Thanks for stopping by, mate.

I’ve heard about going green and all that. I’m not sure if my web host is green or not and that’s a good point you make about being green. I’m with HostGator for another project I’m doing and with Ez-Web-Hosting.com for BluePop13.com.

Cool blog by the way!

Large environment-raping companies need to be held responsible for the damage they are causing. The thing is, though, is that we as individuals need to take responsibility too.

It has been little things that have gotten us to this point. It will be little things that get us out of it. Little things like…

• walking to the shops or work
• taking the train or bus instead of your car
• home cooked meals made from fresh ingredients instead of fast food
• turning the television off and having family talks or playing games
• preferring recycled or environmentally friendly goods and services

There is one other thing that we need to change, but it is also the hardest thing for us to do. And that is to change our thinking. We need to slow down and smell the roses before there are no roses left to smell.

I just can’t help but feel that allowing huge environmental offenders “redemption” by buying “carbon credits” is a huge instance of buck-passing.

Why pay someone else to fix what you’ve fucked up? Why not take responsibility to make sure you don’t fuck up more, as far as it’s possible?

Penance… hmm… now that’s not a bad idea. What if courts started handing out sentences along the lines of…

You must plant 10 trees of a type determined by the court at a location also determined by the court. This must be done at your own expense and be completed no later than 3 months from the date of this ruling. Further to the 10 trees that you must personally plant, you must also fund the planting of a further 40 trees, bringing the total to 50 trees planted.

It’s better than a straight out fine because the money gets spent in the right place. And also, the idea of the crims having to do some actual work as part of their punishment really appeals to me.

I can see value in schools purchasing carbon credits. And not for any warm fuzzies that anyone might be getting out of it. There’s an educational value in there too, for the kids. If they see the adults trying to do the right thing, chances are pretty good that they’ll continue the trend when they become adults. And I hope like hell that they do a much better job than we have.

To clarify, if the schools that are purchasing carbon credits are doing so in ways that hurt or hinder the children’s education, then yeah, I agree with you that it is a bad thing. But until you can show us some kids whose education has been hampered as a result of their school purchasing carbon credits, then this is a win-win. A win-win for the kids. A win-win for the school. And a BIG win-win for our planet.

Your remark about the “greenies need to get over it” is completely outrageous. Do you honestly believe that because the problem is so huge, so widespread, and so difficult to solve that we shouldn’t be trying? That we shouldn’t care?

I don’t think anyone yet has a complete solution, or even solutions that come anywhere near a fix. Doing things like purchasing carbon credits, recycling, using alternate power sources probably won’t fix it either. But it might, just might, slow it down long enough for a real fix to be implemented.

We have to at least try. I mean, what have we got to lose? Oh, I dunno… just OUR PLANET!

Thanks for your comment, Horst!

Most people take from the planet more than it’s humanly possible to give back – it’s a fact, and one the greenies need to get over.