Current Environmental Movement

[TromboneAl]

I'm always interested in movements or fads in this country. Everything from freeway shootings to shark attacks in Florida to homelessness to save the whales.

The current one I see is the environmental or green movement. A lot of posts here about it, and major news stories on TV. The last big environmental movement was in the early 70's, right? Some good came of it, but then the national consciousness moved elsewhere after a year or so. I'm guessing it will be the same this time.

[Celany]

Call me an optimist, but I think it'll be more far-reaching this time. I wasn't really around for the last movement, & don't know so much about it, but I think that this movement has more scientific data behind it. There are still people who argue that global warming is a myth, but there are less of them. I believe the Kyoto Protocol would be considered part of the movement, & I don't think that's going to go away in a year or so.

Myself, I'm easing more into the environmental movement. I buy a lot of organic produce & I'm aiming to buy more & more each month. I'm also trying to buy more from farmer's markets, but it's often very hard to buy both local and organic (as I'm sure many of you know).

As the nasty cleaning supplies get used uo, I'm buying better ones, or experiementing with white vinegar & water solutions. I've got those nifty energy-saver lightbulbs in every fixture that will take them. & I'm bringing more of my clothing back from the laudromat to airdry around my apartment, instead of using the dryer.

I don't see myself buying a home anytime soon, but if I do, environmental concerns will be included in my home-buying priorities. I've love to add solar panels to a home, & sell back energy to the electric company.

I'm not so fond of handing over my head-earned $$$, but I do believe in letter and/or email writing.

When I invest, I generally do index funds, but I'm considering buying some stocks of excellent environmental companies, as a way to show support. I probably wouldn't include those in my portfolio, per se. I don't necessarily expect them to earn my money or finance my retirement (though I'd love it if they did!). But I think buying them would be a good show of support.

[lazygood4nothinbum]

i didn't realize there were any sharks left.

from what i've read, regardless of what steps are taken, the earth will continue to warm over the next 100 years. so against the forces of habit, of laziness and of greed, which has had a little bit of a head start, it will be hard to get momentum going for an environmental movement strong enough to save lifestyle as we know it when the best case scenario seems to be not preventing oceans from rising but from rising too much or not stopping the earth from warming but simply hoping it goes back to normal sooner rather than later, say in 200 years rather than in 500.

not that humanity shouldn't find something cleaner than fossil fuel. i just think that decision will be one day forced rather than volunteered.

[greg]

Al:

I think it's different this time :--seriously. I think in the 70s when we had the last big oil price run up, many of the alternatives we have now weren't available. We only had the option of buying a cramped little four cylinder foreign car or an American V-8 land yacht. Now I see other possibilities such as a large SUV that may be able to tow AND hold half a boy scout troop. It may be possible because of hybrid technology or thru the ability to cruise on four cylinders with a light load. Lots of much better alternatives nowadays. These alternatives will increase and choices will be less black-white.

The same with electricity and alternative energy: In the 70's the only real choice was to rip out the interior of your house and add a bunch of insulation , switch to a wood stove , or turn the temperature way down in the winter. Not pleasant choices for many of us, much of it driven/forced by economic considerations. Not fun. Simple solar panels attached to a house or the building of windmill farms may in the future actually drive the price of electricity down from today's prices dependent on a huge coal and oil industry that is sort of laying waste to a potentially nice clean environment. And we just transport the windmills once instead of building and managing and keeping up a rail road line or other transport mechanisms for oil and coal, etc..

I see a lot practical value coming out of new technologies during this go round. If the alternatives come easy, which I think they will, and the economics are obviously tilted toward a cleaner environment, then things won't fizzle out like the 70s. . . . :P

[Mwsinron]

I have become "more green". It makes sense to me to conserve and take care of our environment.

[greg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mwsinron I have become "more green". It makes sense to me to conserve and take care of our environment.

I don't have kids but still think it's a good idea.

[bright eyed]

i think the education and awareness had some affect - but now some of it is more because we just plain have to change our habits. people/kids are getting sicker and fatter- more cancer, autism, asthma, obesity (who hasn't been or won't be affected by one of those) etc. our reliance on oil has pulled us into tragic and wasteful conflicts...

weather has been extreme - at least perceived to be.

so regardless if you "believed" or not, the people saying it doesn't matter seem more fringe now because folks are seeing that things are actually changing and us humans are going to have to adapt whether we like it or not...

i think the newer enviro story won't be about saving the planet - but saving ourselves!

[maddythebeagle]

Yeah, I would say that it is a fad perpetuated by Hollywood liberals and the media

[lets-retire]

Al--I believe the focus will move on in a few years. Mainly because it cannot be scientifically proven that human's emissions are a major reason for global warming (please don't hijack based on this comment).

Although the good that will come from this will be in the form of a cleaner environment, I will be glad when the hysteria is over. I thought it was interesting. I went to an attempted suicide where the person had sealed up her car rather well. She took a hose from the exhaust and put it through the window and sealed up the window. In the interviews after she was found it was discovered that she had been sitting in the spot with her engine running for about four hours. She didn't even have the headache, common with carbon monoxide poisoning. I think this is telling about how much cleaner the cars we are driving now compared to the ones a decade or two ago. Several years ago she would have been very dead.

The alternative energy sources that will be developed in the name of stopping global warming will help kick start research into clean and possibly longer lasting forms propulsion. If you look at the space program we haven't really done anything of note since we developed the reusable space craft. That was back in the '60's/'70's. Maybe this global warming idea can improve propulsion for more mundane forms of travel and can be also used in the space program to make progress there.