As you know, BMG received a credential from the Democratic Party to cover the convention in Denver as MA’s representative in the “State Blogger Corps.” We are very excited about this unique opportunity — as members of the State Blogger Corps, we will be seated on the convention floor with the rest of the MA delegation, giving us unparalleled access to the folks who represent all of us at the convention.
However, traveling to Denver and living there for four days will not be free, and blogging remains (at least for us) a largely volunteer endeavor — our modest advertising sales help us defray day-to-day costs, but sending three bloggers to Denver for a four-day event is the biggest and most expensive thing we’ve undertaken (so far). So … if you felt like throwing a few bucks our way to help defray the costs, we’d be most grateful.
Donations are of course not tax-deductible or anything like that.
Thank you!
UPDATE [By Bob]: In response to the excellent observations below, I just wanted to note for the record that we will purchase a $50 carbon offset from Carbonfund.org to help support their reforestation efforts. Three round-trips to Denver will produce approximately 7,000 tons of CO2; a $50 donation will offset approximately 11,000 tons of carbon, according to Carbonfund. Now we can discuss whether carbon offsets are useful, or a modern form of indulgence, along with everything else.
It would be a good gesture. Ask a delegate to blog about it on BMG for you.
Skewel Zombie would be there, I totally be into your idea, dude! Qwalitie rep-PARTAY!
but whatever – why the heck should David, Bob and Charley fly to Colorado? It’s not worth the jet fuel. It’s not even worth tuning in the television.
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p>Who gave me all those “worthless”s? It’s ironic, because I think my comment could save this community three round trip plane tickets and three(?) hotel rooms.
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p>What the heck does anyone imagine is gonna happen at the convention that we can’t read in the one line headline of the Globe the next day? Will there be drama? Intrigue? And the intrepid BMG Three are going to be the ones to break the story? Come on, it’s not even worth watching on TV or reading about in the paper, it’s a completely archaic formality: People give speeches, Obama gives speech, is nominated, he and the VP candidate holds arms up, balloons are released. I don’t even think the delegates should have to go these days. It’s worse than an NBA game.
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p>Dudes, just stay home, and don’t ask anybody for scratch, that’s crazy.
Careful, and your envy is showing. But no matter. Believe it or not, I agree with you to a certain extent. I can completely understand why all 3 would want to go. I would too if I had the opportunity. But the triple redundancy isn’t very carbon neutral. I’m saying that seriously, not as a trollish nudge. On the other hand, for all I know, these guys have been conserving fuel to more than make up for what their flights will use. So this trip could be a relative carbon sink. Let us hope so. Let us also hope that no matter who goes has the time of their lives. This will be a landmark day in US history.
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p>p.s. Bob, Charley & David: don’t forget to wear your “LGBT Ally” buttons. Represent us well (please)!
that the answer to global warming is going to come from government, not individuals. Asking people not to fly for trips that are serving mostly as a fun mini vacation (of which I would say the DNC is for party activists) is akin to the spam I get about having a national ‘let’s boycott gas station’ days. No, we need wind farms, electric cars (screw hybrids), and government-mandated energy efficient appliances… not removing the fun from our government activism (of which fun is always a necessary component, lest we completely give up to paid special interests).
is organizations implementing policies that encourage people to carpool by raising the price for parking, that’s for damn sure. [/snark]
Think globally act locally. Is that why while George Bush’s ranch is a model of environmental conservation and Al Gore has one of the largest carbon footprints on earth you skewer Bush and lionize Gore. Hurry Ryan cover up your hypocrisy is showing.
I wonder what the carbon footprint is for the war in Iraq? I’m sure the environment in Iraq has felt no adverse effects since March 2003.
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p>Gore is so much worse for the environment than Bush. Our president is a regular Captain Planet.
Kind of like Deval’s 20 Accomplishments Old College Tries.
It’s funny how Ryan’s comment about air travel to the party’s national convention and it’s impact on the environment turned into random, disjointed pot shots at Al Gore and Deval Patrick. Eabo, it’s like you’re not even trying anymore. It’s like saying, “Hey, the Celtics are on tonight. And speaking of Black men who play basketball, Barack Obama is a Marxist.”
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p>Change the subject because you have nothing substantive to say.
Al Gore’s home is LEED Gold certified. One of only two in all of Tennessee as of this past March.
Before he made the modifications it wasn’t. I apologize.
…this talking point was thoroughly debunked the first time around (Oscar time Feb 2007) and discussed here. Perhaps you conveniently forgot?
