Why are we not taking our ecological responsibilities more seriously?

Narj · 3 Jun 2018 at 00:38

Seriously, I mean with heartbreaking incidents like this going on, why do we not firstly limit our consumption of plastic, and secondly, limit the number of people who will use this deadly rubbish.. Maybe time for population control is here.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-44344468

Half of me thinks I think I'm turning into a hippy but the other half thinks I'm being a harsh, pragmatic human on the right side of the fight... I really think we're at a tipping point where our actions are verging on turning our global habitat into a complete dystopian ****hole.

I was on holiday last week on what I thought was an unspoiled beach. I saw smatterings of plastic absolutely everywhere after high tide had receded and it's depressing. What should have been happy times photo wise turned into "wtf is happening here?".

kayomani · 3 Jun 2018 at 00:43

Supermarkets are beginning to limit their use of plastics, most haven't got very far with it mind you. Probably the best of the lot is Iceland.

Angilion · 3 Jun 2018 at 00:45

We don't because we don't have to yet and plastic is so useful that we couldn't replace it anyway.

Consider your suggested solution - mass murder, enforced sterilisation or enforced abortion. What was that you were saying about dystopia?

Narj · 3 Jun 2018 at 00:46

kayomani said:
Supermarkets are beginning to limit their use of plastics, most haven't got very far with it mind you. Probably the best of the lot is Iceland.

I see that but what's winding me up is:

- Amazon delivieries with loads of plastic inflatable wrap around stupidly small items like a memory card
- Plastic wrap around apples/fruit/veg in the supermarket - use biodegradable rope/hemp ffs
- Plastic wrapped in plastic from several suppliers in the last month on internet orders. Really?

I know the dystopian idea is extreme and a little fantasist but education really needs to start from an early age now. This is absolutely not right IMO. Us old gits are used to convenience and kids see it as normal to have everything wrapped in plastic now

Is there any realistic chance of lobbying against this or are we doomed?

Craterloads · 3 Jun 2018 at 00:49

Have to agree it’s disgusting what we are doing to the planet and how it effects other creatures.

One disheartening thing is how much will it make a difference if we here in the UK or even Europe cut down on this crap when countries like India or China simply don’t give a crap and just dump garbage everywhere.

Dis86 · 3 Jun 2018 at 00:54

Craterloads said:
Have to agree it’s disgusting what we are doing to the planet and how it effects other creatures.

One disheartening thing is how much will it make a difference if we here in the UK or even Europe cut down on this crap when countries like India or China simply don’t give a crap and just dump garbage everywhere.

Completely agree. International efforts really are required. Saying that in this country too many people are utter disgraces. The number of people i see just throwing litter on the ground or out of car windows is unreal. Flytipping is also rife.
There are some new luxury homes going up round the corner from me and ive three times caught scum pulling up in their vans to work on the site and just throw their rubbish out of the van in to the road. The site manager flipped his lid in his defence.

Craterloads · 3 Jun 2018 at 00:59

Dis86 said:
Completely agree. International efforts really are required. Saying that in this country too many people are utter disgraces. The number of people i see just throwing litter on the ground or out of car windows is unreal. Flytipping is also rife.
There are some new luxury homes going up round the corner from me and ive three times caught scum pulling up in their vans to work on the site and just throw their rubbish out of the van in to the road. The site manager flipped his lid in his defence.

Pet peeve of mine seeing people throw litter out of cars. Have taken down a few reg plates but didn’t really know where to report or if anything would be done about it.

Dis86 · 3 Jun 2018 at 01:02

Craterloads said:
Pet peeve of mine seeing people throw litter out of cars. Have taken down a few reg plates but didn’t really know where to report or if anything would be done about it.

Ive tried reporting it to the council but suspect it doesnt get actioned. Your council may well be better than mine.
Theres a seafront car park that i was every day in the way to work. It tends to have chavs in their crapmobiles in it all night and every morning the lines between the bays are covered in mcdonalds wrappers, cups and bags. There are bins spaced every 10m.

ahar · 3 Jun 2018 at 08:53

Tragedy of the commons

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/tragedy-of-the-commons.asp

Orionaut · 3 Jun 2018 at 09:04

ahar said:
Tragedy of the commons

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/tragedy-of-the-commons.asp

You beat me to it...

kedge · 3 Jun 2018 at 09:07

Craterloads said:
One disheartening thing is how much will it make a difference if we here in the UK or even Europe cut down on this crap when countries like India or China simply don’t give a crap and just dump garbage everywhere.

