste because it's good for us and our planet and its natural resources, not because it may 'reverse' climate change.)

What I WAS MAKING FUN OF (Jazz, habibi, you understand now?) is the stupidity of someone who apparently believes that humankind is to blame for climate change and as a reponse to this decides that lighting a candle on a windy beach might be a really good idea to change this...

hemlock said...

brilliant! so much information sharing. i just hope you havent been googling it.

Anonymous said...

The best thing to do now is to shove this climate & warming talk on the sidebar, where it rightfully belongs. Lest we forget, nuclear energy is the new alternative energy of the future. So, welcome to the new world's future editions of Chernobyl, Three-Mile Island, et al.

In other news.

Is anybody here following the Tiger Woods story? You know the one where he was caught with his pants down during an orgy. Damn, this guy's a loser to have gone fishing when he had a woman in his house. Anyways, now that major sponsors are pulling the plug on him, Gillette being the most recent, what would be Dubai's repercussions considering there's already a Tiger Woods project on the drawing board?

Dubai Jazz said...

Nick

"If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging."

Dubai Jazz said...

http://bit.ly/4mQ1oi

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