Catholic Weddings

Tuesday Questions

First, Happy Anniversary Lalaith! 

Okay, now to questions.

1)  Do you consider yourself "green?"  Why or why not?
2)  Do you think there is a moral element to being green vs. not?
3)  Do you think one's beliefs regarding being green should be associated with their political affilation?  (In other words, are Republicans "allowed" to drive a Prius, or can a Democrat drive a Hummer?)

 

Re: Tuesday Questions

  • 1)  Do you consider yourself "green?"  Why or why not?
    I am actually pretty environmentally friendly in many ways, but it's also not something I stress over.  I choose to drive smaller cars because I cannot justify a high level of gas consumption for a larger vehicle, for instance.  I don't need the extra seating at this point in my life.  I also recycle and all that.

    2)  Do you think there is a moral element to being green vs. not?
    I do, actually.  I think the consuming so much energy by driving an Escalade when you don't even have kids, or by living in a massive home when your family could comfortably fit into a much smaller home, is often a symptom of greed in our society.  I don't think it's up to the government to police it or anything, but I think we leave in such a consumeristic society, and I don't think that's good for our souls.
    As far as it being moral to take care of our planet, I think that's true.  I don't think it's morally right to do things that will cause great harm to God's creation, whether it be a human being, an animal, or a forest.  Obviously there are reasons that justify damaging the planet, but one should avoid it when possible. 

    3)  Do you think one's beliefs regarding being green should be associated with their political affilation?  (In other words, are Republicans "allowed" to drive a Prius, or can a Democrat drive a Hummer?)

    I know there are stereotypes, but I don't think they are necessarily true.  Super environmentally-concerned people tend to be "hippies," and hippies tend to be liberal.  So I get that association.  However, I am conservative in many ways, and so I lean more toward being a Republican.  One of the ways in which I'm conservative is that I'm conservative with resources.  Makes perfect sense!


    I want to add...growing up, I always thought it was a sin to be concerned about the environment.  I think I got that impression because people who were concerned with the environment were often so much so that they put earth/animals ABOVE people.  Often these people would lament about how humans were destroying the earth, and humans were evil, and overpopulation will kill the trees.  I do NOT agree with that.  God created a home for us (our planet), and I think it's respectful to take care of it.  However, I think we are far more important in God's eyes, and so respect for human life is far more important than respecting the planet.

     

  • Thanks! :-) 
    (and great questions!)

    1. Yes, I consider myself "green." I do what I can to minimize my "footprint" on the earth.

    2. Yes, I think there is a moral element. God gave us the gift of reason, and he made us "stewards of the earth and it's creatures." As our landfills increase and creatures that He created go extinct, we are not following through with our end of the bargain.

    3. Absolutely not. I think there is way too much politicizing going on. I think if politicians looked out for the best interests of all humans and the entire world, instead of catering to their constituents or those (usually large companies/organizations) who give them money, we'd all be a lot better off and actually be able to tackle problems.

    NOW, with that being said... I also don't think it's as cut-and-dry as it seems. For example, ARE Prius' better for the environment? Yes, they get better gas mileage, but what about the long-term environmental costs to produce them? (See CLICKY for an example of the arguments against.) Or what about recycling? (I only skimmed this article, but it helps point out how recycling isn't necessarily ideal. CLICKY.) 

    Soo... it's really hard. "Popular opinion" tells you to do these things that are actually controversial, and since I'm not a scientist and I don't *know* that they are the best to do, I try to use my good judgement. But I also try to do things that are unarguably better for the environment, like for example meat, especially beef, takes a TON of grain/corn to produce and energy to transport it etc, so I try to eat less meat, and turning lights off when I'm not in the room, and walking to the store when I can, and (my favorite! :-P ) not taking BC pills since they cause sex changes in fish, and for sure can't be good for the water system! (CLICKY
    Anniversary
  • maggieandreymaggieandrey member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited October 2012
    1)  Do you consider yourself "green?"  Why or why not?

    I do my best to be environmentally friendly. We recycle (my town does single-stream so it's stupid not to because it's so easy), I drive a Civic (but not a hybrid) for the fuel economy and its ultra low emissions, and I choose mostly organic / natural foods and products. I say mostly because there is a part of me that over-analyzes the cost-benefit. That's why I don't have a hybrid. The increase in fuel efficiency isn't great enough to outweigh the additional cost.

    2)  Do you think there is a moral element to being green vs. not?

