Guardian: Can our way of living really save the planet?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 03. 6.06
Something is happening in the UK that we are missing in North America. Where we are all single issue types, worried about global warming or peak oil or vegetarianism or seal hunts, in the UK they have wrapped the whole thing into the concept of ethics, which the dictionary describes as "A set of principles of right conduct." They make TV shows about it. They build communities around it. 'People have a hair-shirt image about green living but it can be easy, affordable and attractive,' said Kendal Murray, who lives in BedZed. 'I live with a clear conscience and haven't had to give up a single thing to live this life.'According to the Guardian, "Ethical living is on the march... . Statistics published by the Co-operative Bank show that Britons spent £25.8bn on ethical goods and services last year, up 15 per cent on 2004. More than 40 per cent of that went on ethical banking and investments, though sales of fair trade goods - items which pay a premium over the market rate to the producer - are also rising dramatically." Even the Lonely Planet Travel Guide, which obviously promotes travel, is feeling guilty and now discouraging "casual flying" We need more of this here- it is not about single issues, it is about a way of life. ::Observer with help from tipster Bonnie
"we [North Americans] are all single issue types"
Um - I live in North America and I'm not "single issue". So right there your generalization is wrong. I figure there's at least several million, if not 10s of millions, who are like me.
If "ethical living" means feeling guilty about travelling (ala Monbiot), then I think the "enlightened" Brits are off their collective rockers.
The term "ethical" has been around for ages, so trying to redefine it or limit in some specific way to a panoply of progressive causes will never result in any sort of consensus on what the word "ethical" means.
It's good that people are acknowledging the interrelationship of things, but to think somehow a specific place and people are somehow "getting it" while others are not - I think that simply isn't the case.
ethics, which the dictionary describes as "A set of principles of right conduct.
This has much more to do with than just the enviroment. The Lpg stunk in the fact it showed you how to counter your C02 emissions but did'nt give you the name or location of a "reputable" concern performing the service....
Is'nt that ethics to?
The real question is this: Is ethical living sustainable?
=)
-Riskable
http://www.riskable.com
"I have a license to kill -9"
Per passenger CO2 output from a 5,000 mile RT flight: 2,681 pounds
CO2 output from commuting 30 miles each way at average US fuel efficiency (20 mpg): 14,673 pounds
Perhaps this "don't fly" meme should be dropped and maybe we could ask why people feel compelled to live 30 miles from their workplaces, since that puts out 5 1/2 times the CO2 as a long round-trip plane flight.
Also keep in mind that an additional passenger on a flight that will fly anyway has a marginal impact on fuel use, whereas driving decisions, and especially the decision on home locations relative to work, increase fuel use and CO2 output on the margin.
Well, it's very nice of you to single us out, but it's not really one big family of tree huggers here - yet!
I'd say that being green is still the concern of a minority of people, and we've got the same major problems as any other developed country - there's still a long way to go yet.
I don't know if you'll get to see it but a new series started on BBC One last night called Planet Earth and if that doesn't inspire anyone to be more green then I don't know what would. The Great White Shark is one of the most awesome (in the true sense of the word) animals I have ever witnessed on a TV screen.
While the generalisation is sloppy it would be interesting to see what countries are taking up ethical sustainable lifestyles. I think there was a study that looked at social and environmental indicators that came out in the last 2 months & the US wasn’t in the top 10. Sorry don’t remember from where.
Is a ethical lifestyle (environmentally?) sustainable?
To me an ethical lifestyle on its most basic level incorporates sustainability, pls excuse my ignorance but how would it not be?
"To me an ethical lifestyle on its most basic level incorporates sustainability, pls excuse my ignorance but how would it not be?"
My answer would be that ethical decisions are necessarily cognitive -- require mental consideration. People are ultimately self-interested, so when push comes to shove, that generally overrides weaker "ethical" considerations -- at least for the vast majority of people. And when there is lack of consensus about what is and is not ethical (eg, treatment of animals), then the force of those ethics is even weaker.
Sustainability is about times beyond our own lives, so if we are truly interested in change that holds, then it means that the culture -- meaning the inertial social forces, assumptions, default behaviors, etc -- need to be sustainable.
One need only see how we backtrack from times of progress within our own lifetimes to know this to be true. Or we can look at our own lives and see how often economic considerations outweigh ethical ones.
"CO2 output from commuting 30 miles each way at average US fuel efficiency (20 mpg): 14,673 pounds" ... Joseph, you don't specify, in your comparison of cars versus planes, a time unit.
Obviously that's not one 30 mile for the trip in the car (heh, the gas would weight more than the car!!)...I'm assuming you mean yearly? So by your "since that puts out 5 1/2 times the CO2 as a long round-trip plane flight.", you really mean a year of driving versus the single round trip flight...dunno, makes the comparison sound not nearly as good when you compare a year versus a day's flight...
Units are important :)
Regards,
Matt