5 replies to this topic

[Green Thumb]

Shortpoet-GTD, on 13 January 2012 - 05:15 PM, said:

Resource protection is at the bottom of the list to too many.

What laws in air quality, land, water, waste management, spills & site cleanup do you have in your country right now?

Are they being strictly implemented?

Could it be made better?


There’s just one point that has gotten into me. It is when someone holds a permit to excavate, bulldoze, and crop the natural resources it’s like there’s nothing more one can do but let them have their ways. The permit gives this business people the power to take over the supposed to be untouched areas. The permit makes legal even what’s classified as unlawful. I can’t see a very strict rule on giving permits, is there? Oh yes, even without permit, some people can’t be stopped in rummaging the natural resources. Their prime permit is connection.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

I can't speak to all permits/ leases-etc. but in the case of gas fracking for instance, they pay the homeowners-
landowners for that section of land.
They don't have to, but more often than not, they do because the money can be a windfall for that family.

If you've ever seen Gasland, the movie, that's what started that young filmmaker on his quest for answers
regarding fracking. He was offered money to sell his land, and instead found out about the horrors associated
with the practice by traveling across the country and making the documentary along the way.

In the case of public lands, the congress/senate or the president can open up lands for mining, like
good ole' bushwacker did.

[joeldgreat]

There are lots of law passed by our government - clean air act, mining, waste water treatment, etc. But only few are really implemented real hard. These are good laws that protects the environment, and the problem is in the implementation. Many agencies of our government lacks funds to resources to implement these laws. Many are still full of corrupt officials, easy to be bribe by the offenders. Mining permits were given to mining companies whom will surely wreck havoc on the environment. Waste water treatment plants were very few and most company got their license to operate even if they don't comply to environmental laws. Big logging companies still continue to operate even if there license already expires.

[zararina]

The common issues or scenarios are: there are enougn laws but it was not implemented properly. And that there are laws but those who can afford to break the laws would not mind specially if they had protection from those in the government.
And based on news about what are the condition of the environment and the things we could observed, both of those scenarios are happening. And so resources are not well protected and can even be utilized by foreign companies as long as they have enough capital resources. Which causes lots of causes and movements than usually were not given proper attention by those who will benefit from it.

[mariaandrea]

There's so much bad news environmentally speaking, and so many things that are depressing all around the world about how we're destroying the planet and using up resources, that I thought I'd share something good.

The place I grew up is a beautiful rural island in Puget Sound near Seattle. The only way on and off is by ferry boat. It's about the size of Manhattan but with only about 11,000 people on it. A large local company wanted to develop a large gravel pit. The output was going to be so large that they even wanted to build their own dock to transport the gravel. The dock would have threatened native marine plants and sealife and the gravel pit itself would have been a huge open pit and stain on the land. People there fought it. Hard. For many years. They petitioned. They attended county zoning meetings. They met with state officials and politicians. They protested loudly and long against the project. And, against all the odds, against a lot of money and a lot of corporate power, they won. There is no dock. The gravel pit sits small, silent and empty. Once in a while, things work.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

mariaandrea, on 16 January 2012 - 01:30 AM, said:

There's so much bad news environmentally speaking, and so many things that are depressing all around the world about how we're destroying the planet and using up resources, that I thought I'd share something good.

The place I grew up is a beautiful rural island in Puget Sound near Seattle. The only way on and off is by ferry boat. It's about the size of Manhattan but with only about 11,000 people on it. A large local company wanted to develop a large gravel pit. The output was going to be so large that they even wanted to build their own dock to transport the gravel. The dock would have threatened native marine plants and sealife and the gravel pit itself would have been a huge open pit and stain on the land. People there fought it. Hard. For many years. They petitioned. They attended county zoning meetings. They met with state officials and politicians. They protested loudly and long against the project. And, against all the odds, against a lot of money and a lot of corporate power, they won. There is no dock. The gravel pit sits small, silent and empty. Once in a while, things work.

We have freedom of speech in this country, but too often and for too many years, people forgot that.
Happy to hear they raised their voices in unison against that habitat destruction. That's why I respect
occupy wall street-raised voices make changes. Yay!