Teaching enviromentalism "indoctrination"?
 

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,489591,00.html

Excerpt:

LOL Enviromentalism is a "lifestyle choice"?

Anyone who disagrees with teaching, much less doing, recycling should be voted off the island. They are obviously stupid, lacking basic common sense (which recycling is), or will say anything to promote their own political (ie. Polluting Big Business) agenda.

Perhaps the people who don't care for the Earth so much they belittle enviromentaslism like this
should be blasted into space? ;) The ole "if you don't like it leave" routine for the new age.


Or maybe I have just been indoctrinated? :D

Re: Teaching enviromentalism "indoctrination"?
 

No, it isn't.

Even if it is... so?

There's aaaall sorts of indoctrination going on in our schools these days. At least let something positive be taught.

Re: Teaching enviromentalism "indoctrination"?
 

If caring for our planet is wrong then we really are on a fast train to nowhere.

Re: Teaching enviromentalism "indoctrination"?
 

Some people see the earth as a beuatiful thing that should be cared for and protected whille others see it as just something to stand on... they would happily stand on something else if they could...
-Sean Lock

Re: Teaching enviromentalism "indoctrination"?
 

I think that teaching and encouraging recycling is a good idea. Teaching kids that lower pollution is a good thing is great. I think that we should definitely be teaching ecology in schools.

The problem I see dealing with college students is that they are taught these topics without any perspective. Students think that the extinction of a species or even a sub-species is a huge catastrophe that warrants any amount of money and effort to stop. They aren't taught that the number of extant species is tiny compared to the number of extinct ones, or that extinctions are a natural part of evolution. I do think that if humans are responsible for destroying habitats, that limiting development on the remaining habitat is appropriate, but there should be limits.

I see the same thing with global warming. People should be educated about greenhouse gasses, and their effect on climate. But I find that most people know that, but have no idea that the Earth's climate is _always_ changing. Sea level is not a constant, it has oscillated hundreds of meters throughout the Earth's history. Ice ages come and go. Global temperatures have been both much higher and much lower than today.

Certainly, global warming is a serious issue. But as we look for ways to respond, we need to figure out how much of the change is due to human activities, and how much of a difference it would make to reduce our greenhouse gas output.

Of course, being a Geology grad student exposes me more to the Earth's history than most :)

Re: Teaching enviromentalism "indoctrination"?
 

Simply put, I have served many years in Europe, here in the US, even in Oregon, who has a very 'nice' recycling program, we pale in comparison.

As a building coordinator in a typical 8 family dwelling, it was not uncommon for me to hold the occupants (not just the soldiers, I had the "lippy" wives there too!) of the building in a formation. Re-read to them the recycle and trash policy, (serviced by the host nation) and then have them sort their trash in the driveway. IIRC, it only took three times of the sanitation and recycle departments of not picking up our trash followed by our 'corrective training' to get it figured out.

"The Falls of the Ohio", just up the highway, proves "global warming" to be what it is. A cycle that has happened in the past, more so, 385 some odd million years ago for 'round hear'! Yes sir, 386 million years ago, my humble little abode was covered with ice!

In times of past, where the "Sahara Desert" is present, once was a rain forest. Recall "Wegener's Continental Drift Theory" and recent talk of the South Eastern US possibly becoming "arid" within some of ours lifetime. It has happened, and will continue to happen, regardless of our environmental policing policy.

Should it be taught in our schools? Yes!
Can we fix it? No!
Can we absolve the effects we have already placed upon it? No!

However, I'm just a communications major, and I have slept in a Holiday Inn Express recently, due to the effects of the 2009 ice storm! :D

Re: Teaching enviromentalism "indoctrination"?
 

We have great recycling here in Natick. It's free and we pay per trash bag for other garbage pickup. When we first moved here I was astonished by the amount of recycling we created and how much our trash decreased. To go back to not recycling would be a violation of good conscience.

Recycling our waste is not a lifestyle choice and teaching the practice to children is not equal to teaching a political belief. It is an act of responsibility to our community and to not do it is an act of irresponsibility.

Re: Teaching enviromentalism "indoctrination"?
 

Riddle me this: Where does your plastic 3, 4, and 7 go?

Re: Teaching enviromentalism "indoctrination"?
 

OhMyGoddess!! Haven't we figured out yet that FoxNews(SIC) is the World Wide Wrestling of news shows? It's either phoney of comically exagerated to the Right. It's hard for them to bash the Left 24/7 (although they make a GREAT EFFORT), so occasionally something else is put into their sites. This time it happened to be recycling.
Anyway, SO WHAT?! Recycling is a good idea whether or not global warming.. 1. exits, 2. doesn't exist, 3. is caused by humans, or 4. isn't caused by humans.

I think it's a good idea (recycling) if all it does is reduce the amount of money we send to Middle Eastern feudal monarchy's. Now, as to being "indoctrinated", well.....schools will ALWAYS do some sort of indoctrination. Sometimes what they teach is later found out to be in error. Like when they taught that Blacks were 3/5's of a human......for census purposes only, of course. Doesn't mean we'll BEAT THEM or anything like that,,,,you see(tongue is firmly in cheek).

Re: Teaching enviromentalism "indoctrination"?
 

I live in Florida and am aware that Florida's latitude puts us in the Northern desert band that surrounds the Earth. I think that being a peninsula jutting into warm waters may delay the desertification of FL. You may have noticed that other areas of the Earth in the NDB that are in areas with lots of water have avoided this fate also. I am awaiting a much more dire fate however,,,, There will eventually be so many people that the aquifer will be gone....then start the "water wars".