Green Options » discussion

Bjorn Lomborg on Who the Environmentalists Forgot

Simran Sethi — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:09:29 +0000

When the headlines told us that the global warming debate was over, it seemed like we environmentalists could breathe a collective sigh of relief. The United States elected a cap-and-trade-sympathetic administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency says it is going to exert some of the “P” in its acronym after it formally labeled carbon dioxide a pollutant last month. So now that the debate is over, has the discussion ended?

Much of what I assumed to be climate consensus has been turned on its head since I moved to the Midwest from New York. Meaning, there a lot of people here in the Middle who care about environmental issues but are not convinced climate change is related to human activities and/or is as dire as predicted. I believe it is. . .and I also believe that in order to get buy-in from such diverse constituents, it’s imperative that we engage in dialog with those who hold differing opinions.

Win a Copy of Alan Weisman’s “The World Without Us”

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:29:05 +0000

In last week’s review of Alan Weisman’s The World Without Us, Justin noted

Weisman’s final sentence in the Prelude provides a provocative launching point into the book: “Is it possible that, instead of heaving a huge biological sigh of relief, the world without us would miss us?”1 Having this idea of nature missing us as or after it takes over again keeps the reader wandering what trick Weisman (or nature!) has up his sleeve as he describes all the serious alterations we have made to the natural ecosystem. It also challenges the widely held assumption that Earth would be better off without us–and so likely happy to see us gone!

There are certainly people out there that believe that the environmental movement (in particular) thinks humanity has been nothing but a scourge on the natural order. While we don’t think that’s necessarily an argument that will do much to advance, well, anything, we do think that Weisman’s “thought experiment” provides a fertile jumping-off point for discussing human interaction with nature. So, we’d like to invite you to discuss the concept of “the world without us” … and enter to win a copy of Weisman’s book.

Let’s Talk About It!: Solar Power for Dummies, and Biodegradable TrashBags/Bin Liners

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 15:03:08 +0000

We've got a couple of good questions that have shown up in the Discussion Forum over the past day:

1) GO member attacat asks about using biodegradable trash bags/bin liners:

The bin liners that are commonly used are made of synthetic polymers like polyethylene and polypropylene, and these are not considered biodegradable. Eventually, these plastics will break down, but only after being submitted to decades of heat and light.

Green Your Office proposes a new technology called d2w totally degradable plastics. Apparently, these refuse sacks will “degrade turning harmlessly into CO2 and water”. I may be missing something here, but isn’t CO2 one of the main gases that the greenhouse effect has been blamed on? Are biodegradable bin liners actually harmful to the environment as well?

Got an answer to this one? Is the amount of CO2 produced by these products negligible when compared to the impact of plastic?

2) GO member tamilee is likely not the only person with this question:

Where can I find home solar power systems and how they work explained in the simplest terms possible? I'm looking for a solar power for dummies website or book. I have been interested in solar power for decades but whenever I try to learn about it there is so much jargon used I just get lost.

There is a Complete Idiot's Guide to Solar Power to Your Home; the second edition will be released in May. Any thoughts on this book, or other recommendations?

As always, please answer these questions in forum where they were posted…

Let’s Talk About It!: Climate Change/Global Warming

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 18:46:57 +0000

From the outset, we wanted Green Options to be a space where people talk to one another about the green topics that matter to them. While we set the agenda here on the blog, and in other portions of the site, our Discussion Forum is the place where you decide what needs addressing. If you haven't visited the Forum, drop in, and strike up a conversation…or join one.

As Ryan and Jimmy showed Tuesday, there's still plenty to discuss regarding the topic of climate change. While I'd guess that most of the team members here at GO fall into the 90% of people who've accepted the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and other scientific bodies regarding the role CO2 emissions play in the climate crisis, there's still much to discuss and debate about the action we need to take. Economics tend to be at the core of most discussions about large-scale action, and conversations about the costs and opportunities created by environmental challenges need to occur within the public and private sectors, as well as among informed and concerned citizens.

Some other fodder for discussion:

The human costs: Climate change is definitely an environmental justice issue, particularly since the developing world will likely "feel the heat" the most.
The broader ecological costs: We've all read and heard about the polar bears. What other implications does action (or inaction) on climate change hold for other environmental challenges?
The "marketing" angle: A recent post at The Oil Drum addresses the long-term consequences of climate change in light of research that shows we human beings tend to be very short-term in our thinking. Marketing guru Seth Godin noted last year that "global warming" is an ineffective phrase from a marketing standpoint. How do we communicate the threat of climate change without resorting to "chicken little" tactics?

Clearly, I've just touched the tip of the iceberg (a fitting metaphor, no doubt!). Got something to say about climate change? Say it in the Forum…