Nov 13 2008
What consumer action do you think does the most damage to the environment and how could we fix it?
rodneycrater asked:
We have to be fair here. We as consumers do a lot of things that add to the degradation of our environment.
We have to be fair here. We as consumers do a lot of things that add to the degradation of our environment.
This could include exhausting or releasing or creating as a byproduct - pollutants, green house gasses, toxins, excessive heat, or any other harmful item or even using too much energy to perform the process, or wasting too much raw product or natural resource.
What do you think the worst thing is and how can we fix it?
5 Responses to “What consumer action do you think does the most damage to the environment and how could we fix it?”
using plastic products and not recycling them. plastic does not decompose like natural organic products will eventually do. people keep on using it and wanting more of it so factories just keep on making it and when we’re done with it we just throw it away which just causes a build up of useless plastic material that won’t go away. it’s a vicious cycle.
(1) Having unprotected sex, which leads to the production of nasty little rug rats who eventually grow up into consumers.
To fix: reduce population growth.
(2) Living in single-family suburban homes rather than apartments. This makes mass transit impractical, and thus it is the source of all of the complaints related to motor vehicles. Further, it destroys green space and native vegitation.
To fix: A federal real estate tax to tax single-family homes out of existence.
I think driving cars is probably the most harmful daily activity we do. We drive for recreation; we drive when we could walk or ride bikes; we don’t car pool; we drive gas guzzlers that pump noxious fumes into the air. I think if consumers put pressure on lawmakers and car makers to speed the production and efficiency of alternative-fueled, cleaner vehicles, it would happen sooner than it is now.
The simplest thing to do is to drive a hybrid car. It will just about halve your CO2 output and costs nothing over the life of the car. In fact you may save a few bucks. Number two is to recycle.
The easiest way to clean up the environment in the US: take your own re-usable bag to the grocery store when you buy something. Plastic bags are made from natural gas. Paper bags are made from trees. A re-usable bag that is made from fiber can be used over, and over, and over, and over …… and ….. no natural gas, no trees are ever used. The plants that make plastic bags and paper bags are mostly using fossil fuels. If you use a canvas, or woven fiber bag for you groceries each and every time you go to the store and encourage your friends/ family/ acquaintances to do the same …. perhaps we can save the trees and natural gas for some better use.