The contentious climate change debate aside, it is clear that human beings have the potential to seriously screw up large portions of the environment, from the Cuyahoga to Onondaga Lake, to the Hudson, etc.

So ignoring any climate change rhetoric and BS, what are the responsibilities of developed nations, and human beings in general when it comes to caring for the environment?

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

Lets not forget the turnaround of the Great lakes - back in the sixties you were forbidden to swim in Ontario, and no one would have thought about hosting a salmon fishing derby on it. Agreeably a lot more work needs to be done in this regard!!

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"I don't feel like Satan, but I am to them"
Neil Young

I think we've come a long damn way from the mid 70's.

Most of you have never even ridden in a car that uses leaded fuel.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

I'm all too cognizant of what human beings can do to the environment.

I drive past Love Canal twice a day, every day.

exactly. renewable and green energy is all the rage, and for good reason. cars have better emissions now, ect. its a much cleaner earth from 30-40 years ago. and as wyo said, even lake ontario and erie are cleaner now! i still wouldnt touch lake erie though. anyways, keep up with more energy efficient products and renewable energy, and such, and things will continue to look up!

that being said, we need to stop with the de-forestation, and as i vehemently argued in the tiger thread, provide better conservation for animal and plant species in dire straits (good band, by the way).

also, a big thing here is LEED certified buildings. create tax breaks for companies who fund and build LEED certified buildings. a smaller break for bronze, and increased to platinum certification. of course, maybe im missing something, and thats exactly what the brownfield tax here is.

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Hemp is the answer to your deforestation concerns.

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Wheelhouse

Recycle your damn paper!! But do tear up shit with your name, address, credit card, etc.

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"...they came down into the stands and asked if I knew how to do play by play. I said...No. But. I'll take a shot at it if you want".- Rick Jeanneret

Keep America beautiful. Don't be a litter bug.

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Oh lord, it's hard to be humble, when you're perfect in every way. I can't wait to look in the mirror, 'cause I get better looking each day. To know me is to love me, I must be a hell of a man. Oh lord, it's hard to be humble, but I'm doin' the best that I can.

don't forget that they are not completely turned around...just settled. one of the major detractors from placing windmills in the great lakes is that they don't want to stir up any of the crap (like PCB's) that has settled in the last ten years.


to the OP...it's pretty much impossible for anyone to give this any sort of a complete answer. i have dozens of papers i've personally written in my college career on topics derived from your question. where the responsibility lies depends on your personal ethical viewpoint of nature's role in the human species.

This statement confuses me.

lots of contaminants have settled out of the pelagic zone (the big water) into the substrate and in the slow decaying stuff. if they try to put windmills in, they have to drill in the bases, stirring up all the nasties that contaminated the water for so long. after that, we would have to deal with all the poisons and bioaccumulation in the fish and birds like it was the 1980's again.

Ah, ok, thanks for the explanation. I thought the windmill comment was in reference to the shoreline farms, but what you said makes a ton of sense for open water farms.

i wish they'd give up on the shoreline farms...and most of windpower all together. windmills in the middle of the GL will look retarded and even a hippie like me doesn't want them there. solar is by far the best way to go. our solar resource is totally awesome enough to run on it. germany has the best solar energy consumption in the world, and their solar resource is comparable TO ALASKA.

Almost every state I've been to doesn't have recycling period, much less the recycling of paper.

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Miles to go before I sleep

‎"Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation."
-Khalil Gibran

you can have my state....recycling is a religion here. Hell, we have some cities with personal composting mandates.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

she's right...the majority of states do not have recycling. especially in rural areas. making things convenient for the public is key. like hazardous waste removal. there are areas around here that are only open a couple hours a month, and on fairly inconvenient times.

NC recently passed a law about recycling, you can get fined for not recycling your stuff.

But it all gets sorted before it goes t the actual dump also.

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wait, most states dont have recycling?

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PSA: I am an overly sarcastic person. If you take me at my word, then i will most likely anger and offend you.

Ok, suppose I recycle more, and drive a hybrid. Will that stop China from ruining the planet? As Americans, we use more resources/person than anyone, but as China catches up with us, it will severely magnify our environmental problems to the point that whatever we do will be insignificant anyways. Kinda like if I cut down to putting one drop of pollution in a gallon of water(from a drop and a half previously), and then some jackass throws a quart of it in afterward. What's the point?

you're not the jackass