Perhaps if there was a better understanding of the future costs of certain lifestyle choices we make today then when finances permit people would be more inclined to “do the right thing”. I think most European countries understand this far better than we do.

Thanks sincerely for the link; I had not seen that and stand corrected.

I forgot about the above link. It is a consumer poll showing that consumers are willing to spend more for a more environmentally friendly consumable.

“In particular:

64% said they would be willing to pay more for a hybrid car
63% indicated they would spend more for organic, fair trade, or local food
62% would pay for green/organic cleaning supplies
And 57% said they would pay the additional costs for products made from recycled materials.”

Without knowing more details to the poll, besides ~2,000 consumers were included, I can’t make any major conclusions, but the trend is clearly opposite of your (Jim’s) observation. Consumers are willing to pay and do care about the environment.

People were buying hybrids when gas was $2.50 a gallon. People were really buying them when gas was $4/gallon. That’s it. For me it’s not a matter of party or anything else – it’s economics.

Regarding the fighting for oil and paying our enemies part – I absolutely agree with you.

It is now clear, huge markets will develop and industries will profit from focusing on environmentally friendly products and energy systems. The practice of fighting for oil and paying our enemies $700 billion a year is being rejected. Just take a look at T Boone Pickens.

Mike, you might want to tighten up your story in your first post. You question the fact that humans are causing global warming and then you state that cars do have a role in global warming.

I would respond fully but there’s really no point trying to reason with a fundamentalist member of the Church of the Environment.

Plus, I need to go down to the Rivanna River and dump the mercury out of some old thermometers.

I was behind a bike rider – sans helmet – who I had to go around (on my bike) on JPA who was pedaling/driving/riding erratically. As I passed him, I saw that he was talking on his cell phone!

Politics, ignorance aside, let’s be practical. “Going green” is great–but not at the expense of physical safety.

I fear for the lives of cyclists who don’t wear helmets. See them everywhere. And I fear for their loved ones who will have to see them in a persistent vegetative state if they’re not killed by that idiot driver yakking on the cell phone.

If I had unlimited funds I’d carry extra helmets in my trunk….

With respect on both sides, bicycles seats and Fox News aside, I think that we all have similar results in mind.

With intentions aside – we’re getting to the point where saving money and living green are going to be the same thing.

If you truly care about the environment, you’ll … focus on giving we “ignorant masses” economic incentives to pursue your so-called virtuous ends.

And this is the message that needs to be delivered to local, state and national politicians. Offer incentives to save money (and go green) and the masses will follow.

You can rationalize your ignorance and inability to understand scientific data with the rest of your Republican friends. You are one of the ignorant sheep that buys into everything that the marketers are selling you. Unfortunately capitalism doesn’t take into account finite resources such as drinkable water, viable soil, and energy. It makes me sad that our descendants will not have the chance to enjoy rivers free of flame retardants, PCBs, heavy metals, and dioxins. Our oceans are full of dead zones and enourmous plastic trash islands. This is not the legacy I want left behind.

You are correct, people like you need to be coerced by economic means to change. It’s a sad fact and speaks volumes of your character. There is clear and scientifically proven cause and effect data concerning humans’ impact on the environment; however, the spin masters on Fox News have seemed to have you under their spell.

Congratulations on your bike purchase and new mode of transportation. Safe travels.

Andy K, I think people like you are just as stupid and misguided as you believe about me. ‘Environmentalism” is a New Age religion whose purpose is at least 49% to feel good about yourself. Nature abhors a vacuum, and as humans have abandoned traditional religions, they have latched onto environmentalism as a way to attain spiritual fulfillment.

The parallels run deep, from absolute intolerance of heretical opposing views (did humans really cause GW? Is the global temperature really even higher?), to Earth Day ceremonies on Sunday (of all days!). Nowhere is this more evident than C-ville, home of many emptyheaded idealists

Whatever has caused “global warming,” I don’t buy the narcissistic thesis that we humans have much ability to reverse it.

Regardless, RESULTS are all that matter. If I said I love the earth and was a committed environmentalist, you would be praising me for my virtue. Because my intentions are no correct (according to you) I am somehow “sad” and ignorant. Just remember, when you’re commuting to work on your Prius, I still have a smaller carbon footprint than you. And in the grand scheme of things it’s .000000000000000000000001% of the things that warm the earth anyway.

If you truly care about the environment, you’ll stow your Puritanical streak and focus on giving we “ignorant masses” economic incentives to pursue your so-called virtuous ends.

As for your pity, your New Age religion, and its stupid symbolism, feel free set it atop your bicycle seat and sit down hard.

Although your observation is anecdotal (and not backed by any data) and as much as it pains me to believe….I, unfortunately, believe it.

It may be potentially true, but is unfortunately the American mindset that has to be changed. I only hope that as some people change for solely monetary reasons that they also start to see the value of living responsibly and begin to focus outward instead of on themselves.

Thanks for the comment. I think his perspective is probably representative of the vast majority of consumers. My clients generally don’t necessarily care about their carbon footprints, but do care about saving money.If saving money means green, so be it.

“As a consumer, let me say that I don’t give a rip about the environment.”

That is one of the most ignorant comments I have read. It is a sad situation when people don’t care about their surroundings, community, and the globe. I wonder what value system our country is teaching the youth when dollars matter more than ones impact on the world. It is that egocentric American thinking that makes me ashamed of the American way of life.

Is it marketing and corporations who brainwash these individuals into thinking that money and posessions are more important than the environment and community?

I’m glad he is riding his bike and saving money, but no matter how much money he saves he will always be a poor man.