Looks like member states of the eu have been dumping their trash elsewhere,

Europe has long prided itself on being an environmental leader — a champion of “the circular economy,” in which energy and resources are carefully husbanded, reused and recycled.

The truth is that much of its green success has relied on exporting its trash elsewhere.

Until the beginning of this year, the Continent kept itself clean by sending millions of tons of paper, cardboard, plastics and textiles on cargo ships over the horizon to China.

Of the 56.4 million tons of paper EU citizens threw away in 2016, some 8 million ended up in China, purchased by recycling centers that turn it into cardboard and send it back to Europe as packaging for Chinese exports. That same year, the EU collected 8.4 million tons of plastic waste, and sent 1.6 million tons to China.

China’s trash ban forces Europe to confront its waste problem – POLITICO

LeMson · 3 Jun 2018 at 10:23

Narj said:
- Amazon delivieries with loads of plastic inflatable wrap around stupidly small items like a memory card

We get everything with loads of brown paper not plastic, is this a regional thing?

XeNoN89 · 3 Jun 2018 at 10:31

It really annoys me when I get lots of excess packaging these days and it still happens way too often

UTmaniac · 3 Jun 2018 at 10:32

Saw the BBC article last night about the poor whale, heartbreaking.

I find it quite bizarre that it took Sir David Attenborough spelling things out to the masses earlier this year in Blue Planet 2, to hammer home what we have been doing to the oceans with plastic pollution for decades...

Mark1989 · 3 Jun 2018 at 10:51

Said it before I'll say it again as a race were our own worst enemy we will be our own downfall either kill planet or each other, only question is what will come first

413x · 3 Jun 2018 at 11:31

It will be too late even if we stopped now across the globe. Everything in there will be still there.
And that is obviously not going to work.

It will get us in the end. Once we toxify our oceans in sure the knock on to life will be catastrophic.

Even today there is a story on banning disposable coffee cups in buy.. By 2021.
Just ban them now ffs

Plastic on food when you can just use cardboard
Plastic off items that you just don't need
Plastic coffee cups
Plastic bags.
The list is endless. I wish they would just do what they do to plastic bags across the board and don't worry about all the so called consequences

FoxEye · 3 Jun 2018 at 11:33

Narj said:
Seriously, I mean with heartbreaking incidents like this going on, why do we not firstly limit our consumption of plastic, and secondly, limit the number of people who will use this deadly rubbish.. Maybe time for population control is here.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-44344468

Half of me thinks I think I'm turning into a hippy but the other half thinks I'm being a harsh, pragmatic human on the right side of the fight... I really think we're at a tipping point where our actions are verging on turning our global habitat into a complete dystopian s**thole.

I was on holiday last week on what I thought was an unspoiled beach. I saw smatterings of plastic absolutely everywhere after high tide had receded and it's depressing. What should have been happy times photo wise turned into "wtf is happening here?".

Because convenience trumps responsibility. And we have an unlimited ability to look the other way, and cease caring.

That really is all there is to it.

413x · 3 Jun 2018 at 11:34

FoxEye said:
Because convenience trumps responsibility. And we have an unlimited ability to look the other way, and cease caring.

That really is all there is to it.

That was one of the arguments (by the cup makers) for the coffee cups.. Convenience :/

FoxEye · 3 Jun 2018 at 11:37

413x said:
That was one of the arguments (by the cup makers) for the coffee cups.. Convenience :/

We live in a society where everything is now expected to be maximally convenient. We have created consumers who literally can't do anything for themselves.

Efour · 3 Jun 2018 at 11:44

ITs not Western Society that needs to get its ideas together, we have, its just a matter of time.

THE WHOLE rest of the world needs to care, which it won't because caring costs money.