Why is the United States destroying our planet?

Question

Are they ever going to stop polluting and destroying our resources?

Answer 1

Ask  the same question of the Indians and Chinese, unless, of course, it does not suit your pinko fascist viewpoint.

Answer 2

Wake up, do some  traveling. the US is probably the most concious of any other country. furthermore we couldn't destroy the planet if we tried.

Answer 3

I would love to know what utopian country this person is from.

Answer 4

It is not just the USA.  Stop pointing fingers we all are wasteful, people.

Answer 5

Actually the United States is relatively good at keeping the environment and its citizens safe.Some countries like china ,India and russia have have very little in the way of environmental standards.The U.S. has fairly strong environmental standards.

Answer 6

Because all Americans are evil.

It's true, we really are.

I heard it on BBC News.

Answer 7

Look at your backyard.....did I wreck it from here in the States, or did you and your neighbors.  Where exactly am I destroying someone else's land, specifically?

Answer 8

I would join others who object to the U.S. being singled out as we are only a small portion of the 6+ billion people on the planet, and we are fairly environmentally advanced compared to many other countries.

That being said, it does bother me that we use such a large SHARE of the world's resources.  Part of it is that we are still a relatively young country, and the country itself was large, allowing us to develop 'big' ways of doing things.  Like our vehicles are huge compared to those in other countries because we didn't have to worry so much about manuvering around old structures and narrow, winding roads.  And we could have BIG houses and so on.  But I have hated to see the trend toward what we call 'McMansions' here in the U.S, and the continuing rapacious consumption, partly encouraged by our belief in the free market here.  And it drives me NUTS to see Moms in cities driving 12 mpg SUVS to run to the grocery store.  Stuff like that is what we call 'conspicuous consumption,' and although it is beginning to carry with it some stigma of ignorance rather than the status it once conferred on the conspicuous consumers, it is still too prevalent in the U.S.

One thing that I think is worth noting is that the tone of your question-which singles out the U.S-is one of the reasons I believe we refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocols, as many of us (and obviously our political leaders) felt that the demands placed on the U.S. were deliberately punitive, requiring excessive effort on our part while looking the other way as some developing nations were allowed to pollute the environment by using outdated and horrendously polluting technology.  My opinion was, however, that as befits our global leadership position, that we should have tried to renegotiate the terms rather than walking away and surrendering our participation and leadership on environmental issues.

Finally, I think there is a problem inasmuch as we have seen in hindight ways that we might have preserved our own resources better in the past and have tried to help developing nations avoid some of those mistakes, only to be rebuffed.  While there are many reasons that has and is occurring-many of them legitimate-if we can't help other nations conserve their own resources and be better international citizens, why should we devote (as individuals) any extraordinary effort?  I will close, however, by noting that while we do consume a lot, the images portrayed of American excess in the media are not representative of the majority of our citizens all across the country.

Answer 9

The Uk is bad. I live in the UK and I think here in the Uk we could also do so much more.

Answer 10

The US isn't destroying the earth alone. Every human on earth is destroying the planet. There are tooooooo many of us and the earth can no longer clean up our mess.

Answer 11

Because they have money.  He who has the gold makes the rules.

Answer 12

its not JUST the US thats destroying our planet. Everyone needs to do their part to preserve our natural resources.

dont blame, its not attractive.

Answer 13

selfish greedy indulgent superficial clowns who populate the country; and led by the most selfish and greedy of all for 8 years ... The Shrubs in the Whtie House

Answer 14

I agree with the majority the blame is for everyone, but instead of complaining what are you doing about it????

Answer 15

This question is flawed.  You might as well ask "when did you stop beating your wife"?

The question is based on a false premise, that the environment is being destroyed (which it is not) and that the United States is doing it (which it certainly is not, and could not).

Even if you ignore the NASA evidence that global warming is happening in the entire solar system (including Mars specifically, where the polar ice caps are melting faster than on Earth) you could not blame just the U.S., as Asia pumps out way more pollution than we do  (China alone will pass the United States in 2010).

Answer 16

No....

bwaa ah ah ah ahhhhhh!!!

Answer 17

Your question is not entirely untrue since US pollutes a lot, but saying the US ALONE is "destroying" our planet is ridiculous.

There are other countries that pollutes more, and like many people have said is a global problem, not just US, but US is part of the problem too, that's true (and so is India, China, Perú, Russia, etc...)

Answer 18

FIRST of all: no we will never stop what we are doing

SECONDLY: it is not just the U.S. other country's use the same things we do, Japan, China, Russia, come to think of it every country dose, the U.S. is the largest politically publicized country that is the only reason you "blame" it on them when in reality it is a world wide problem not just one country's.

and THIRD: unless you do not drive a car, do not use energy, have never dropped a candy rapper on the ground, don't smoke, and don't use any products that are maid with materials that require some form of pollution to make (aka plastics, glass, clothing), stop complaining! no one likes a hypocrite.