tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358732432220961823.post8004938354120686919..comments2017-05-10T13:47:48.648-07:00Comments on Gumbies! On! Crack!: I Hate The Environment.Butch Hillhursthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06351152440526017834noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358732432220961823.post-59339001492003552282012-06-28T10:09:12.671-07:002012-06-28T10:09:12.671-07:00Sadly, 'Butch', all your points are valid....Sadly, 'Butch', all your points are valid. So it comes down to priorities and willingness to change. No, I can't make everyone else cut back at the same time as me, so it might seem like what one person does has little effect. Except as more people see that alternative life, they make some changes, and the accumulated effect is beneficial to all. Think 'tipping point'.<br /><br />Our consumptive lifestyle is not sustainable, which isn't just a buzzword. A recent article in Terra Eco (a French alternative magazine) said that we will run out of many elements in the next 10 to 50 years. We will have run through all the copper that is economically extractible, all the nickel, all the rare earth elements, all the silver. And then good luck on making those high tech toys with a reasonable price tag. Why is it happening? We can't be bothered to recycle any of these materials and bury them or wash them into the ocean.<br />I think the only realistic driver of behaviour modification will be cost. It won't likely be green policies; no government will try to deprive its citizens of this 'good life' if it wants to be re-elected in 4-5 years time. So they pretend to take meaningful steps while it is business as usual. <br />Of course you can have some of your great life and switch in some things that could make you just as happy. Cutting the airflights would be a low-hanging fruit, as would cutting meat consumption (not 100% but significantly from the typical North American diet which is simultaneously killing us).<br />It comes down to personal drive, personal ethics. Let's hope we all wake up soon from this ridiculous dream of having it all which is toasting our one and only home.<br />Dave<br />daveway (at) hotmail dot comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com