Psychologists enter the 'ECO Green' fight!

Just by discussing this with you I understand much more why some people have been crying foul on this global warming "scam". I didn't understand it at all.

The way some present it is as if the entire idea of global warming is a scam in itself created to scare us into giving away our money to "save the world". That seemed way too outlandish to me.

Now, in talking to you, I see that they've seen a potentially disastrous problem and decided that it would be a great opportunity to make money off of our fears like they have with so many other issues. That is entirely plausible and actually very probable.

You mention that everything has it's balance. i liked your oak tree analogy. Nature is usually the one who puts the balance into place and it's only when an outside source messes with this balance do things get out of hand (like mass deforestation) mother nature can only keep up so much.

Yes, we have learned that we do have an effect on the Earth and have somewhat altered our habits in order to not make things intolerable here. But I think we're getting out of hand and I think a lot of what we've been doing is mindless in a sense.

What I see happening now is people waking up and realizing that there are things we have been doing that we didn't realize would have such a negative impact on things. Just like you said we realized about burning coal and whatnot, well, that wasn't until we used it mindlessly. We didn't discover it only to come to the realization that it can pollute. It was only after we've used it and saw the effects that we change our ways, however subtle they may have been.

It's the same now. Except I think we should both acknowledge that there are some who KNOW what their doing has a negative impact (like dumping untold amounts of toxins into rivers) but simply don't care about the consequences because it's not cost effective.

I am fully aware that making them pay more taxes is not the answer. But maybe we could instead reward them for not using such practices. But then, that's not cost effective for the government.

[edit on 16-9-2008 by nunya13]

reply to post by nunya13

Just by discussing this with you I understand much more why some people have been crying foul on this global warming "scam". I didn't understand it at all.

You flatter me. Thank you.

I see that they've seen a potentially disastrous problem and decided that it would be a great opportunity to make money off of our fears like they have with so many other issues. That is entirely plausible and actually very probable.

That's the way I see it as well. As such, whenever someone cries about how the planet is 'dying', I tend to look at it with a skeptical eye. If I see a profit motive for whoever is making the claims, I tend to disbelieve it.

It is not a guaranteed dismissal out of hand when this happens, just a view with one eye toward the possibility of a scam.

You mention that everything has it's balance. i liked your oak tree analogy. Nature is usually the one who puts the balance into place and it's only when an outside source messes with this balance do things get out of hand (like mass deforestation) mother nature can only keep up so much.

Even mass deforestation has to contend with natural forces. If you cut down too many trees, enough to shift the balance to a large degree, you do increase the CO2 content of the atmosphere. That in turn makes the trees (and other flora, of course) grow that much faster, making it harder to keep land clear. The point I am trying to get across is that, while we can have detrimental effects on our environment, we are also part of nature, and therefore part of the balancing act.

Yes, we have learned that we do have an effect on the Earth and have somewhat altered our habits in order to not make things intolerable here. But I think we're getting out of hand and I think a lot of what we've been doing is mindless in a sense.

We could do better, definitely! We can start by doing simple thing: plant trees or shrubbery around your house, pick up your trash, turn off the lights when you're out of the room, buy products with less packaging and more product, or fix any drafts that you might have at home. In short, if we all just try to act like adults, it will go a long way toward making a positive change.

And if we get the politicians to simply enforce the regs already on the books, in a common sense way, we can keep nature operating just fine without giving up anything other than excessive waste,

Except I think we should both acknowledge that there are some who KNOW what their doing has a negative impact (like dumping untold amounts of toxins into rivers) but simply don't care about the consequences because it's not cost effective.

I am fully aware that making them pay more taxes is not the answer. But maybe we could instead reward them for not using such practices. But then, that's not cost effective for the government.

I think what you have is people who don't understand the situation, and a good deal of that goes back to the fear-mongering of Global Warming. Once a person catches someone in a lie, it's just naturally harder for then to believe the next warning, regardless of it's truthfulness. Every time we cry "Wolf!" when everything is really fine (except maybe Al Gore needs a new wing on that mansion ), we actually harm our ability to make real needed change by alienating those who we need to reach with the truth.

TheRedneck