Keep on keeping on nature recordists! Sorry to sound cryptic, but answers
to these dilemma's are in the listening.
Perhaps in the activism too.. That's our role. Dig in, get out. RECORD!
Thanks for bringing this up... I think there is a great horned owl that
needs its voice heard in four hours... :)
Toby
On 11/3/07, Martyn Stewart <> wrote:
>
> 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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