sweetbeans’s Recent Comments

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  Priorities

  I'm also baffled by the "holier than thou" comment. It's pretty clear that the higher gas prices have been a benefit to the environment. I live in Los Angeles and the visibility here is remarkably clearer than it was a year ago.

  The problem here in LA (one of the problems) is that people live too far away from where they work. There are too many causes of that to get into here, but those of us who can get around it, should. My husband and I are white-collar working class, and we made the move to a part of town where we were close to work and close to shops, so that now we only drive occasionally. The adjustment wasn't easy - we now live in a small 1 bedroom apartment, and commuting to work by bicycle involves risk and sacrifices. However, life isn't just about convenience. Those of us making sacrifices shouldn't be looked on as elitist.

  Environmentalism aside, it's a civic duty to look after your community. Pollution-related illness, congestion, noise, and environmental degradation all seriously erode the quality of life for all of us living in the city. A culture of obsessive consumerism has led to poor city planning, poverty, and environmental crisis. Rather than insisting on retaining lower fuel prices so that we can maintain this way of life, we should be thinking of ways to restructure our lives so that we're not dependent on cheap gas. And that doesn't mean living as a hippie drop-out.

  Oh, and PS, Wolverine, it's not anti-feminist to expect parents to raise their own children. The point is that many (or most) women with children can't afford to stay at home. And don't forget, dad's make great stay-at-home parents, too.On Protests erupt worldwide over fuel prices posted 1 year, 5 months ago 25 Responses

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  Mt. Kilimanjaro

  On a continent that produces a mere 4 percent of the world's greenhouse-gas emissions, significant landmarks are taking a hit from climate change: Lake Chad and Lake Victoria are shrinking each year, and Mt. Kilimanjaro could be snow-free by 2020.

  It's misleading to suggest that greenhouse gas emissions are the cause of shrinking the snow cap on Mt.Kilimanjaro. As the title of this piece hints at, this tragedy is caused by deforestation for logging and by fires set by humans. That said, the West has long exploited Africa's natural resources, and through wars has destabilized some regions. We are none of us innocent in these days of globalization.  On Climate change, deforestation, erosion take toll on African landscape posted 1 year, 5 months ago 5 Responses