Thread: Environmental Impact

Originally Posted by FUD

As for the overpopulation thing, GREED is more of a factor damaging the environment than people. Westerners think the world is a disposable resource (in general) and prove it by the average lifestyle. It's one of the effects of the disease of industrialized capitalism. But that's a hotly contested debate all by itself that I'll try not to digress with here.

Glen, we may not agree with much in general, but you're making some great points in this case. Our economy and society are built on greed labeled as "freedom." "Freedom" in this case refers to freedom to accumulate money even if it causes irreparable damage to people and the environment.

Originally Posted by idaho mike

"The battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the 1970s and 1980s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now. At this late date nothing can prevent a substantial increase in the world death rate..."

Nice quote from "The Population Bomb" by Paul R. Ehrlich.

The real looming population problems are more akin to the Clash of Civilization type as Europe grays and continues to import its workers from cultures at odds with its own. How many cars burned in France on New Year's Day? China also has set itself up for an interesting future with the wildly distored male/female ratio brought about by its opressive one child laws.

So true, Mike - it's good to see a broader perspective on this.

I read not too long ago that Germans will be a minority in Germany within 50 years if the current population trends continue, and saw just within the last week or so a program being initiated by the government there to encourage people to have children. It seems that the cost of their social welfare programs is so high that most couples can't afford the loss of income required to raise children, so the proposed solution is to give those couples back some of their money for one year when a child is born.

Of the endangered countries of Europe it seems that only the Netherlands has taken a strong position so far in preserving their culture from a growing immigrant population that shares few of it's values.

As for China there's a gap right now in the population of middle aged people resulting from the cultural revolution, and many feel that the best and brightest at the time were the ones killed. Future social and political issues related to a large segment of the male population that won't be able to find wives or have families are hard to predict but it seems unlikely that any positives can come from such an unnatural imbalance.

Overall basic environmental issues faced by the western democracies pale in comparison to those found in China, former eastern bloc, and 3rd world countries based on what I've seen with my own eyes.

Getting back to your original question, there are many things that can be done.

1. mulch your lawn clippings back onto your lawn instead of bagging and tossing
2. plant only native plants and shrubs (occuring naturally from within 50 miles of your home) in your yard
3. consider driving a hybrid car (not really an option for me, but my wife likes hers)
4. try not to shop at MALWART if at all possible
5. if you start to get discouraged, read this

Some lesson's I've learned...

1. don't put flourescent lighting in any room with high humidity (bathrooms with showers, etc.)
2. check local laws governing composting before putting up a bin
3. nearly all things organic and environmentally friendly are 3 times more expensive

-Fred

Originally Posted by drsch3

... nature will pick from a list of solutions such as war, disease, starvation, unless we do something first.

We're too stupid collectively to do anything proactive about it. Interestingly enough, economics seems to be having a large impact as population growth is actually decreasing now.

X

http://www.defenddemocracy.org/in_th...attrib_id=7372

This is a very interesting article on a strategy for moving the US toward energy independence. As an added bonus, the resulting environmental impact will be improved as well.

What I like best about this approach is its recognition of how a market driven economy works. Like it or not, our energy is tied to business and business has to make money at the end of the day. Alternative energy has to be competative before it will every work in the real world.

I really like the reusable grocery bags...this has been bothering me for a while...hopefully I can find something good. I also reuse water bottles for a while so that I waste less plastic. I only buy 100% recycle paper products. Of course I shoot around at least 10,000 rounds of lead bullets a year...but with the new technology hopefully the green rounds will be affordable soon...

Oh ya...and Im about as right wing as you can get...can still be conservative and care about the planet...just cant let any of my friends see me hugging a tree or anything

Honestly if you shoot into a berm, a huge percentage of the lead is salvageable. You just might have to add some antimony to the alloy if you want it hard enough to cast. The lead from jacketed rounds is really pure and too soft to use on its own.

I wonder how much study of those green bullets has actually been done to assess their long term impact as they degrade and infiltrate aquifers etc. at least the lead usually stays put long enough to recover.

Originally Posted by JLStorm

I really like the reusable grocery bags...this has been bothering me for a while...hopefully I can find something good. I also reuse water bottles for a while so that I waste less plastic. I only buy 100% recycle paper products. Of course I shoot around at least 10,000 rounds of lead bullets a year...but with the new technology hopefully the green rounds will be affordable soon...

Rounds with wooden plugs for heads and mulch for powder?

Originally Posted by JLStorm

Oh ya...and Im about as right wing as you can get...can still be conservative and care about the planet...just cant let any of my friends see me hugging a tree or anything

Great joke I heard in a cabaret performance:

Treehugger: Do you ever listen to the trees?
Builder: Yes, when they are crackling in the hearth