Enviromental Insight Assignment

[Khalifa]

Hello Gents, you know how much i love you all..so hook me up with some insight.

This is the question for my research paper

"Individual responses to environmental issues hold the key to resolving looming environmental crises, yet we rely on governments, corporations, environmental groups and technology". Critically discuss this statement.

Common boys, brainstorm.

 

[brehme1989]

Just a couple of brief points.

People are like sheep, they want a leader to tell them what to do and how. The majority of people would never try to do something that others won't do so it goes like a cycle.

Also, people depend on those corporations, organisations and governments etc... But only a few will follow the environmental group(which usually protests against the latter). If the government forces everyone to be environmentally aware, it'll take them 2-3 years to make them change. So it's the governments that holds the key imo

 

[Khalifa]

Thanks Yuko...common guys, more insight. this could be a perm thread.

 

[Kato]

individuals generally think they alone will not make a difference, so generally do nothing about it..

IMO one can't work without the other.. Govt etc cant do it without cooperation from individuals and individuals won't make the first step to doing anything without the initial push from the other factors

 

[Khalifa]

so what? no one cares about the environment here?

 

[Miki]

We're just too preoccupied with our daily lives to bother about the environment. It is a daunting task to rid the planet of its problems, and most of us are already burdened with issues in our personal lives to concentrate on an eventuality that seems too distant.

Moreover, one normally thinks an individual effort is microscopic in its contribution; we therefore look towards government bodies and agencies to spearhead these aspirations.

I'll come up with more points if they come to me.

Ciao,
Tim

 

[shahz_nerazzurri]

I am sorry, but I spent my spare time and money, smoking, drinking and peeing behind the trees, rather than worrying about the environment.
I pay taxes, and thats why I think its government's responsibility to clean after my pee.

Hope that helps Khalif.

 

[Miki]

I am sorry, but I spent my spare time and money, smoking, drinking and peeing behind the trees, rather than worrying about the environment.
I pay taxes, and thats why I think its government's responsibility to clean after my pee.

Hope that helps Khalif.

Man, you aren't just ignoring the problem, you're contributing to it! K ought to file you under the hazardous pollutants section.

Ciao,
Tim

 

[Khalifa]

I am sorry, but I spent my spare time and money, smoking, drinking and peeing behind the trees, rather than worrying about the environment.
I pay taxes, and thats why I think its government's responsibility to clean after my pee.

Hope that helps Khalif.

Shazzy, that helps, as proof to the human being's reliance to authority.

Any more tips guys? Good points Yuko / Timmeh.

 

[Hammoudi]

I don't know about other towns, but in Toronto now they have this rule whereby you need to sort out your garbage into organic, recylable and garbage.

So I am sort of forced to care about the environment. I have three different garbage bins to get rid of the waste with. I have to say that that made me very environmentally cautious, although it was a pain in the ass in the beginning. But when you go in the night and realize that the garbage man left your trash unpicked because you put a nonbiodegradable container where it doesn't belong, and have to live with the garbage stored in the house for a week, then you learn.

So in short, humans would care more if there is a gun to their head. This rule over here is cool, in Ottawa I used to throw the garbage all together, not sure if they changed it now.

Also, the kind of work I do now is about environmentally friendly products and it would be good if I practice what I preach.

Ha Khalloof, tebbi ba3ad wala kafi?

 

[Miki]

Ahh, good anecdote, Hamed.

Humans can thus be trained to settle into a fixed cycle if the opportunity arises to enact a law requiring people to obey regulations pertaining to saving the environment. Therein lies a government body's biggest contribution to the cause - making humans aware of the need to save the planet, whether by volition or otherwise.

On a slightly different note, saving the planet requires a concerted effort on the part of the human population. Unlike the examples of studying hard and working to accumulate a sum of money, saving the environment will not bring about perceivable change, at least not for a good couple of decades or so. Ergo, the effect is so intangible as to make the effort ostensibly meaningless on the part of the individual.

Ciao,
Tim

 

[Khalifa]

Great points and i still would like so more opinions. So, developed countries are the biggest contributors to this environmental crisis, fact. Why? is it the governments fault? have they not done enough? people in the canada and america are the most informed about this situation, yet, consumption is a part of DNA? so if me, you and many others in the developed world know about this, we are still hesitant. What is the role that business corporations, technology and environmental groups play here? why do we keep looking for answers in their pockets?

Answer these questions specifically please. Thanks again you guys.

 

[shahz_nerazzurri]

in Toronto now they have this rule whereby you need to sort out your garbage into organic, recylable and garbage.

So I am sort of forced to care about the environment. I have three different garbage bins to get rid of the waste with. I have to say that that made me very environmentally cautious, although it was a pain in the ass in the beginning. But when you go in the night and realize that the garbage man left your trash unpicked because you put a nonbiodegradable container where it doesn't belong, and have to live with the garbage stored in the house for a week, then you learn.

I know, a few of my friends live in houses as well. They also have to go through all this. I live in an apartment, so I don't even know the difference between organic and recyclable. We do have a huge Recycle trash cans downstairs, and believe me when I say, I have never put anything in it.

I usually throw my pepsi cans, and what ever other recyclable items are, down the chute in the garbage room thats on the floor that I live in. Why would I walk downstairs in this cold, to dump stuff in the recycle bin??
Also when I am really lazy, specially during the night, and I dont even feel like walking to the garbage room, I just throw my garbage out of my balcony.

 

[Kato]

recycling is too much effort here, u have to wash out bottles/cans etc before putting them in the recycle thing.. As with humans with anything, the easier it is to do the more likely we are to do it.
especially in countries like UK/USA where time is deemed as everything.

totally different in Greece i've noticed, where they have a normal bin and a recycle one even on the beach.. but over there people seem to care about the state of the environment

 

[brehme1989]

The problem originates with Industrial Revolution. Look it up and you'll see why. And the ancients had the means to start a similar industrial revolution back then, but they didn't do it as they didn't want to waste so many resources to change to something unknown. Not that the living standards today are 100000000000 times better than the ancient times, but the change was very rapid, and if you see Al Gore's documentary you'll see that the crisis has a lot to do with it. From whenever people stepped on this earth, until late 19th century atmosphere pollution was minimum, then pollution has multiplied itself by many times. It's a simple fact, the problem is that the new generations have adapted with the change which consumes too much energy. For me, there's no way back for this problem. This should have been done in the 1980s or something...

 

[Waleed]

For me, there's no way back for this problem. This should have been done in the 1980s or something...

You might be right Yuko but doing nothing only perpetuates the problem. It might be band-aid over a shotgun wound but every little bit can make a difference however minuscule.

Man how long does this paper have to be Khalifa? From what this thread has thrown together you should have more than enough to bullshit your way through a paper.

Specifically looking at your questions:

We look to corporations and the government to solve the problem because as normal citizens we underestimate the amount of waste we create. Initiatives like the one HMD was talking about help you understand how much waste you are creating and the consequences of not properly disposing of it.

With respect to corporations the general population perceives them as the producers of the largest amount of waste and as such we look to them before ourselves to make a change.

Partnerships between corporations and government to reduce the amount of waste they produce have been enacted and should become more widespread. These usually come in the form of tax incentives for corporations to reduce their waste. Perhaps you can expand on that idea and propose that governments do the same with the general population. Say they reduce their yearly waste output by a certain amount and they get a tax deduction of some amount. Problem with that is finding a way to measure and record your garbage output over the whole year.

Hope this helps. Good Luck!

 

[Khalifa]

paper is done and submitted, thanks alot boys and kt.

from doing a lot of reading into the subject, there are many solutions, but as long as money is a factor, there wont be any improvements.