Blog #14--Environmental Policy

     Environmental policy seems to be the answer to the question of: "The environment is messed up but what can we do?" The process of environmental policy seemed pretty straightforward to me, but the only problem with it is the super-long timeframe of passing legislation. The environment is hurting now, but until legislation gets passed, which could be a long and arduous process, nothing can be done.
     I believe the U.S. should have ratified the Kyoto Protocol because the reason we pulled out is because of the selfish interests of polluting big businesses not wanting to possible take a financial hit. It is because of them that we have so much pollution in this country. They are also why passing legislation on the environment is so difficult and time consuming. So many people are going to have varied interests, and nobody wants to be worse off financially. It is so hard to create legislation on a national scale with so many varied interests, which is why local policies should be implemented because they can directly deal with a problem that pertains to the local community rather than deal with a national piece of legislation.
     I would like to see negative incentive to enforce the carbon dioxide cap. Right now, lawmakers are speaking of financial rewards and incentives for going green. Going green should be THE only way to go so they shouldn't be rewarded. Businesses should be fined for how much carbon dioxide they pollute. Getting hurt financially is good incentive for businesses to switch to green practices, not getting helped financially for not polluting. In a realistic world, no business would decide to turn green just because. Companies need to be galvanized to do what is good for the environment.

Blog #13--Ecofeminism

     Before I read the articles, I had a certain view of ecofeminism because I have heard about it before. I thought the basis of it was that we as a society were treating the planet as we treat women as a whole: subjugating and enforcing our will on it. After reading the articles, I realized my original idea was on the right path, but not totally correct. Ecofeminism deals with the idea that women have a greater sense in the area of saving the planet because women are inherently closer to nature than are men. I did have sort of a strong reaction to that because I believe they are making a strong generalization. I know that nature is referred to as a mother, but I feel that there are many guys out there who are more inclined to the needs of nature than some women. I feel that many guys do not care about the environment, but I personally care more than some women do.
     The biggest form of dominance I see today is the dominance humans have over the planet and its resources. As a whole, we are not thinking of preserving the planet, we are thinking about preserving our profit. This really bothers me how we have an all-take and no-give mentality. Humans in general need to be more in-tune with nature.

Blog #12--Green Democracy

     The principles of Green Democracy and Green Democracy are very interesting in the fact that it is a growing party in this country, not just a set of ideals that might never catch on. I could not say if I for sure would or would not join the Green Party just because there are many aspects of it that I agree with and many aspects of it I disagree with. The Green Party looks to give the power in this country back to the people as the U.S. Constitution states, claiming that currently the power is in a select few who are not willing to give it up. It also wants a larger sense of community to account for everyone's voice being heard. This is hard to agree with because it is currently not very feasible to go to community-style government and action. One aspect of it that I do agree with is that the airwaves should be open to the public if they have the money instead of big businesses' ads only. Not being able to put out on ad on radio or t.v. violates the First Amendment, which is what this country is based on.
     One extreme group of Green Democrats are the EarthFirst people. They go to extreme lengths to help save the planet, such as dismantling bulldozers and sabotaging equipment. The article on them is favoring their stance, but what they are doing is illegal no matter how one looks at it. It might be good for the environment, but unfortunately that does not make what they are doing legal.