Andrew Crystall wrote:
<Dean Forster>
>> We're certainly doing better
>> now than we were 40 years ago, and that's partly due
>> to people like Jeroen and Kat preaching doom and gloom
>> to remind us to not get lazy and ignore our
>> responsibilities. The key is moderation, as with
>> politics. We need to strike a balance so that not
>> only our home is harmed as little as possible, but
>> ourselves as well.
>
>The key is to present soloutions, not problems as the greeners do.
>People don't LIKE problems...if problem and soloution come
>togeather, well...
>
>Asmiov, _The Gods Themselves_
Eh, yes, but when the solution is something like "stop using so much
stuff" people actually *prefer* the problem. It's not that "we" greeners
are short on solutions; it's that we're short on ways of getting people
to *impliment* solutions. Not in all cases, but in at least a few.
I realize it's a major problem within the environmental movement (and
believe me, I have pointed this out) that we're better at presenting
problems than solutions. Nor are all solutions particularly realistic.
I think the main problem is that people (and I do include myself in this)
aren't looking for solutions; they're looking for patches. No one appears
to be interested in a "solution" that involves them not owning a car, for
example; no one likes a solution that involves the price of gas going up;
no one, in short, likes solutions that may make a major change in their
way of life. No one likes a paradigm shift. Some people are willing to
*accept* it, but with the exception of a few whackos out there nobody
really *likes* it. And, unfortunately, the more I learn about the
environmental problems we're facing the more it seems that patching what
we've got isn't going to work. We're actually going to have to change. Or
we'll be changed.
I'm an optimist. I think we are changing. Little stuff, like recycling
not being something only wierdos do anymore, or the general (with the
exception of a few idiots like what's-his-name, dead now, economist who
wrote some incredibly annoying book and was Reagan's environmental
advisor) acceptance of the fact that there *is* a major environmental
problem, or the heartily reassuring appearance of trained protestors
demanding that free trade be regulated by at least *some* sense of
morality. Of course, it's not enough, but it's getting there. I just hope
the big guys don't slow it down too much and ruin us all....
Kat Feete
----------
You could say I lost my faith in the politicians
They all looked like game-show hosts to me....
--The Police
