Global warming and "If everyone just does something"

[revots33]

OK so I'm pretty much on the side of those who think global warming is real, it is being caused by human activity, and will likely cause some pretty big problems down the road. I am on this side because most reputable scientists I've heard seem to agree on this. I don't know much about the science myself, so I'm taking their word for it.

Anyway that's not really the point. My point is with the notion that individuals can do much of anything about it. There are over 6.6 billion people on the planet. Many come from developing countries where poverty and disease are much bigger problems than global warming. George Will wrote a good column about this in Newsweek recently (link).

So the idea that, if I switch from regular bulbs to flourescent, or buy a Prius, I will be doing "something" about global warming seems shaky to me. It seems to me I might be making myself feel good about myself, and maybe allowing myself to feel superior to others - but there is no way in hell that I expect my new light bulbs to start cooling the earth.

Am i being too negative/defeatist? Basically what I'm trying to say is that we should all just live our lives and hope either a)global warming isn't as bad as advertised or b)technology creates a way out of the mess (inventing some completely renewable clean energy source for example). Because my switching to new light bulbs isn't going to solve global warming. And the idea that "well if everyone does it" is pointless, since everyone won't and we all know it.

[pvn]

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So the idea that, if I switch from regular bulbs to flourescent, or buy a Prius, I will be doing "something" about global warming seems shaky to me. It seems to me I might be making myself feel good about myself, and maybe allowing myself to feel superior to others - but there is no way in hell that I expect my new light bulbs to start cooling the earth.

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This response isn't totally on-topic, but addresses a portion of your concerns.

I switched to CF bulbs for the $$$.

Driving a prius is actually probably worse for the environment (and more expensive) than driving a "regular" fuel-efficient car like a civic or a jetta diesel.

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Because my switching to new light bulbs isn't going to solve global warming. And the idea that "well if everyone does it" is pointless, since everyone won't and we all know it.

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Most people will switch lightbulbs sooner or later. The economic incentives are already too strong, and they're only getting stronger.

THere are still a few areas where incandescents make sense (eg if color rendition is important, full-spectrum flourescents are still pretty expensive).

[Case Closed]

I personally think you're being too defeatist on this issue. I know it seems like whatever you do has no real impact because...well it doesn't. But when people like you start buying green products in mass then things will start to change. The market will see the consumers are becoming educated about the problems and are willing to change their purchasing habits. We're all just cogs in the green market machine.

[mosdef]

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I personally think you're being too defeatist on this issue. I know it seems like whatever you do has no real impact because...well it doesn't. But when people like you start buying green products in mass then things will start to change. The market will see the consumers are becoming educated about the problems and are willing to change their purchasing habits. We're all just cogs in the green market machine.

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This is already happening. I am bombarded non-stop by claims from producers that their products are "green friendly". I don't think they're doing that for the heck of it, I think there's a clear demand for products that meet some commonly accepted standard of "green friendly".

[Case Closed]

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I personally think you're being too defeatist on this issue. I know it seems like whatever you do has no real impact because...well it doesn't. But when people like you start buying green products in mass then things will start to change. The market will see the consumers are becoming educated about the problems and are willing to change their purchasing habits. We're all just cogs in the green market machine.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is already happening. I am bombarded non-stop by claims from producers that their products are "green friendly". I don't think they're doing that for the heck of it, I think there's a clear demand for products that meet some commonly accepted standard of "green friendly".

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Yeah, there is a lot of bull [censored] advertisement about companies going green. Like BP having a huge green advert campaign while they were trying to dump tons of garbage into lake Michigan. But you're right it's happening as we speak, people just need to stay vigilant and it should work.

[lehighguy]

The only way global warming will be solved is with individual efforts. If you think global government is going to solve this problem I really think you have to get your head looked at.

[iron81]

Industrial countries by themselves can have a huge impact even if we conceed that 3rd world countries won't try to limit CO2 emissions. Frankly, no matter what governments, CO2 emissions will continue to rise into the foreseeable future. The key is to limit the damage. If we can slow the growth of CO2 emissions, we will save a lot of aggravation down the road even if the overall levels continue to increase.

Slightly OT, I just read an article about the effects of rising CO2 levels: that the wilderness areas of Africa are being converted from savanna grasslands to forest. The scientists think climate change is one culprit, but the main culprit is the actual CO2 levels: experiments have shown that a rise in CO2 levels favors trees over grass. The effect is that species that prefer grasslands are being wiped out or driven out of their historic habitat.

[revots33]

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The only way global warming will be solved is with individual efforts. If you think global government is going to solve this problem I really think you have to get your head looked at.

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Why do you say this? It seems to me that huge problems like this are probably more suited to governments than most problems. What would be more likely to work if the goal is to get everyone to drive more fuel-efficient cars: a law that requires manufacturers to make all new cars at least 40mpg, or the hope that people will choose such cars on their own?

At any rate both individuals and governments suck at long-term problems, which is why technological advances are our best hope. A lot of time and effort and money is being spent on trying to get individuals to conserve, and I think most of it is wasted. Wouldn't it be better to spend on technological research that might actually make a difference?

[John Kilduff]

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The only way global warming will be solved is with individual efforts. If you think global government is going to solve this problem I really think you have to get your head looked at.

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I agree that individual efforts have an effect and should not be completely dismissed, but I don't believe individual efforts OR government efforts will be capable of dealing effectively with that matter or adjacent matters, due to human global population growth (and of course the economic ascendance of China). Simply put, the population explosion > all of the other effects, and greater in effect than the ability of humanity to deal with it. As ironic as it may seem: wars, famines, droughts and disease may end up being what saves the human species from even greater calamity and/or extinction.

[tame_deuces]

Well, just don't live alone. That will be more eco-friendly than a Prius ever will.