Gisho
New member
*steps on soapbox*
Ok, I've been following this thread, and I'm going to speak up and just make a general, philisophical comment.
I'm no scientist, but common sense tells me that we, humans, put billions of tons of pollutants into the environment. I consider all those cars that I see on the freeway every day going to work in the morning burning a gallon of fuel every 20 or so miles, and then multiply them by the millions. When I push my trash out to the curb, I think about the other billions of people who push their trash out to the curb every week. I think, gosh, that's a lot of trash, where does it all go????? How long does that peice of wrapper from the Taco Bell last night take to degrade/breakdown? Is it even biodegradable?
We live in such a disposable society. Sad.
We can argue all we want, and believe whatever scientists/studies we choose, as to the extent and what effect pollution created by humans has on global environmental conditions. But the fact is, that, to some extent, we know we are polluting the earth. My commonsense tells me this. I worry about my kid, and my eventual grandchildren, growing up in a world that is damaged.
Some of you say it may take decades, centuries, 100's, 1,000 or 10,000's of years, but I will always have a memory of my grandfather (who has since deceased) in the Black Forrest of Southwestern Germany taking me to a ridge as a small child and pointing out a row of beautiful trees along the ridge, saying how he could tell that they were damaged by the air pollution from Eastern European contries' factories that flowed to the west with the wind current. (He was a quite a gardener) I didn't believe him at the time. Heck, I was a kid, they looked like normal old trees to me. But guess what, 30 years later I went back and he was right. They are gone. Destroyed. And yes, from the air pollution.
That was over a 30 year period. Healthy, strong trees that had probably been there and thriving for centuries. I don't have an appocolyptic view on this, but that illustrates that yes, dramatic changes can happen quickly. And guess what? My daughter will never get to see those trees.
Do I drive a car? Yes.
Do I run extra electricity for my selfish pleasure of having a pool and fish tanks? Yes.
But, I also vote, carpool every chance I get, go out of my way to seperate my recyclables from the regular trash, turn off unneeded lights, buy captive-bred/aquacultured livestock when possible, etc. etc. Should I do more? Yes, absolutely. But at least I recognize that there is a problem and I can/should do more.
It's about living a lifestyle, and teaching our kids, and teaching our kids to teach their kids, to live a lifestyle that is at least conscious of our impact on our environment. These kids, afterall, will be the politicians and people making decisions one day. It is scary to see the lack of these teachings and utter disregard of the environment. I have a 16 year old, and I see how the majority of her friends and their families have a total disregard for their environment. It's scary.
People that spend so much time and energy trying to prove how little impact we have, or say "well, the earth just goes through these cycles and there's nothing we can do about it" or spend so much time and energy disproving studies/scientists that show otherwise, or at least show that pollution caused by humans have SOME negative impact, are in denial.
Do you believe that pollution caused by humans has some negative impact on the world we live in?
If the answer is "yes", then I guess that is the first step....
by admitting that there is problem.
If the answer is "no", well, then that's sad.
*steps off soapbox*
flame away...
Ok, I've been following this thread, and I'm going to speak up and just make a general, philisophical comment.
I'm no scientist, but common sense tells me that we, humans, put billions of tons of pollutants into the environment. I consider all those cars that I see on the freeway every day going to work in the morning burning a gallon of fuel every 20 or so miles, and then multiply them by the millions. When I push my trash out to the curb, I think about the other billions of people who push their trash out to the curb every week. I think, gosh, that's a lot of trash, where does it all go????? How long does that peice of wrapper from the Taco Bell last night take to degrade/breakdown? Is it even biodegradable?
We live in such a disposable society. Sad.
We can argue all we want, and believe whatever scientists/studies we choose, as to the extent and what effect pollution created by humans has on global environmental conditions. But the fact is, that, to some extent, we know we are polluting the earth. My commonsense tells me this. I worry about my kid, and my eventual grandchildren, growing up in a world that is damaged.
Some of you say it may take decades, centuries, 100's, 1,000 or 10,000's of years, but I will always have a memory of my grandfather (who has since deceased) in the Black Forrest of Southwestern Germany taking me to a ridge as a small child and pointing out a row of beautiful trees along the ridge, saying how he could tell that they were damaged by the air pollution from Eastern European contries' factories that flowed to the west with the wind current. (He was a quite a gardener) I didn't believe him at the time. Heck, I was a kid, they looked like normal old trees to me. But guess what, 30 years later I went back and he was right. They are gone. Destroyed. And yes, from the air pollution.
That was over a 30 year period. Healthy, strong trees that had probably been there and thriving for centuries. I don't have an appocolyptic view on this, but that illustrates that yes, dramatic changes can happen quickly. And guess what? My daughter will never get to see those trees.
Do I drive a car? Yes.
Do I run extra electricity for my selfish pleasure of having a pool and fish tanks? Yes.
But, I also vote, carpool every chance I get, go out of my way to seperate my recyclables from the regular trash, turn off unneeded lights, buy captive-bred/aquacultured livestock when possible, etc. etc. Should I do more? Yes, absolutely. But at least I recognize that there is a problem and I can/should do more.
It's about living a lifestyle, and teaching our kids, and teaching our kids to teach their kids, to live a lifestyle that is at least conscious of our impact on our environment. These kids, afterall, will be the politicians and people making decisions one day. It is scary to see the lack of these teachings and utter disregard of the environment. I have a 16 year old, and I see how the majority of her friends and their families have a total disregard for their environment. It's scary.
People that spend so much time and energy trying to prove how little impact we have, or say "well, the earth just goes through these cycles and there's nothing we can do about it" or spend so much time and energy disproving studies/scientists that show otherwise, or at least show that pollution caused by humans have SOME negative impact, are in denial.
Do you believe that pollution caused by humans has some negative impact on the world we live in?
If the answer is "yes", then I guess that is the first step....
by admitting that there is problem.
If the answer is "no", well, then that's sad.
*steps off soapbox*
flame away...
