Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Kyoto Protocol

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BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Kyoto Protocol set to take effect: "The main ceremony to mark the entry of Kyoto will be held in the ancient Japanese capital where the treaty was reached in 1997. Speakers are to include Nobel Peace prize winner Wangari Maathai.

Ms Maathai, an ecologist and Kenya's deputy environment minister, said the Kyoto Protocol would require not just efforts from governments and businesses, but also a change in the way people live.

'One of the reasons why some of the countries don't want to support the Kyoto Protocol is exactly because they don't want to reduce their over-consumptive life pattern,' Ms Maathai, the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, said.

'One way of reducing that over-consumption is by learning to reuse a lot of the resources that we use and just throw away.'"

A baby step in the right direction, as I read. Emphasis added, as it so gently shifts the blame from corporations to individuals. I am sure readers from the US will feel terribly embarassed.

5 Comments:

Blogger Hector Drone said...

Point taken.
If u really think about it, the power of the individual consumer is enormous. When you buy something, the importance of this transaction lays on the millions of things you DON'T buy at the same time. Now... let's hope there comes a time we will actually choose what we don't buy. Because, at the moment, our choices are kind of manipulated. Ok, I know that was not exactly your point but... I hope mine is welcome whatsoever.
By the way... nice blog - is it really viewed by millions? And... what are the qualifications so that I can consider meself one of the few?
:-)

11:04 am EET  
Blogger dystropoppygus said...

You are one of the few, no question about it. As for millions, you recall the song "είμαστε δυό, είμαστε τρεις, είμαστε χίλιοι δεκατρείς..."

12:30 pm EET  
Blogger DanaiShips said...

Αγνοώ το παλαιοκομμουνιστικό σου jingle και απαντώ: καταναλώνω, άρα υπάρχω...
Πιστεύεις οτι όλες οι αγαθές προθέσεις του κόσμου, μπορούν να πείσουν τις λυσασμένες γυναίκες (αλλά και άντρες) ανα τον κόσμο να μην αγοράσουν ένα ακόμα άχρηστο πράγμα?
Call me pessimistic but...

12:59 pm EET  
Blogger dystropoppygus said...

The jingle was referring to (hector's comment on) the blog, dearie. Καθόλου δεν υποτιμώ τη δύναμη του καταναλωτισμού. Το σχόλιο (εκτός από μια αναφορά στη Συνθήκη, για να μη ξεχνιόμαστε εντελώς) πιό πολύ έγινε για την τοποθέτηση της Νομπελίστριας.

1:23 pm EET  
Blogger soap said...

Hold on there, dyssie mou, you can’t just give it away! Hector, you know the drill. Follow the crumbs to their (il)logical and inexorable conclusion and if your persistence pays off, you will indeed be one of the few (the very few, last time I checked). In any case, should you have any lingering doubts, your opinions are welcome.

Well, I’m here to report back from our American contingent: heads are indeed hanging in shame, but there is sadly still no consensus on readiness to reduce, reuse, or recycle at this point. A-zax is right – when there are as many manufactured needs as manufactured goods, why bother? In fact, the Americans are enjoying being the scapegoat for the rest of the world, who, in turn, have the ultimate excuse to follow the “leader” and not do anything either. Can Kyoto really change all that? (If it changes even a fraction of it, maybe it'll be enough.)

6:39 pm EET  

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