Going Green
I try to gather as much serious information as possible about the world at large in the form of news and reports, but of late almost everything coming in is about "Going Green" and it is a bit whimsical now because specific news comes like this:
* Going Green with Real Estate
* Green Clothing
* Green Sports Equipment
I mean what do they want, everyone to turn into a tree and start exchanging carbon dioxide for oxygen? Flip, bring down the dang oil prices and alternative fuels that you green lovers have been tingling with and causing food prices to go up and flour / rice to go scarce.
Nevertheless, let us face it, Green is here to stay. Let me send Question on this, he will of course be very good at asking the "green" questions.
International Level: International Guru / Political Participation: 3231 100%
Uhmm JB its not about being a tree its about building and using items that are less polluting and use less fossil fuels and electricity so you can have a tomorrow that every building is not built above a toxic filled land site and the air is not a world wide smog belt.
Green is used a reference because well ti reminds us that we are killing off the vegetation which kills the oxygen and air filters that are a natural part of the atmosphere. Also we get pleasant thoughts when we think of greenery in general.
Yes unfortunately the word is severely over used to described any item that there is a good environmental impact to those that it is barely measurable.
Check out Chicago and some of its truly green projects, they put underground transit in to accommodate more parks and plant life. That to me is a good green project. Very expensive but a nice concept that might work. The city its self also built some very interesting building that are made from more friendly building materials that are recyclable when the building needs to be removed as well as more energy efficient. (Yes some use the word green to describe higher energy efficiency but to me that is incorrect as it is not rebuilding the environment just polluting it less.)
So why the push for green because we are so far into the destruction of our atmosphere that all we do now needs to be focused on stopping our bad habits and creating better ones and it also is the current FAD or TRENDY thing TO DO. But like I said too many people do not understand green means no oil usage and replanting not reducing pollution but stopping it. So perhaps they should be saying buy my house it is more economical over its life span thus you have more money for gas for you car .
International Level: Senior Politician / Political Participation: 188 18.8%
Yes, I understand the concept, do not agree with the whole "Green" idea because they 'help' in one place and cause trouble in another, but that is another Thread, my point was the use of the word "Green" in every news clip and Ad promotion. Like I said, check Question he has it down and some of the responses are already... well... quite interesting.
International Level: International Guru / Political Participation: 3231 100%
I agree with you JB the people who use green on some of what they do are hurting others in another place. I hope that someday "Going Green" will mean so much more than it does now.
Yes green solutions we have right now are full of issues but are they worse or better then what we are currently doing?
I think the problem is you can not group them together and make general comments.
Recycling is a green issue so is composting along with the much debated grain fuels. One of the three in this case is bad they others are better then past practice though they also have issues. The real green solution is to stop all fossil/nuclear fuel based industries and pick up a wooden shovel and start farming.
I do not understand how green housing is whimsical. It is a sound improvement on past practice, not perfect solution I agree.
I am missing the reason for the whimsical feeling toward improving what we do.
Maybe I should be asking in particular beside the grain issue, why are they whimsical?
I am curious as one one my focuses where I work is energy conservation. So yes this likely taints my thoughts in some aspects. Understanding yours and Klar's view points is beneficial to me in placing information to our customers.
I do it very hard core on a one on one basis as I find that works best. We have a new manager how ever who buys into these adds being done by the energy board that places adds on tv like put up your washing line. I am still fighting to be allowed to even have one due to municipal buy laws.
I dislike much of the run of the mill advertisements because they only save the Ontario Power Generators money not the customer is a significant way.
International Level: Senior Politician / Political Participation: 188 18.8%
Granted some green ideas such as composting has been around for a long time and is a proven way to get some good out of it plus if you harness the gases coming out of the composting you have a power source. Methane gas can be used to fuel some other possible green resource like recycling maybe.
I think that as time goes by we will see more green or planet friendly ways of doing things. Right now the main one that is not harming others is the use of composting. I would love to see ethanol being made from switch grass instead of corn to make more ethanol without taking food away from people.
Some of these 'green' products are just to make the consumer to feel good about themselves. For example recycling, think of the process of recycling, picking it up in a garbage truck, which consumes gas, putting it in the recycling center, which takes a lot of energy to break the garbage down, in fact, I've heard that soda cans is one of the only things that makes makes money recycling it then it takes to break it down. If you really care about being 'green' then think of all the things that you use, like shampoo, toothpaste, or soap, it takes you, at most, 1-2 years to use, but the packaging lasts 500 years in the landfills, talk about anything BUT being green.
Several posts have mentioned it, but I will be clear, some of these 'green' things, like ethanol, which is made from corn, isn't really 'green', when you consider the fact that it takes, nearly 80-90% of energy to make energy.
If your concerned about going green then don't buy electronics, like TV's, dvd players, digital pitcher frames, they are on, using power, even when they are off, it is called vampire power, since it sucks power.
Write to your local leaders, get them educated on this issue, remember that there are special interest groups, like gas companies, that make a LOT of money for people NOT to use any alternative fuels. In America, the government is trying to make laws to 'punish' people for using energy, gas, and so forth, yet they aren't punishing companies, like car makers, for NOT being 'green'. You can't convince me that the largest, gas guzzling, vehicle, can't be made to get 40 or more miles per gallon. Right now the best gas mileage for a full sized truck is 19-20 miles per gallon. American car companies, GM, Ford, Chrysler; got a government bailout, yet, there was no stipulations for the companies to upgrade their factories, so they can make more profit making 60-100 miles per gallon vehicles.
International Level: Politics 101 / Political Participation: 6 0.6%
You are very correct haleray mostly all we see is smoke and mirrors with no real improvements in the commercial area. packaging all on its own is down right scary. I think the best example of that is children s toys. A 3 inch toy will produce 100 to 1000 times the waste per unit volume of the toy.
International Level: Senior Politician / Political Participation: 188 18.8%