Facing up to the sustainable consumption conundrum (ready, Malthusians?)

EurActiv ^ | 02 July 2012

[Olog-hai]

The earth is running out of natural resources like land, water and minerals so quickly that if nothing is done, some predictions say that by 2030 humankind will need the equivalent of two planets to sustain our current lifestyle.

Those chilling figures come from a famous World Wildlife Fund ‘Living Planet’ report in 2008, but what exactly can we do to reduce our environmental impact—which has got worse since then—and how should we go about doing it?

People “desperately” need a means of putting the environmental impact of their products into context, according to Martin Barrow, a senior consultant at the UK’s Carbon Trust, which provides companies with certification for their labeling schemes.

“By giving them more and more information they [can] know what the impact of their decisions are,” he said after a workshop on sustainable consumption organised by EurActiv on 13 June. “Then we’re into the area of behavior change,” he added.

Studies undertaken by the Carbon Trust showed that consumers would change their behavior if they were given simple information about a product’s environmental impact on a packet.

With numbers and colors, the Trust found that people could build a “mental map” in a short period of time and establish rules for their consumption.

Such an increased and improved information flow is “the basic way” of addressing sustainable consumption issues, said Ulrike Sapiro, the environmental sustainability director for Coca-Cola Europe, after the same meeting. …

[D_Idaho]

You know, this sounds exactly like the same alarmist crap I’ve been hearing from these types for the last 40 years. We’re always running out of everything except alarmist eggheads that want to make everyone live in the dark and eat grass. Screw ‘em!

[Persevero]

Ditto to the first comment, every five years there is a new crisis and we are all going to do.

It is complete garbage, useful only for a few elites to try to enslave everyone else.

[Dapper 26]

How do we run out of water? Where does it go?

[nathanbedford]

If your complaint is that left-wingers exploit environmentalism to steal our liberties I am ready at a minute's notice to take my flintlock down from the mantle and join you on the ramparts.

But if you are telling me, a person who has witnessed the doubling of the population of America in his lifetime, that our conservative liberties are not threatened by unrestrained population growth, I will tell you that if you in fact have connection with Idaho your whole lifestyle is threatened by the sheer gnawing, insatiable appetites of a population exploding out of control.

Either we as conservatives face up to the implications of runaway population growth or we will end up living subterranean lives in a civil liberties sense like a rats in an urban environment with no conservative liberties to bequeath to our kids.

[Nifster]

BWAHAHAHAHAHHA.... what a bunch of loons

[familyop]

So many world-ending disaster imaginings. Our economic leaders: sponsors of the media and favored, controlling political constituents, are panicking from mounting guilt and desiring to perpetrate genocide.

[Puckster]

“Uh oh. We all better hope we aren’t part of the excess population.”

You are excess population if you are not a:

A) Socialist Elitist (Right or Left).
B) Socialist Elitist (Right or Left).
C) Socialist Elitist (Right or Left).
D) All of the above.

You'll be required to bring your own bullet and body bag, at your own expense, for your execution.

But, seriously folks, what does one expect from paganism, ergo, humanism with the socialist overlay that is designed as the crank bait to succor people into eventual Communism.

Everyone, but the above mentioned, are "useless eaters".

[Olog-hai]

Please stay away from these threads. You seem to misunderstand the premise eight ways to Sol Invictus Day. There is no “we as conservatives” if you are not one.

[Olog-hai]

Same old lie as always. They try to make it sound like we’re “filling” the planet with immortal flesh and blood beings that can only absorb what the planet contains and give nothing back after (our natural) death that somehow won’t occur.

[dsrtsage]

A century long view of the Paul Ehrlich and Julian Simon wager

http://www.perc.org/articles/article588.php

[Myrddin]

I would happily dump these jackasses somewhere between Barstow and Baker. They will experience claustrophobia with the crushing crowds and buildings...or not. A drive up I-15 from San Diego to the Canadian border would disabuse these ignoramuses of the “running out of land” BS.

[Puckster]

Simon wins by default.

What is meant by that is if a free market is left alone by the socialist (left or right), this outcome would have been realized already and not after we have to pick up the mess that socialism has created.

It seems that socialism is hell bent upon keeping the reality of freedom from happening.

[Olog-hai]

The “Planet Gideon” farce is getting more than just tiresome. It’s a bunch of elites that are getting bloodthirsty for a genocidal war, doing the talking-up here.

[Puckster]

Just to clarify:

If the bet was made without socialism in the mix, Simon wins.

If it’s the inverse of that, and total socialism reigns, Ehrlich wins, because there would be no exploration of the necessary minerals, due regulations.

I think we are uncomfortably too near the later scenario.

[metesky]

With numbers and colors, the Trust found that people could build a “mental map” in a short period of time and establish rules for their consumption.

Welcome to 1st grade, chilluns!

[CitizenUSA]

I agree. Our liberties are definitely threatened by unrestrained population growth, especially growth that is imported from third world countries and consists of people who do not share western ideals of self reliance, morality, and liberty. But, of course, that is exactly why one of our political parties (and a good share of the other) is working so hard to allow unlimited immigration. It’s called importing a voter base, and its end result is cultural suicide.

[Nervous Tick]

>> Either we as conservatives face up to the implications of runaway population growth or &etc

What’s your plan? What *changes* shall we make, once we “face up to the implications”?

[marsh2]

America's population was not even replacing itself in the 50s and 60s. I believe it is the contribution of immigrants to the population that accounts for a population increase. If I recall correctly, when women become educated and are capable of self-support, the birth rate drops dramatically.