    I think so, to a certain extent. It's simpler for me like the golden rule. I wouldn't want my backyard to be a landfill, so I recycle to lessen that environmental burden.


    3)  Do you think one's beliefs regarding being green should be associated with their political affilation?

    Not necessarily. I'm a libertarian, and I resent being called a "treehugging liberal" just because I make conscious choices to do things that I think are better for myself and the earth. I wouldn't describe myself as liberal, ever, much less a treehugging one.  I think that the labeling that happens is done to try to put people into familiar buckets. But to me, it's not about red and blue, left or right, and being green is just another color on the spectrum.

    That being said, I know people who are one-issue voters. So, if that's you than maybe I can see why it would impact your political affiliation.
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  • 1)  Do you consider yourself "green?"  Why or why not?
    Definitely. This past summer, I did a lot of research and switched almost all of our commercial products over to homemade ones, mostly vinegar or baking soda based, that are better for my body and the environment. My family composts, we recycle, I try my best to reuse things. I even use hankerchiefs instead of kleenex, which is considered weird for a college student. Plus, FI and I are dirt poor, so we can't afford to consume a lot of products, water, energy, fuel. We do our absolute best to conserve everything we can, but this isn't as big of an issue now as it will be in 2 years when we have our own house.

    2)  Do you think there is a moral element to being green vs. not?
    I do. We need to take care of this earth and the people (and animals and plants and fungi and bacteria!) on it. It is morally wrong to be okay with destroying the planet because you don't think it affects you.

    3)  Do you think one's beliefs regarding being green should be associated with their political affilation?  (In other words, are Republicans "allowed" to drive a Prius, or can a Democrat drive a Hummer?)
    Absolutely not. No matter what you believe, everyone has a duty to protect this earth. How you do it may depend on your political alignments, but there shouldn't be anything "libral" or "conservative" about caring for the planet. I understand the stereotypes, such as the republicans that said "sea level rise" is too libral of a term or the tree-hugging hippie, but that doesn't mean conservatives can't be green. Like Resa said, she's conservative, so she conserves resources! Love it!
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  • 1) Do you consider yourself "green?" Why or why not?
    Somewhat - not as much as I'd like to be.  I could be much better about walking to work rather than driving, and could make a better effort to recycle.  However, I do try to do what I can, and have tried to switch some of my usual products (dog waste bags, cleaning products, etc.) for items that are natural/biodegradable)

    2) Do you think there is a moral element to being green vs. not?
    Yes - I think everyone has a responsibility to do what they can to keep the planet in good shape for future generations.  However, I don't think everyone needs to be as hard-core about it as others.  People should do whatever they can that fits into their lifestyle and budget - as long as they're making a good-faith effort, that's good enough for me.

    3) Do you think one's beliefs regarding being green should be associated with their political affilation? (In other words, are Republicans "allowed" to drive a Prius, or can a Democrat drive a Hummer?)
    No - maybe because I'm not really into politics, but I don't think that someone who tends to identify mostly with one party or another isn't "allowed" to do something environmentally friendly (or non-friendly) simply because that party as a general rule doesn't agree with it.  As I said above, everyone should just make their best effort to be good to the planet, regardless of their political affiliations.

    **side note - thank you all for your well wishes last week!  My H and I had a wonderful wedding day!**
  • You know what got me thinking about this?  Someone actually posted on FB "a real Republican doesn't drive a Prius, and if you drive a Prius, then we're not friends."  Ummmm what?!  So I was clearly like "Republicans can drive a Prius!" and so that's where this all came from lol.

     

  • 1) We are relatively green - we recycle, we are carfeul with overusing electricity/heat, we try to use green household products and are planning on starting to make our own detergent, etc which is also more economical. We also are pretty strict about being organic for important things and we purchase most of our meat/produce from local farms. Once we have a house I'd like to  do some more - collecting rainwater to use for watering plants, have our own garden, composting, etc.

    2) I think we have a responsibility to care for our bodies, animals and planet. I think being as natural as possible is ideal and being unnecessarily careless/reckless with nature is harmful to your soul.

    3) I loathe political affiliations/labels, etc. I think they only increase/emphasize the divides, force us to look at each other as enemies and pigeon-whole many people into thinking they are "wrong" if they don't fit perfectly into a box. So, I don't think being "green" relates to any political party in particular. Especially when both major parties are pretty disgustingly reckless with nature.
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