The next step for environmental politics

[Conservationist]

We all know that if our society is to survive, we need to get rid of global warming.

But what brought us global warming? Industry brings profit to businesses, and individuals "feel" better about themselves for making money. They're afraid of cultural consensus against reckless profit, because it might leave them without a reason to feel proud of themselves.

Even more, modern life is tedious. You no longer grow up to a safe position in a society that has a values system whatsoever. Now, you're fodder for competition in the corporate culture, and have to struggle to keep your head above water.

And the environment? As humanity expands, and each wants a car and house and color TV, the amount of free land decreases and pollution increases. It will never end, because there's no leadership that has the guts to say "stop."

Our leadership of course is terrible, because it's a popularity contest, and people vote by what they see in 30-second clips on TV. No complex issues are discussed.

We have either a future of cultureless, rootless, brainless corporate slavery, or a chance to reverse the process, but I don't believe it's going to happen through organizations whose only active concern is global warming. Rather, we need a mainstream movement that wants to remake society entirely.

We're not liberals. We're not conservatives. We're elements of both. Even more, it's time to come out of the closet and take on all these issues, not just global warming. And when we take on environmental issues, we should use the honest argument: we want to preserve our culture because culture is all that saves us from the imperialism of the marketplace.

Environmentalism in itself isn't a new social design, or a plan. We need a clear plan that we can communicate through mainstream politics and get others on board. Thinking people who care about the environment are still a majority in this country. We should stop feeling sorry for ourselves, stop being "revolutionaries" on internet message boards, and start speaking plainly in the public light.

(Written by Alex Birch of CORRUPT organisation.)

 

[Kandahar]

This kind of anti-business attitude is exactly what is wrong with the current environmentalist movement, and gives the rest of us environmentalists a bad name. Most people don't want to abandon the standard of living that capitalism provides them, nor should they. When others (erroneously) tell them that they have to choose between the environment and capitalism, they'll become alienated from environmentalism.

It's possible to prevent or mitigate most environmental problems without giving up our lifestyles. And for those problems that we AREN'T able to solve right now, like global warming, capitalism will ensure that our science/technology continues to advance so that we can hopefully solve those problems in the near future.

But what brought us global warming? Industry brings profit to businesses, and individuals "feel" better about themselves for making money.

Spoken like an upper-middle class, white American/European. BILLIONS of people depend on industry for their livelihood.