We're fuct
I finally saw Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth on DVD. I liked it a lot, even when I got really scared seeing all the before and after shots of various land masses and landmarks. Sure, his 10 ways to help the environment are easy to do; however, Americans are self-centered assholes (myself included) and I don't see us changing anytime soon.
Sure, economics has a lot to do with the way we treat the earth. I can't afford a hybrid car, can you? And politics also has a lot to do with it --- birth control is frowned upon (more people means more stress on the planet) while racism (let those people suffer b/c they're not white) and creationism ("god" may have created this place in 7 days, but these folks are ruining it even quicker) run rampant---who has time to worry about the Earth?. Mostly the fact that our government caters to corporations and industry instead of THE PEOPLE has the most effect --- how can we expect our representatives to think of us when they've got oil lobbyists sucking their cocks?
Sorry...I get a bit carried away when I'm upset...
So what can you do? A few things, actually. Sure, you can't singlehandedly control the economy or get your politician's attention these days, but you can turn the thermostat down a couple degrees and put on a sweater instead, take the bus, carpool or drive a more efficient car, or buy products with less or no packaging. (Yep, no more bulk paper towels that are individually wrapped inside another big plastic wrapper!) Of course, you should recycle plastics and paper every chance you get!
So there it is, Gentle Readers. Hop to it. Otherwise, I'll see you in the water lines in 10 years. Ten very very hot oppressive years...
And yes, I know Al Gore owns stock in oil. He's not perfect. But then again, none of us are.
3 comments:
Al's documentary sounds interesting.
The benefits of recycling are vastly exaggerated if not downright wrong. See Penn & Teller's take on it. Penn is obnoxious, but the show's informative.
I used to watch their show when I had Showtime and found it humorous, but extreme. Penn is the guy who'll argue until he turns purple if he has to, just so he'll win. There's nothing wrong with that, but you're right -- he can be quite obnoxious.
I'm still going to recycle. Why make more plastic when you can reuse the plastic we already have? Glass? Not worried b/c there's plenty of sand to go around. Paper? The less packaging, the better. Recycling paper may be costly, but not recycling it kills more trees and fills the dump just that much faster...
My 38 cents. It's good to hear from you, Rup!
Just finished watching the recycling episode. As usual, they kick the extremists to the curb. That's fine with me, as I believe moderation is the key to keeping a balance.
However recycling is not itself a bad thing, nor is using less. Again, I think it comes back to economics and political will. It is the will of the people to consume however much they want, when they want. Recycling some cans makes people feel good and productive after consuming. Unfortunately, the money that municipalities lose on recycling waste can't be put toward other environmentally sound efforts like mass transit, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods.
So, recycling may not be the answer to the Environment's prayers. I'll give you that. Sadly our super-sized society doesn't see that consuming more and more is the real problem.
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