dont say something, do something.

[weltanschauung]

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/regional_editions/globe_west/west/pile%20of%20garbage.jpg

http://kassandraproject.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/air-pollution-systems.jpg

http://www.portaec.net/library/pollution/fish_dying_pollution.jpg

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44236000/jpg/_44236841_spill_beach_ap.jpg

http://static.guim.co.uk/Guardian/news/gallery/2007/dec/10/1/[email protected]

http://www.magazine.ucla.edu/exclusives/air-pollution_cholesterol2.jpg

http://www.extinctearth.org/inform/images/Obvious_water_pollution.jpeg

http://www.freewebs.com/hoseo_environmental_club/Dead%20Fish%20Afloat.JPG

http://www.the40yearplan.com/img/102307_water_pollution.jpg

http://www.liverpool.nsw.gov.au/LCC/INTERNET/RESOURCES/IMAGES/Water-pollution.jpg

http://www.worstpolluted.org/files/FileUpload/pics/2008-Individual-Page-Images/sewage,%20surface%20water_Guinea.JPG

http://www.scienceimage.csiro.au/sio2004/index.cfm?event=site.image.thumbnail&id=4470&viewfile=f&divid=BU

http://www.naturvern.no/data/b/1/06/39/6_2701_0.jpeg

http://www.bloggingbeirut.com/images/july06/airPollution1L.jpg

http://www.enjeux-internationaux.org/Images/favela.jpg

http://reciclato.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/no_lixo_brasil.jpg

[Zee.]

I hate threads like this. No attack on you but in general, i dislike them.

What can you do? nothing. In reality, you can't do a thing. It's between the states.
Maybe if the UN got their act together and realized this whole idea of giving 5 countries veto power is stupid - they'd might have a little more control over things.
It's all a power play.

[Joreads]

Lim I understand where you are coming from but:-

It only takes one person to make a small change to have a big effect. Start to recylce yourself become more aware and then start talking to your friends about what they do. Small steps I know but if we fix our own back yards we can start throwing sticks at everyone else. Making people aware of the issues is the biggest challenge. Once people know they act.

[Chava]

All nation states of the UN are responsible to their populations, without a shift in public mentality, why should they fight for change in the UN? I will leave this now before it gets political, sorry Mods.

[Zee.]

I agree with you Chava, and yeah - ill drop it. Political talk gets nasty

[Scheherazade]

weltanschauung>If you like to share your opinions, please do so through worded-arguments rather than providing images through other websites' bandwiths.

Otherwise, this thread will be closed.

[weltanschauung]

do what you must.

[weltanschauung]

I hate threads like this. No attack on you but in general, i dislike them.

What can you do? nothing. In reality, you can't do a thing. It's between the states.
Maybe if the UN got their act together and realized this whole idea of giving 5 countries veto power is stupid - they'd might have a little more control over things.
It's all a power play.

its not a one day thing, its a lifestyle. the small things.. recyling trash in your neighbourhood, not using plastic bags in supermarkets, not buying products that are scaringly not biodegradable, not being a consumer tool etc etc...
if youre young, what are you gonna do with your carreer? instead of devoting your life to marketing, or fashion, or any of these things that are the source of all destruction, why dont you devote your life to do something that will make the world better? alternative sources for energy, biodegradable plastic and products, doctors, you name it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvbgetKzrmA

its not between the states, the states have never and will never care.

[Chava]

Weltanschauung, I'm with you. I wish more people were aware of their surroundings, and aware of the things they can do to change. My point about the UN earlier was exactly that you can't expect them to make agreements about something like this. No country is going to surrender their national sovereignty for an international agreement, and untill then there will be no binding agreements, just look at Kyoto. So it really is up to individuals; joining grassroot organisations, vote for the people you think can change things. Obviously we all have a responsibility as co-inhabitants. Things I do here, affect the lives of millions on the other side of the planet.

Besides, the VETO right is only in the security council, this is all stuff for the ECOSOC, GA, or other committees. :) It was created by the UN creators, the original five as a means of preventing one country from just going ahead with international security issues. It is also only agreements made in the security council that are legally binding and have real ramifications.

ANYWAY, mods, please let me know if this is way out of the bounds of the forum. My point is just, yes there are many things we should really help out with as individuals, particulairy in this case it is hazardous just to expect someone else to take responsibility. It's your earth, and you get to decide what you want to do with it. Both ecocentrics and technocentrics. :)

[oopsycandy]

There is such a huge amount of conflicting information about global warming, recycling etc etc.

Whos to be believed? It just seems like something else for governments and councils to write about, argue about and throw money at.

[Whifflingpin]

"There is such a huge amount of conflicting information about global warming, recycling etc etc.

Who's to be believed? "

There is, however, a sort of Pascal's wager that applies here for individuals.
Act as if you believe in the global-warming argument and you will waste less and improve the quality of life all round.
Act otherwise and you will continue to be wasteful and (if the global-warming scarers are right) you will help to destroy lifeasweknowit.

[The Comedian]

What's the focus of this thread? Is it about personal responsibility for the environment?

I compost, use energy efficient lighting, live close to where I work, buy local produce (and grow some too) and buy local meats.

All this said, I do leave an ecological footprint, and I'm sure there are ways that I can better respond to the environment. For example, we tried cloth diapers for our kids, but eeewwww. . . and not enough time because we both work full time.

[Zee.]

A lot of things to do with the environment do not rest on the individual. I don't think people realize that.
Look at massive TNC's - such as Shell, and their damage to Nigeria ( i think that may be the photo with the fish ) the oil spills have been devastating.
A lot of the pollution today is out of the power of the people. That's the way it is.

[Chava]

So be a concious consumer. Who else can stop the big transnational cooporations? Here recently a lot of 'green' energy companies have been founded, and people can switch to them without any additional costs. Often the energy is more expensive, but it is your choice to look into it. Same goes for organc foods, not eating food that has to be transported half way around the world. If the consumers don't provide a market, then that's the end of it. It may sound like this is unacheivable, and it is certainly not something that just one person fixes over night, but populations change perception over time. Denmark has certainly been going in the right direction lately, and largely due to public pressure. I think it's too easy to just reject responsibility; it's not the way it is.

It all goes back to, what sort of a world do you wish to live in, and how much are you willing to do to help create it.