Very nicely put, Peter. another important thought is the car/Vehicle
we drive. The country i presently live in is oil dependent using 25%
of the worlds oil resources and producing only 3%. I have my smartcar
on order :)
http://www.smartusa.com/
65mpg v Hummer 5mpg
I love what you have written here, much food for thought and very well
researched....
Martyn
*************************************
Martyn Stewart
http://www.naturesound.org
Redmond. WA
425-898-0462
Make every garden a wildlife habitat
**************************************
Listen to the Birds and the Bees at
http://naturesound.libsyn.org/
On Nov 3, 2007, at 7:41 PM, Peter wrote:
> I know we're going off topic, but to add my two cents anyway. I share
> the pessimisms that has been expressed by many of the people here, but
> I think there's more you can do than you think.
>
> I think overpopulation is a big issue, but I don't think it can be
> tackled head on. I'm a little darwinistic about it. Simply asking
> considerate people not to have children means we'll be left with the
> children of inconsiderate people. In 100 years time will most of the
> young people be those that come from a long line of inconsiderate
> parents? (Perhaps we're already living in that age.)
>
> Some of the biggest challenges that need to be tackled are:
>
> * Seeing the growth of Not Just For Profit (NJFP): enterprise that
> considers the triple bottom line -- that is it measures its success in
> economic, environmental and social dimensions. Start one, join one,
> turn an existing business into one. I don't know.
>
> * Economic measurements fail to include the environment. GDP, GNI,
> etc, don't consider the environment. This needs to change. Hopefully
> carbon accounting is only the start.
>
> * Less corrupt, more transparent government (and industry): Bad
> decisions are continuously made by government due to corruption, lack
> of accountability, and lack of transparency.
> In Australia our old-growth forests continue to be logged for
> woodchip. Port Phillip Bay is about to be dredged despite huge
> community opposition and clear environmental problems. Exmouth Gulf is
> being turned into a 70-km long salt mine. And then there's the hugely
> unpopular pulp mill being built in Tasmania. In many cases corruption
> has been exposed (or been blatant) in giving these projects the
> go-ahead. How do we end corruption in government? Larry Lessig's
> fledgling fight to end government corruption is worth noting:
> http://www.boingboing.net/2007/06/19/lessig-switches-from.html
> http://www.boingboing.net/2007/10/14/lessigs-anticorrupti.html
>
> * Increase our use of renewable energy and lessen our reliance on
> fossil fuels.
>
> * Higher environmental standards for manufacture: To have a bit of a
> rant... My CD player uses 7 watts when playing a CD. That's fine. It
> uses 5 watts when it's on and not playing a CD that's ok too. But
> after you push the "on" button out, and the thing is off and there are
> no LEDs lit and it cannot be awoken by a remote control.... it still
> uses 5 watts. That's about 60 kilograms of greenhouse gases each year
> from a device which is acting like it's off. Then there's another 60
> kg for the washing machine, 60 kg each for the TV, set-top box,
> microwave oven, and just about every appliance in the house. All
> draining power when they're switched "off". Some of the worst
> offenders in my house were the desktop computer (30 watts including
> the screen when off) and a remote-controlled pedestal fan (25 watts
> when on standby). I believe in Europe the maximum allowed is 1 watt
> while an appliance is in stand by. This is pretty obvious stuff.
> Needless to say, we switch appliances off at the wall now. And of
> course this is small potatoes compared to other issues of poor energy
> productivity.
>
> * And the biggest issue (in my mind) is what has been called "Nature
> Deficiency Syndrome" in children, which is countered by "Ecological
> Literacy". I.e. Young children need to experience nature or they'll
> never feel a reason to protect it. To quote from a review of "Good
> News From a Change" (because I can't find the book itself): teaching
> children from early age about the workings of nature by immersing them
> in it, will enhance and spread a new sense of awe, respect and good
> environmental stewardship of the Earth.
>
> Even simply having more nature on television, in movies, and in
> video games would be a huge start. I don't just mean nature docos or
> eco-the-dolphin PlayStation games for nature lovers -- I believe
> giving some focus to plants, animals and natural settings within
> sitcoms, blockbuster all-action movies and first person shooters would
> have a far reaching effect and be a huge start to curing children of
> the Nature Deficiency epidemic and drawing them into the real natural
> world.
>
> * Climate change. Read the latest IPCC report. Just the summary even.
> Climate change is the natural environment's biggest threat.
>
> * Support direct action like tree sits, and confrontational
> environment groups like Sea Shepherd.
>
> End of off-topic rant.
>
>
>
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