Testing. tap. tap. tap.
I've been meaning to do this for a long time. For ages I've been collecting articles from various news sources, reading sites like treehugger and terrapass, and aggregating information. Knowledge is power right? I've been trying to answer a few basic questions by observing a particular sector and pondering what I see.
The sector is (big surprise) green technology. The data points are many, and the observations are tentative.
My two primary questions are:
1. How did we get to where we are now? This question explores the link between childhood obesity and the war in Iraq. I will attempt to examine how western culture has dug the bottom out of its own hole of consumption, leaving us to free fall.
2. What can poor people do make a positive impact on the environment? Less ethereal, and more practical, this problem explores the essential dilemma that going green costs money. It's easy for some people to junk their'87 blazer and get a prius, but for a hefty percentage of Americans, that kind of change just isn't feasible. Some people can afford to put solar panels on their rooftops, or change every lightbulb to a compact flourescent, but many cannot. While it may be true that the more money you have, the more energy you tend to consume (=bigger carbon footprint), I think it's wrong to assume that poor people don't care or wouldn't change if they had the option.
I expect that there will be a lot of people who will find fault with what I have to say, and that's fine. I'm interested in hearing other input. It would be nice if it could remain civil. I will point out here that I am not a "crazy lefty liberal." I am politically fairly moderate, a tad on the liberal side. I love my country. I'm willing to observe its faults and still love it. I believe very firmly in the principles on which it was founded.
I will also state in no uncertain terms that I believe that global warming is being caused by human activity. I read something the other day that says that only 21% of Americans believe this. You know what though? Science is not a democracy. You don't get to vote on facts. Scientists who know a damn site more than I do about climatology overwhelmingly concur that global warming is our fault.
So, over the course of however long this lasts I'll be posting links to articles, maybe occasionally with some analysis. We'll see what happens.
The sector is (big surprise) green technology. The data points are many, and the observations are tentative.
My two primary questions are:
1. How did we get to where we are now? This question explores the link between childhood obesity and the war in Iraq. I will attempt to examine how western culture has dug the bottom out of its own hole of consumption, leaving us to free fall.
2. What can poor people do make a positive impact on the environment? Less ethereal, and more practical, this problem explores the essential dilemma that going green costs money. It's easy for some people to junk their'87 blazer and get a prius, but for a hefty percentage of Americans, that kind of change just isn't feasible. Some people can afford to put solar panels on their rooftops, or change every lightbulb to a compact flourescent, but many cannot. While it may be true that the more money you have, the more energy you tend to consume (=bigger carbon footprint), I think it's wrong to assume that poor people don't care or wouldn't change if they had the option.
I expect that there will be a lot of people who will find fault with what I have to say, and that's fine. I'm interested in hearing other input. It would be nice if it could remain civil. I will point out here that I am not a "crazy lefty liberal." I am politically fairly moderate, a tad on the liberal side. I love my country. I'm willing to observe its faults and still love it. I believe very firmly in the principles on which it was founded.
I will also state in no uncertain terms that I believe that global warming is being caused by human activity. I read something the other day that says that only 21% of Americans believe this. You know what though? Science is not a democracy. You don't get to vote on facts. Scientists who know a damn site more than I do about climatology overwhelmingly concur that global warming is our fault.
So, over the course of however long this lasts I'll be posting links to articles, maybe occasionally with some analysis. We'll see what happens.
Labels: primary questions
posted by jason at
11:46 AM
Sphere: Related Content
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home