Is the government really as concerned about our planet as they claim to be???

Question

I have been thinking about all this stuff we have been seeing on TV about how its "in style" to be "green" and how the government is so concerned about how we are basically polluting ourselves off our planet...I say-the government is not doing enough-BECAUSE there are some SIMPLE things that the government could mandate about this.

1. Make every single state have no choice but to participate in recycling-because there are states (example:Tennessee) who do not recycle. They just throw cans and plastic/glass bottles in the freaking garbage!

2. Mandate grocery store bottle return machines to accept water bottles-just to recycle them-not to give a refund of course. Just as an outlet to recycle them.

3. Fund the recycling companies who give bins and pick up recycling like the garbage man. They could make it mandatory for everyone in the US to have these bins and pick up service(for free-funded by the gov)to recycle the things we cant at grocery stores-like newspapers-milk jugs-etc.

Answer 1

The Bush Government only cares about how much they can steal for themselves and hide in secret offshore accounts.

Answer 2

You have some great ideas.

Trouble is that some people do not agree with the importance of recycling.   If they're in the majority in their state and they elect politicans who represent them, then it's the people not the government's fault that state does not recycle much.

The other issue is the cost.   It does cost money for the state to store, sort, and haul the materials to recycling facilities.  When diesel fuel is $4.75 a gallon and areas of TN might be hundreds of miles from a facility that uses this stuff, how much in fossil fuels (and now much money) do we spend moving plastic bottles 500 miles?

Do consider that the bigger picture is America is one of the most wasteful countries in the world.    Most of this waste is because we wanted convenient soda, water in fancy-labelled bottles, or other pre-packaged things.    Perhaps half the energy/time should be put into making it worthwhile to reduce consumption & packaging?

By the way I live in Maryland.  I can take my trash to the landfill free IF I recycle, so basically they're making it worth it for me to sort my trash.   Even better they've created bins for batteries, flourescent bulbs, used textiles/clothes, e-waste, medical waste, and more.   And once a year they do a special hazardous waste program to take things like paint, chemicals, pesticides, and fuel -- keeping them out of the landfill or groundwater!     Not every state is behind the times.

If this is an important issue for you, it needs to change on a local level.   Since landfills are usually run by your county or a big city, start there and see what their rules are.   Why don't they have drop-off points for recycle?    Can they add e-waste?   Can they create any incentives for the public to help?

Best of luck to you!

Answer 3

It sounds like this query hearkens forth from a great advocate of fascism.  The boys in blue, banging on doors with guns, asking about why your mandatory recycling was not completed this month...  How bout the laws regarding CLEAN COAL technology be enforced rather than waived with FED permitted extensions for installation?  Even that should NOT have been the domain of the fed gov, it should have been legislated by the states and maybe spurned by a meeting of the governors of all the states.  Find a state legislator that wants to dirty their local living area...  Dissolve the EPA.  Return to the constitutions limitation of Federal Government.  If the fed gov feels something should be done about something, the fed gov need advance it's case with the voters of the area where they say something needs to be done.  The fed gov has NO right mandating micromanagement of people's lives.  People in Tennessee would OBVIOUSLY recycle just as much as anyone else given a program existed to make it happen, the failing thus is not the people of Tennessee but their lacky politicos.  The Tennessee Government should be jailed for ignoring environmental well being from a position of responsibility.  The case should be made based on existent law, they should be prosecuted for the murders that are attributable to pollution.  40% of people worldwide die due pollution.  Tennessee's politicians have no shelter in where to hide from their obvious knowledge that pollution kills.  They preside over massive pollution, they know pollution kills, they're guilty of murder, lock them up and throw away the key.

Dan

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/200...

Pollution Causes 40 Percent Of Deaths Worldwide, Study Finds

Answer 4

is anybody???

Answer 5

I think those are great suggestions.  The government is not really too concerned about it.  Sure, they can make policies and whatever - but INDIVIDUALS work for government, and most of those people don't care enough to do all the hard work it takes to enforce the laws.

Answer 6

The government is made up of people who have to get elected every couple of years, so they will say whatever it takes to get elected.  It isn't really a matter of not doing enough, it is a matter of getting elected.  So the politicians say what the people want to hear, get elected, then sit on their butts and take bribes from big business until it is time to run for office again.

It may be politically correct to say that Green is Good, but they keep getting elected for doing nothing about it.  

Until you elect people who WILL do something about it, going green will just be so many words.