Eabo, like many a right winger, is impervious to your “facts”. To Eabo and crew, Al Gore is the American Ayatollah of man-made global warming – a scientific fraud that is believed by such gullible moonbats such as John McCain and Newt Gingrich.
back to whether it makes any sense whatsoever for any bloggers to go to Colorado for the party convention.
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p>Come on, they’re all anti-SSM bigots anyway, like John Kerry. Why would you want to party with the DNC? It’s not in the spirit of blogging, which is supposed to be done in your underwear at your kitchen table, or by participants. This is a corrupting offer to be a VIP and part of the mainstream media. It will cost lots of credibility.
I’m looking forward to reading about our Three Amigos’ adventures and exploits and Denver.
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p>Typically, I have no desire to ever attend either party’s national convention, but considering this election cycle has already been incredible and abnormal, considering the 2008 Democratic Convention’s historical significance, and considering that BMG is invited and has a purpose to serve, yes, if I were in the Editors’ shoes, I would want to go. I think I’d want to go even if I was a Republican just observe and enjoy the electricity of the moment.
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p>As far as credibility lost, I don’t have a crystal ball. To say that registered Democrats who have worked hard for Democratic presidential and local candidates and run a Democrat-oriented blog will lose credibility by stepping foot in the DNC is silly. It’s not like they’re MSMers who go to barbecues at the McCain compound; they’re proud Democrats going to the most important Democrativ convention perhaps ever. I’ll let the quality of their DNC reportage and commentary speak for their credibility, but I suspect that their DNC dispatches will be of the same excellence that earned BMG it’s current reputation.
I wonder which other media sources will send three or more reporters to cover this event? I actually don’t know how many staff typical operations have. Hundreds for CNN, for example? Dozens? How about the Globe? More or less this year than in the past? What about the Phoenix, for example?
It’s called “being realistic.”
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p>We can beat back Global Warming, but the actions of individuals aren’t making a dent into it. I’m glad people – including me – make these small sacrifices every day, but the truth is the answer is going to lie in government regulation.
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p>Want less people driving cars? Then we need a public infrastructure that can support it.
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p>Want to be using less coal and oil? Then we need energy efficient cars and homes – none of these McMansions and policies steered by the Government for smart growth.
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p>We can have our cake and eat it to, but we need to be organized as a society. It doesn’t make sense, to me, to start complaining when people take a plane to Denver for a vacation, or driving to the city of Lowell instead of searching for hours to find a car-pool partner (to answer Stomv’s criticism). These are things most people are going to do anyway and, if we complain and bicker, the best we can possibly hope for is to turn people’s activism off. However, if we instituted government policy that improved public transportation or lowered the emissions of planes, for examples, then we’d be doing a load of good.
State and national governments are not going to do anything significant until they identify the parade and then get in front of it (note recent inaction at the federal level). The most significant efforts are being made now at the individual and municipal levels and while they will not be sufficient to get the job done, they will provide the impetus to get the higher levels of government moving.
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p>One benefit of a visible person saying “I’m not going to XXXX because of the carbon emissions impact” is that it is going to surprise somebody to hear that – a new idea that many people do not consider when making travel plans.
has caused several of my neighbors to reconsider their waste of money and resources. Personal actions can really make a difference, especially among those prone to Sheeple Syndrome. Ryan is right that we need good national policies, but Jasiu is also right in most political leaders follow from in front.
about the olympics and olympians, who for the most part have to come up with the cash to fund their trips as well (unless you’re michael phelps, in which Visa will do that for you). I’m not going to watch Speedwalking and neither is 95-99.9% of the country, yet to the people who are speedwalking it’s pretty damn important. 99.9% of the country may not watch the majority of the DNC, but to those involved it’s pretty damn important.
the olympics are a terrible waste and utterly bad. nationalistic and eugenic and corporate. Athletic competition ought to end with local champions, there doesn’t need to be one, there can be many.
Please describe to us your personal lifestyle? Do you drive a car? Do you ever leave your house? Do you ever visit relatives in other states? Do you ever travel to meet new people, experience new cultures and learn new things? Is everyone in the world just supposed to stay only within walking distance of their own homes?
I agree with Ryan that “the answer to global warming is going to come from government, not individuals.”
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p>It’s not useful to just cry “hypocrite” every time someone says that things should be different than they are. Of course I am an American with American habits, I shower too often, drive too much, etc. I will surely be punished in the Climate Trials of 2027.
