Having watched 'An inconvient truth' and followed some threads on
other forums last night, I'm interested to know people's thoughts and
views on global warming.
Do you think the risks are 'real' and imminent and what do you think
the answer is?
Is there an answer?
I'd like to canvas people's views on recycling as well. It's very much
a buzz word and I'm wondering where this fits into the global warming
picture.
Amethyst x
RE: global warming issues
Excellent topic choice, Amethystcave 🙂
Before you can say whether risks are or are not immenent, you first have to name the risks.
Are we as a planet at risk for major landscape-changing storm activity?
I think so, yes. How do we avoid that? Well, to lessen the impact of wind, you have windbreaks. Nature's windbreak is in the form of mountains and trees. The part we humans have changed most is the trees that used to serve as windbreak, as well as process all the rainwater that fell.
Are we at increased risk for cancer due to the damage we've done to the air/water?
I think so, but I think this applies firstly to those living in manufacturing areas, and then those living in and near developed cities. In some ways the risk will be divided throughout the planet, showing up as a significant increase in asthma on remote islands receiving winds from human earthly disruptions, or bacteria adapting to 'anti-biotic soaps'. How do we avoid this? You could either make a bubble for yourself and your family, or you can try to 'clean' the air. Attempts to remove the damage already done sometimes results in worse damage (like anti-bacterial soap!), so for now I think it's important to reduce the additional damage we do. For me, that's where recycling, composting and using materials with less impact comes in. Landfills are toxic heaps of human experiments gone wrong. I'm curious to know the tonnage of waste just sitting around this poor earth. And I'd really love to know who's trash goes where...do we get to sit here in relatively cleaner air/water because our rubbish has been shipped to some poor country? Who's stuck breathing all the toxic productions of the recycling plants? I cringe at the thought.
Are we at risk of receiving a huge tidal wave on one of our coasts full of toxic sludge?
I think so, and I think New Orleans is a prime example.
If you don't know that the oceans are carrying our waste and that the air is carrying our waste, then you probably don't realize that everything picked up in your garbage doesn't just 'go-away'. What will become of e-waste?
As preachy as I sound I have to confess that I am far from the ideal conservationist. I have many flaws I could be correcting right now...but we are humans and we have limits. I try to move forward, and adapt to new ways that might help out this poor condition we've given to earth.
You can't eat from a tree that's dying, and we may be learning that the hard way.
Part of me wants to see big things happen, I dream of a day when all the power goes out--for the whole world. I fear it too.
Sorry to come off so doomsday. I think that's why this so hard to talk about...the whole sound of it all sucks out loud.
RE: global warming issues
Recycling, dont get me started. I live in a flat and I dont have a blue bin (which allows you to recycle paper and card) and for the last 2 months I have been using a facility that lets you recycle everything (too many things to go into) at one central point. I was stopped on entry last week and told I should not be using the site as I dont drive and I might get knocked down by the cars (who travel at 2 miles per hour).
I told the attendant I had no blue bin and couldnt recycle any of my stuff if I couldnt get access and he simply shrugged and believe my my council (North Lanarkshire) makes a great big song and dance about recycling (unless you live in a flat and dont drive).
So, all my stuff now has to go to landfill.
RE: global warming issues
crystaltherapy, I definitely sympathize. Recycling can be virtually impossible for some of the most well-meaning people. What's the solution? I think recycling is something that requires a group effort in order to succeed. There are all sorts of obstacles and many recycling efforts are wasted. My friends apartment complex has finally put out a bin of recycling. But it's just one bin, and the county requires that recycling be sorted. So, basically all the recycling that goes into that bin will be thrown in the landfill because it wasn't sorted. What a waste! But then, I have another friend. She lives in a very eco-conscious city, where recycling is highly encouraged and simplified, but she blatantly refuses to recycle. Needless to say we don't see eye-to-eye on that one. But I don't really blame her, or you, or anyone. The whole recycling process is currently quite iffy.
RE: global warming issues
Well, Im not leaving it at that, Ive complained and Ive written to the local paper and I have asked that I be allowed access via a footpath and if necessary I am just going to go there on a Sunday when there are no staff.
There are other facilities near me where I can recycle but its just tins bottles and cans, leaving me nowhere to put plastic and newspapers.
If I could see their point then I would agree but I really cant on this one and what made it worse was that there are no signs up, anywhere, saying people on foot arent allowed to use the site.