The federal government needs to regulate environmental matters. If it does not take on this role, most companies and individuals will ignore their responsibilities to the environment and instead focus upon living in ways that are most beneficial to them. Sustainable practices (methods which strive towards balance between environmental longevity and economic growth while using available resources without exhausting them) can be expensive, and if companies want to be competitive, this is often not the best route for them. If the government regulates all businesses, however, they are all on a level playing field. Especially in a country as developed as ours, we have the capabilities to continue production with less pollution and we need to give companies incentives to find new sustainable ways of production.
There has to be direct consequences for people to really care about the environment. For example, when gas prices were near $4 per gallon, I noticed my friends and family were much more conscious about where they were driving. Although most everyone knows the harmful effects driving has on the environment, that thought alone does not limit many people from unnecessary driving. They need immediate consequences to change their lifestyles, which the government can provide. It must limit personal freedoms, which often end up hurting the whole.
I also believe that government intervention is necessary, but as you stated with your gas case study, individual action is necessary. There is only so much that the government can do to regulate corporations, as many politicians find themselves responsible to corporation needs. Overall, I believe the ideas that you made in your post were very well articulated, I just wish they were elaborated on a little more.
ReplyDeleteI agree - both government and individual action is essential. We know how to get the government involved, and that's not necessarily a simple matter. Acting as an individual is simple enough, but getting EVERYONE to act individually to fight climate change is an even larger one that trying to get something through the governmental process. As I see it, the two things that motivate people to change their habits are 1)Money and 2)Religion. So financial incentive is necessary (i.e., raising gas prices to deter people from driving all the time), and maybe we can stop looking at religion as a pain in our asses (which, lets be honest, it really kind of is), and start looking at it as a way to reach a LOT of people who we know have the ability to feel moral compulsion very strongly.
ReplyDelete*and then act upon that compulsion.
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