Who's to blame, consumers or industry?

[spacefiller]

There is a growing trend of placing responsibility for environmental stewardship on consumers. Ironically, consumers buy it.

Forget Shorter Showers

Thoughts?

It's funny, when governments actually do step up to regulate, it's to ban plastic shopping bags, or bottled water, or incandescent light bulbs - as if these items in particular play leading roles in the wasting of the planet.

[glarmph]

Everyone is to blame, for everything.

[UltraShy]

Seems to me the government is a major consumer (read: waster) of oil and pretty much everything else.

How many miles per gallon do you get with a tank that weighs 35 tons and has a 1,500 hp engine?

And how many seconds does it take for a fighter jet to burn a gallon of fuel?

Seems like playing war wastes considerable energy. Perhaps we should enforce mileage standards on tanks rather than cars. Or not playing war might work even better.

[glarmph]

Originally Posted by UltraShy

Or not playing war might work even better.

That one right there should do it.

[nubly]

Originally Posted by glarmph

That one right there should do it.

im all for stamping out global terrorism.

[glarmph]

Originally Posted by nubly

im all for stamping out global terrorism.

Stamp out terrorism which in turn saves the environment. Everybody wins.

[KyleThomas]

Originally Posted by glarmph

Everyone is to blame, for everything.

While the sunshine, the moonlight and the good times all have strong alibis, I have my suspicions about the role which the boogie played in all of this....

[Kelly]

Originally Posted by nubly

im all for stamping out global terrorism.

That's not what they're talking about.

Have a nice day,
Kelly

[UltraShy]

Originally Posted by nubly

im all for stamping out global terrorism.

Every one of the 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. While Iraq is in the same general area, it misses the mark considerably.

I'm all for not making America & all Americans targets for terrorists, as we have so long been doing with interventionist policies that greatly upset extremists. Of course, America wouldn't likely be happy if say, Canada, decided to build a military base in the US. Can't imagine who other nations don't enjoy it when we do the same to them.

[TiMeZuP]

Originally Posted by UltraShy

Every one of the 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. While Iraq is in the same general area, it misses the mark considerably.

I'm all for not making America & all Americans targets for terrorists, as we have so long been doing with interventionist policies that greatly upset extremists. Of course, America wouldn't likely be happy if say, Canada, decided to build a military base in the US. Can't imagine who other nations don't enjoy it when we do the same to them.

Sounds like something I would say. It is no wonder many folks in the world hate us. We need to focus more on domestic issues and let the UN deal with international stuff. If the US wasn't playing the game of "Risk" with other nations soil, more then likely there would be less hositility towards the US. In my humble opinion the US should stay out of foreign soil and ONLY involve itself in foreign matters when the security of the nation of under direct attack. FCC the U.N. and the USA needs to stop trying to be the UN on its own.

[pyramidsong]

I think both. Governments and industry certainly exploit demand, but if people weren't so lazy and apathetic and became active, critical, ethical consumers then half the demand would be eased. Nothing talks as loudly as money so if people just used their money more judiciously, industry (and therefore government- let's not be naive about who answers to whom) would be forced to listen.

[Micronian]

Bad article

Personal change can indeed bring about social change. Why? Because the home is the center, the birthplace, of civil society (also known as culture). The activities, behaviour, expectations, parenting, that comes from the home is the reflection of the larger society in which you live--and the government, which facilitates all these expectations and works to reproduce them over and over.

It's possible, then, to change behaviors in the home in order to change policies of government. It would be like throwing a monkey wrench in the "home" side of the cycle. The obviously difficult part is that millions of households would have to change behaviours/expectations in order to affect government. Government has an easier time to place its will on the home. And,of course, change happens generationally rather than immediately.

The article has a very ominous, hopeless, tone to it. It's as if they thought changing the world was some quick button push, and presto!

[UltraShy]

Originally Posted by TiMeZuP

Sounds like something I would say. It is no wonder many folks in the world hate us. We need to focus more on domestic issues and let the UN deal with international stuff. If the US wasn't playing the game of "Risk" with other nations soil, more then likely there would be less hositility towards the US. In my humble opinion the US should stay out of foreign soil and ONLY involve itself in foreign matters when the security of the nation of under direct attack. FCC the U.N. and the USA needs to stop trying to be the UN on its own.

Some like to pretend we have/had a coalition in Iraq, even though it's almost entirely US forces fighting a war started by Bush and continued by the US Congress. Why is policing the world our job? If other nations care, let them do it.

The US gets into trouble by getting involved in the battles between others that are none of our business. We aid Israel because they are our "ally." I'm not sure what they're doing for us; I guess ally has come to mean any rare nation in the Mid East that doesn't chant "Death to America!"

This is like seeing two of your neighbors who have been fighting for years arguing in the street with both of them waving knives at each other. Want to jump in the middle so you can get stabbed? If your name was USA that's what you'd do and then you'd be stumped as to how you ended up with numerous stab wounds.