So, what's your solution? Go back to pre-plastics?
Seriously. You're more than willing (eager, in fact) to take shots at other people's solutions, but I don't think I've ever heard you propose one. I'd like to. You're one of the saner and smarter people here.
There is no solution Tec. Everything we do is going to have a negative impact on the environment. On top of that, the enviros have no clue what they're doing either. Remember paper plates, cups, shopping bags, etc? The greenies told us we had to stop using those products because of deforestation. So, we replaced those paper items with plastics and styrofoams. But those plastics and styrofoams were getting into the food chain and killing sea life so the greenies demanded a stop to their use. The solution? Paper products. Apparently the greenies just figured out how to plant a tree in the last decade and are now calling wood and paper, "renewables".
And it's not so much I have an issue with other people's "solutions", it's the fact the green f*cks act like their solutions cause absolutely no environmental harm when in fact they have caused and are causing some pretty serious damage. It's the smarmy, shit-sucking attitude I hate, not the "solutions" per se. And as far as Canada's oil industry goes, the greenies would have you believe we're just dumping all that oil on the ground and rolling baby seals around in it or something.
And it's not like I'm some kind of eco-nihilist either. I no longer drive. My electronics are at least 10 years old. My heat and electricity are derived from predominantly emissions-free source. Our yard isn't a green, manicured lawn, we decided to create a space for the wildlife that was displaced when this place was built. Bonus effect: our cats LOVE watching the birds and little critters.
The only "solution" I can come up with really, is to quit knee-jerking "solutions" and acting like they're panacea cures for our environmental shortcomings. There are already thousands of derelict wind turbines just standing their and rotting. Apparently the companies that installed them won't remove them because it's just not "cost effective" for them. Man, good thing the green energy industry isn't just a bunch of profit-driven greed-hogs like the oil industry is supposedly full of.
I don't even know if cold fusion is really a solution either. Even though it could power an entire nation or continent with unlimited power, you'd still need to build more than one facility because powering a country from a single power source/location is just colossally stupid. If it were that easy, Quebec and Ontario could easily power all of Canada with their predominantly emissions-free power generation.
Trust me Tec, if I thought there was an actual solution to halt our environmental degradation I'd be all over it and pushing it like a heroin dealer. Well, there is one but it's not very pleasant. Reduce the human population. In this regard, I think modern medicine has created at least as many problems in one area, as it solved in another area. However this isn't a solution I wish to push, I simply mention it for reality check purposes.
That was also the purpose of the pic I posted. A reality check. It was pointing out that while the ALT-left blubber-heads scream and cry about this: (one of several in situ oil extraction facilities in Alberta)
they're more than happy to contribute to the mess that is Lake Baotou, and others.