Who else thinks that the mass population needs to change it's way of living to help protect the environment?

We are to excessive. People should start thinking more and more about sustainment rather than excess, but this will not happen over nite. Most developed nations including America have indoctrined citizens into believing that material excess should be our goal in life. To accumulate as much as we canm while we can. It will take more than a couple generations to turn that around, but the conversations have already begun. It will take a paridigm shift in America to really change, and it wont happen by people getting angry and smug or righteous about it. healthy conversations like this is the way to change “hearts and minds”.

Yes. People seem to not realize that things they do will have repercussions. Using up our resources in a wasteful manner will have repercussions on our environment. I find people who say it’s just a “myth” are ignorant. Regardless of whether or not it is due to global warming or just normal fluctuations that the earth is getting warmer, there are obvious problems that call out to us to change the way we live. Pollution, it’s apparent that we are polluting our air. It’s obvious we are destroying the ozone layer. It’s obvious that lakes and bodies of water are being polluted and dirtied. It’s obvious that animals are going extinct due to the way human beings live. There are obviously a lot more, and all with scientific proof and studies. I think people need to start changing the way they live, start realizing that what each person does, really does have an impact on our environment.

If I had it my way, we would be living like the Native Americans did.

Actually me too, I hate that people now a days seem to “need” all these material things, and this glamorous way of life. If my family would follow, and make it easier for me, I’d be living a very minimalistic life.

I agree, but also realize in order for that to happen, people have to start looking into the mirror at what they need to change with that being, moreso then looking outwardly as to who is responsible and their obligation to make it right. The more people who do that…the more will change. We all …..past, present, and future have a part we play in it.

Would be interesting…:)

Yes, we all should. But then, people usually do if it is made sufficiently easy. Or otherwise advantageous.

So I think the best way to make people protect the environment is by making environment protection easy and affordable. People then will do it.

If gas efficient cars/ low gas usage cars are affordable, people will buy them, to save money while using less gas. If you have the choice to buy the same product with either decomposable eco packaging or plastic packaging at the same price, people will usually take the decomposable pack. If you offer people to buy either a normal shirt or a shirt made of cotton from no-pollution farming colored with no-pollution dye, most people will even pay more for the eco one, even though it be the same quality. If there are sufficient available public trash containers, people will not litter. If you give every house three trash cans and ask them to put paper in the blue one and all the recyclable plastic into the yellow one, most people will do recycling. If you just put two containers in one place in front of the town hall and tell people to take their recyclable trashes there, they won’t.

Excessiveness is especially hard to watch this time of year. nauseating. We are programmed this way from birth. We are told we need alot of crap, apparently to make a few people rich and powerful. I dont watch TV, which helps alot. It is like I am living outside the matrix.

Part of the equation is population and part standard of living. The earth can not sustain the current number of people with its current standard of living. Population continues to grow and the standard of living for billions of people is improving. If the world population were 1 billion, people living in mansions and riding in Hummers and yachts wouldn’t be that much of a problem At 7 billion the world needs to either reduce its human population or accept a much lower standard of living or some of both in order to avoid an environmental collapse. The main difference between 1st and 3rd world nations is family planning. In 1st world countries families usually limit their number to what they can afford while in 3rd world countries population grows unchecked guarantying that most people will live in hunger, squalor and hopelessness. We can either start to lower our standard of living and reduce our numbers or there is going to be a huge human dye off in the future that will be far more brutal.

I think they do. But honestly I think that we won’t change till we see the big problem in front of our face. I means we see it now, but not to the point where we are ALL affected. When that happens, thats when we will take a change, thats just how we seem to work in my opinion. And, It’s going to be hard, people are people & some people you can’t make them do anathing at all no matter what situation they are stuck with, & that will always be a problem, so I don’t think the entire population will take a complete change. Also it takes our own work, not giving to charaties & having them do it, it takes getting ourselfs up & doing things differently, when that happens, then we might take a change.

I think they do. But honestly I think that we won’t change till we see the big problem in front of our face. I means we see it now, but not to the point where we are ALL affected. When that happens, thats when we will take a change, thats just how we seem to work in my opinion. And, It’s going to be hard, people are people & some people you can’t make them do anathing at all no matter what situation they are stuck with, & that will always be a problem, so I don’t think the entire population will take a complete change. Also it takes our own work, not giving to charaties & having them do it, it takes getting ourselfs up & doing things differently, when that happens, then we might take a change.

Choice is the reason we’re where we are and choice will continue to be our result. When people ask who’s putting the small shops out of business…everyone points to Walmart, Target, Kmart….But who shops there? Think about it…over the Christmas buying season what items or groceries did you buy? What role did these purchased items, play in our economy or environment? Where did you buy them and why did you buy them there? Is it really better to buy a corporate gift card made of more plastic to dispose of…then cash? Not saying I’m not guilty of this too….I think if we’re all honest helping the economy or ecology didn’t come into play when we were thinking who to buy, what I can buy, what’s the best price….what’s important to us determines our choices and our choices is the result of what is.