tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post5874346222693022167..comments2023-10-08T10:04:46.250-04:00Comments on The Influence Machine. (defunct): Kyoto?Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-45261375698247926582007-02-02T15:17:00.000-05:002007-02-02T15:17:00.000-05:00Charise,
Lord, I’m a pretentious ass. Dare to comm...Charise,<br />Lord, I’m a pretentious ass. Dare to comment. Your insight is no more or less valuable than mine. And that goes for you blog-lurkers, too. Educate me.<br />I think there’s merit in environmentally-friendly products being hip. Even more, I’d like to see people become aware of the ramifications of consumer scenarios. Every time a consumer buys a product there is some sequence of input-process-output. The sequence uses-up things and produces waste that must be addressed. The artificial divorce of our minds from their environment allows us to think of consumption and waste generation in false isolation.<br />What I’d <i>really</i> like to see is people seeing “bad for the environment” as a fundamentally bad deal. We wouldn’t go to the grocery store and buy from a bin marked “Poisonous Oranges”, just because they’re on sale. Likewise, we need to move toward a mindset that we can’t upset global climate and ecology, just because coal is cheap. <br />Again, I see the entrepreneur making a better product and convincing people that the environment is a valuable part of the bargain.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-6281777214627087692007-02-01T19:40:00.000-05:002007-02-01T19:40:00.000-05:00You're so wise Mr. Dunhill. Sometimes I wonder how...You're so wise Mr. Dunhill. Sometimes I wonder how I dare commment on your blogs at all, I guess I'm just shameless. <br /><br />I can imagine it all now: <br /><br />Instead of chasing after Louis Vuitton and True Religion, by way of some ingenious entreprenuers, the consumer starts demanding designer LNG and name-brand post-consumer products--because it's oh so stylish. I mean, why not? All the kids on MTV's <i>Laguna Beach</i> are doing it...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-27895682337086495152007-01-31T15:38:00.000-05:002007-01-31T15:38:00.000-05:00Charise,
Thanks for stopping by. You make a good p...Charise,<br />Thanks for stopping by. You make a good point. The kinds of changes that need to take place in order realize any kind of meaningful improvement in the environment are in the day to day decisions in the lives of the masses. People need to be more mindful of the choices they make in everything from “what do I want for dinner?” to “why should I buy one car instead of another?”<br />The reason I chose the word “entrepreneur” here, is that as you put it, people “are waiting for some type of Green God to lead them to salvation”. In our media-driven capitalist economy, people are accustomed to being lead <i>as consumers</i>. I see the entrepreneur as the best change-agent in this scenario. Entrepreneurs find markets, create demand, create value. <br />The trick is to use this kind of business sensibility to get people invested in environmental quality as a fundamental characteristic of every product and service. If consumers considered the environment as part of the value-proposition every time they spent money, we wouldn’t need government to try to affect change through programs. The market would increasingly select environmentally/socially responsible firms.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-35379631647613695992007-01-31T14:03:00.000-05:002007-01-31T14:03:00.000-05:00"...but the entrepreneur, not the bureaucrat, must..."...but the entrepreneur, not the bureaucrat, must realize this change."<br /><br />The word "entrepreneur" in the above line could also be interchangable with the word "individual". The masses are waiting for some type of Green God to lead them to salvation from global warming, someone to tell them how their tax dollars are going to keep the Earth's temperature from rising. We want someone else to take charge--to fix the problem. People flocked to see "An Inconvenient Truth", but how many after viewing this movie, chose to do something themselves to help the situation? I'm betting not many. <br /> <br />I'm rambling, I know, but what I'm wondering is why aren't there more programs that encourage responsibility for our climate on an individual level? Does that sound crazy? If a million individuals started taking some type of action against global warming, don't you think that would make a difference?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-43065685918454953022007-01-30T16:10:00.000-05:002007-01-30T16:10:00.000-05:00-mtf,
Thank you. It’s important to keep in mind th...-mtf,<br />Thank you. It’s important to keep in mind that the news media (on the whole) are for-profit operations. While this is not in and of itself a bad thing, it does raise questions about ethics when a story might trash one of their advertisers. Also, conflict sells papers. You always want a good rivalry or a good villain to make an interesting story.<br />I think business needs to evolve its thinking with respect to natural (and human resources). Rather than simply focusing on short-term profits, businesses need to begin to consider other streams of value. Perhaps this means (someone much cleverer than I am) devising net present value calculations for shared resources that are expected to operate in perpetuity.<br />The environmental community needs to make an equal change to its thoughts and ways, and start looking at problems with an eye for finance. Backpackers will always be environmentalists. There’s little progress to be made by appealing to their values. We need to get <i>management accountants</i> to consider the environment.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-84925765551307106192007-01-30T15:12:00.000-05:002007-01-30T15:12:00.000-05:00Good post about Kyoto! I think the problem lies wi...Good post about Kyoto! I think the problem lies with the media mis-intepreting the threats of global warming which confuses the constituents who vote for people that do not have it on their agenda. <br /><br />I love it when people say it will hurt the US Economy, especially business leaders. Apparently they do not have the foresight to realize how much $$$$$$$ they could make if we switch to a greener capitalist system.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com