Comments Flamingo has made

my hope

is that y'all don't try to shove too much onto one front page, a la Washington Independent  It's hard to track the day's stories that way, hard to catch up on what you've missed, too much information. I like the Gristmill much better than plain ole Grist. As a matter of fact, I never visit Grist, only the mill....  TPM's layout works really well for me, and it's just the right amount of info at one time, with headlines and the main mothership blog as well as sub-blogs with further info. On Grist is cooking up a new site; what do you want to see in it? posted 1 year, 6 months ago 32 Responses

latecomer to this "dialogue"

but I had it bookmarked to re-read for the last two weeks and to catch up on comments.

The one thing I don't see addressed in this discussion is where any of the contrarians to Adam's view proposes any alternative for reaching "billions" like Adam is, God bless him, attempting to do here. Yes, Wal Mart has a f'ed up business model, (they attempted for years to build near my home town and my neighbors spent their own money fighting to keep them away and save the small town culture and economy) but when you're talking about an entity where even the smallest corporate decision can impact millions of people and reduce energy use and carbon dioxide release by spectacular amounts, how in the world can you dismiss that? How dare you, honestly?  What - are you going to just wait for Wal Mart to self- destruct in the face of your moral certainty or sheer number of blog posts? There's progress here with Wal-Mart. Why not take it? Seriously. I'm not saying that nobody here acts on their passions,  but on what scale?  Where are the OTHER ideas for reaching billions in the time frame that they need to be reached? THAT'S the dialogue that I want to have. It's easy to dismiss this perspective on consumerism but what's the alternative, given the world we're living in where Paris Hilton trumps melting arctic ice every time?  

And come on, people shop and people will ALWAYS have to shop for food and clothes and places to live and for transportation.  Don't we want to give "billions" of those people better choices? Won't that work better than shaming them or making them afraid, if you even get to them at all?

Now I certainly have questions about how this vision translates into reality. There WILL be an intersection where economic survival will conflict with sustainability of the planet, and many "green" companies peddle stuff we just don't freakin' need - I mean yeah, I can buy bamboo plates at Whole Foods, or some new organic cotton dish towels, but what's wrong with the old ones? or an old t-shirt?  It's a troubling question because people do need to make a living and have a right to do so, and it's better for them to be involved in economic activity that that is more sustainable but how many have that choice at this point?  People have a right to aspire and it's a natural instinct.  I think underneath this "movement" idea is to provide more opportunities to more and more people to  have that choice.  I don't actually see it as much different than the "green" movement and don't really see the point of differentiating.

This can go very very right or very very wrong. I think the instinct is right - reach BILLIONS, get them to focus on sustainability, get them to aspire to it, make better choices.  The thing is to avoid that deadly intersection where the road turns towards greenwashing. Can you tell a company you don't want their business because people don't need to buy their sh*t?On Adam Werbach calls for a new movement of a billion consumers posted 1 year, 7 months ago 73 Responses

ugh

I can't stand the waiting....I can't look...tell me when it's over....On Listen to 'Ohio' by Damien Jurado posted 1 year, 8 months ago 2 Responses

why only 3?

I wish they'd gotten more Governors. Would have been even more powerful..... Still - really great, especially combined with the Bali Communique the other day. On Governors urge federal action on global warming posted 1 year, 12 months ago 2 Responses

just checking

so this talk about the antarctic ice INCREASING while the artic is decreasing is bunk, right? On Must-see ice-sheet TV posted 2 years ago 6 Responses

have the rest declined?

Or are you still hoping other candidates will accept? This is awesome, by the way.On Grist to sponsor first presidential candidate climate and energy forum posted 2 years ago 6 Responses

yeah, Hillary

Voting for Clinton - it's the same as voting Republican, right??....not.On The full text of Clinton's plan posted 2 years ago 18 Responses

well...

...sounds fairly impressive. You going to do a comparison to the other top candidates' policies? On Clinton lays out her new energy policy posted 2 years ago 7 Responses

I like Friedman, usually

he is MUCH less a waste of space than Maureen Dowd....

And there have been PLENTY of politicians talking about Green Collar jobs, including Barack Obama, so Van Jones isn't remotely  the only one talking about it (not that I have anything against what he's doing at ALL, but it's not correct to say that politicians haven't jumped on this bandwagon.)

And people forget how many people in this country pay attention to celebrities and the elite lifestyle. It can't be the only focus of organizing, but if it becomes hip and cool to be green, then a lot of people will be persuaded to be green. That's a good thing, we should go with that. Unfortunately, like it or not, celebrities get more attention than Van Jones or Dave Roberts, and what we need is more attention.....On The Mustache discovers Van Jones posted 2 years, 1 month ago 5 Responses

yup

TOTALLY agree with Dave Roberts. On Al Gore and the IPCC jointly win peace prize posted 2 years, 1 month ago 56 Responses

also

in Los Angeles, they deploy the Community Emergency Response Team to help with the LA Marathon to make sure all the runners are taken care of. More communities need community training like that. On A first-hand view from Chicago's overheated marathon posted 2 years, 1 month ago 12 Responses

probably Obama....

I don't think he'll run, either. I do hope he wins the prize, though. On Gore thought likely to take home the Nobel Peace Prize posted 2 years, 1 month ago 11 Responses

I see your point

There is a lack of urgency to a lot of the actions that are being focused on. I think it has to happen on ALL levels, from ALL fronts, from the legislative side to the individual and voluntary. There is a lot of momentum in a lot of directions (although there definitely could be more urgency across the board), with the exception of the federal legislative side. The GOOD thing, though, unlike with Iraq, is that it CAN be attacked on numerous fronts, and those who are frustrated with the lack of federal action have A LOT of options to move things forward while still trying to push for that, while waiting for a saner administration. A local city council resolution on impeachment or Iraq will make zero difference, but a local city council regulation on local energy use, emissions, light bulb use, et al, CAN make a difference, and individuals CAN have a huge impact on that. People can impact their neighborhood, their church group, their schools, their town, their county, their state, their company, their circle of friends while fighting for the federal legislative agenda to catch up. On Tidwell responds to scientists responding to Tidwell posted 2 years, 2 months ago 28 Responses

ya think?

...borders on malfeasance?On Ahhhnold and friends tell the folks on the Hill to get with it posted 2 years, 5 months ago 4 Responses

ok but...

Good points about the California campaign, but to be annoyed at Vanity Fair for catering to the elite is like being mad at ESPN for catering to sports fans. It's the whole point of the magazine. On Where are low-income and minority greens in the media? posted 2 years, 6 months ago 21 Responses