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p>So enough about me, the Olympics is a wrong-headed event that should be forgotten about and boycotted. So should party conventions.
they are going to Denver. And it seems to me that those of us who take advantage of their blog should be willing to contribute a little to lessen their expenses.
Should I give my money to cover unnecessary expenses by people who run or own other things I use? Send a little cash to my landlord this summer for his vacation?
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p>I really think they should send a message to the DNC and the rest of the blogosphere by staying home.
but I don’t get much use of your blog.
“John Kerry, Anti-Gay Marriage, Anti-Massachusetts” while they are blogging at the convention and let’s see what happens.
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p>I will donate two hundred dollars if they promise to do that!
without any “John Kerry Anti-Gay Marriage Anti-Massachusetts” sign holding contingencies. The service that BMG provides to all of us especially those of us (like me) who at times requires a little extra boost getting our voices heard is a valuable and important one.
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p>Thank you David and BMG for what you all do. I hope this little bit helps.
I like John Kerry, but I do think he should support marriage. (What’s wrong with marriage for heaven’s sake? I can’t understand why anyone should oppose marriage.) In any event, I’ll talk with David and Charley about your request. I was wondering yesterday in a conversation with David about what a “sign” is: is a two-inch square note mounted on a toothpick, for example, an illegal sign according to the Mass. Democratic Party Convention rules? How about a balloon with a message on it: is that a sign? What about a homing pigeon with a small note attached to its foot. What if one gets a personal sign professionally printed in a sign factory: is it still “home made.” The mind reels.
Personal Activism like this and standing by ones actions like Aaron Toleos did is a heroic action. When I suggested you guys carry a sign like this, it was only in jest — unless you really embrace the idea of course. BMG going to the Convention is important in its own right, and I am happy to help out in my small way. Forget about the sign.
they’re often considered signs by the bush administration and high school principals.
Know that they are probably true believers and pure as the driven snow, but you’d probably be better off buying $50 of CF lightbulbs than wandering into the questionable area of purchasing carbon offsets.
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p>http://www.motherjones.com/blu…
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p>http://www.washingtonpost.com/…
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p>Just one man’s opinion…
Buying a CFL to replace the light in your attic that is on for 10 hours a year isn’t likely to be an ecologically efficient investment. The odds are too high you break the dang bulb moving that box of Christmas ornaments sometime in the next 20 years, rendering the lifetime of the CFL bulb too short to provide ecological benefits as compared to it’s price.
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p>Interestingly, if we ever get a decent cap and trade carbon bill passed, sequestering carbon will be easy: you just buy up carbon pollution permission slips. By buying a 1 ton carbon credit, you guarantee the reduction of emissions by 1 ton per year in America.
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p>I do think there is a place for carbon credits in today’s USA marketplace, and I think that native energy is one of the best out there. They buy the RECs early in the process, and while their dollar contribution to the total project cost is small, their early involvement allows the project to get started, often gaining other grants along the way. Plus, they tend to work with small dairy farms [under 1000 cows] as well as with Native American tribes, two groups who contribute to local culture but who are disappearing all too quickly.
The skeptic in me kicks in with these carbon trading schemes. If I was as scam artist, this is where I’d be focusing my efforts. Forget the war driving and tapping into servers; you’re going to have guilt ridden folks willingly throwing credit card numbers your way. Off to the races, and who’se going to be checking to see if you’re actually going to be accomplishing anything (see WAPO link).
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p>I try and research charitable organizations before throwing my money their way, as I want to make sure that I’m getting my bang for the buck. Rule number 1 (and this goes out to all of those police/firefighters telemarketers) is if they want to come pick up the check instead of having it mailed, hang up. Sure sign of someone trying to avoid mail fraud charges.
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p>Rule number 2, do research to see how much of their revenue is actually going to help their purported cause. Not sure if you followed the comments section of the Mother Jones’ link I posted, but eventually if you get over to Guidestar (you’ll need to register for free) you can access the 2006 Form 990 of Carbonfund.org. Revenue over 700k and actual expenditures on carbon offset projects of $127k doesn’t’ meet my test of validity or an effective use of my charitable donation.
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p>Real “Green” savings will come in this country not out of guilt but rather saving of green dollars, given high energy prices.
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p>If you really want to “offset”, don’t use the stuff in the first place and continue to make your donations. For these Hollywood types to assuage their conscience over hyper use of energy by buying carbon offsets is the ultimate fraud. If you really want to do something practical, don’t use the energy in the first place. I think reducing rather than offsetting is the ultimate good cause.
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p>Just my two cents.