Carbon Footprints
If you've been reading my blog over time then you know how passionate I am about our environment. Created from stardust over billions of years, our planet has sustained us through our evolution and continues to roll on through space in the face of our disregard.
We hear a lot now about living green and carbon footprints, information that is imperative to our survival. We hear about solar power and wind power, hybrid cars and carpooling. We are told to recycle and rebuild. The list goes on and I support and try to practice every means of conservation available to me.
And while many of you are doing the same, there is a fly in the ointment. Think back to the adds you have seen promoting a cleaner, healthier planet and see if you remember any mention of the rich and their ever bigger yachts that burn thousands of gallons of fuel on a single cruise. Or of corporate big shots and politicians who fly all over the world in private jets only to be driven from place to place in stretch limousines whose daily consumption of fuel would keep our cars going for a week. What's worse, they are usually doing it with our money.
What's good for one should be good for us all and the effort to correct what may be irreparable damage belongs to everyone who breathes our increasingly polluted air. I don't deny privilege to those who have earned it, but not to the detriment of the planet we all call home.
We hear a lot now about living green and carbon footprints, information that is imperative to our survival. We hear about solar power and wind power, hybrid cars and carpooling. We are told to recycle and rebuild. The list goes on and I support and try to practice every means of conservation available to me.
And while many of you are doing the same, there is a fly in the ointment. Think back to the adds you have seen promoting a cleaner, healthier planet and see if you remember any mention of the rich and their ever bigger yachts that burn thousands of gallons of fuel on a single cruise. Or of corporate big shots and politicians who fly all over the world in private jets only to be driven from place to place in stretch limousines whose daily consumption of fuel would keep our cars going for a week. What's worse, they are usually doing it with our money.
What's good for one should be good for us all and the effort to correct what may be irreparable damage belongs to everyone who breathes our increasingly polluted air. I don't deny privilege to those who have earned it, but not to the detriment of the planet we all call home.
Why can Congress make it hard for the middle class to drive the cars they love, and at the same time do nothing about moguls burning thousands of gallons an hour in their Gulfstreams or Lursson yachts? If we're gonna stop our addiction to fossil fuels and clean the air, shouldn't the really rich play their part, too?
Ben Stein
posted by Pam at 1:43 PM
10 Comments:
Yeah, what about that? I saw a show that showed you what we use for diapering one child until 2yrs of age. They put it out on the street for impact and we gasped.
This should be shown and taught in schools.
Holy moley Batman!
At least the rich could buy carbon offsets for their plane and boat trips, but I'm pretty darn sure that few if any do.
Oh, the wealthy never have to do their part. It really does rankle a person. I guess we just have to do our parts and hope that will be enough to compensate for the excesses of the rich. Very thought provoking post Pam. Thank you.
Well said. I think we should start marking flights and trips by the points that increase our carbon footprint. It would look something like what we see on breakast cereal boxes.
Good post. Love the picture! We recycle just about everything--cans, paper, plastic (not glass, yet). The city has given us all two big trash cans, one for recyclables and one for the rest.
The alternative for disposable diapers was no better than the diapers, ecologically. Maybe, like Jonathan Swift said, we should start eating the babies.... :(
Pam, too true too true. The rich sometimes approach things with a sense of entitlement, and that includes over-using precious resources.
Really like this photo as that picture of Earth is a favorite -- it's the wallpaper on my desktop.
You certainly have a point, Pam. Just read an interesting comparison of two homes -- one environmentally conscious, the other not -- surprised me when I read these were the Gore and Bush homes (Kays Thinking Cap blog.)
What I've wondered about for a long time, is all the gas that is burned by the variety of racing cars and those big businesses? Are they environmentally polluting? The noise they produce certainly is.
You really hit it on the head, Pam. I don't know how these people live in their own skin...it is pure greed with a capital "G".
Heedless overuse. I keep thinking about the advances in technology that have powered so many innovations recently. It seems as though we should be farther along with alternative sources of energy that are not so harmful to our fragile earth. But then there's the oil lobby, which is a powerful deterrent.
Isn't that the truth? Thanks for the reminder. I am only at the beginning of my journey to live more consciously. I have you to thank for the encouragement.
Hey, can you please send me your address again and your phone #?
Andrea.paventi@yahoo.com
When you have time and energy only. Go dragon go!
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