Saturday, April 17, 2010

A Bridge Too Close


A 1.7 kilometre bridge, part of a 270 Million Euro highway will soon do considerable damage to the famed wine country district hot by the Mosel River in Germany.

This is part of a world wide trend, most evident in Europe in recent years, of governments barreling through more and more asphalt for more and more cars at the expense of agriculture, local business, tradition, clean air and good reason.

So the next time you see one o those photo-op international "green" conventions of "world leaders," don't believe a word of it.

Thinking - if such it can be called - has not changed a whit.

The car is still King and gasoline is the grape.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Log it. Burn it. Pave it.

Bullfrog energy at pay more for power .ca

People have lost any bit of common sense.

I hope that we realize that nuclear power is the answer.

13

Anonymous said...

Funny thing is, I've always been concerned about environment and the dwindling resources of this planet.

I'm not necessarily on the global warming bandwagon. I've got a relative who is an oceanographer (very closely related to climatology) who advised me that the earth will go through warming and cooling periods without human interference.

I am still concerned about the environment. I am concerned about arable land, clean water and habitats for wildlife.

What am I doing to be proactive...

I wear the same clothes until they are worn out.

I don't buy a lot of consumer goods. My tv was purchased in 1998 when I moved out of my parents home. I have no desire to get a big screen 3D set. I'll replace my set when it breaks down.

I walk to my local grocery stores (about a 15 to 30 minute walk - depending on the store). I put all my groceries into my double stroller, sometimes attaching the bags to the stroller handles.

I have some container plants for herbs and stuff.

I take transit to work.

I support my local businesses.

If I don't need it, I don't buy it.

Here is the irony. A neighbour who was applying for a job at the David Suzuki Foundation used to see me walking home from the grocery store with grocery bags tied to the handles of my stroller.

When I was with a group of neighbours, she mentioned that she sometimes sees me, I laughed and said that "I must look like a bag lady." The whole group got quiet - looked down at their well manicured hands and seemed to snort, "she said it, not me."

My efforts are actually helpful - the thing is - they aren't "sexy."

Buying the latest fashion made from reclaimed leather for hundreds of dollars is "green" and "fashionable."

Using the same purse for 15 years is just low brow.

From my neighbours to the policy makers - the whole system is based on the sale and purchase of goods.

It just has to sound green - it doesn't actually have to be environmentally friendly.

Anonymous said...

"Funny thing is, I've always been concerned about environment and the dwindling resources of this planet.
"

How absolutely true!