[Erin] Paper or plastic, writ large
Thursday June 26, 2008
Categories: Environment
This WSJ Page One feature on the perils of arranging a green political convention is worth a read: The host committee for the Democratic National Convention wanted 15,000 fanny packs for volunteers. But they had to be made of organic...
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About Crunchy Con
Rod Dreher is an editorial columnist for the Dallas Morning News, and author of "Crunchy Cons" (Crown Forum), a nonfiction book about conservatives, most of them religious, whose faith and political convictions sometimes put them at odds with mainstream conservatives. The views expressed in this blog are his own.
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I have a tee shirt that answers the question very simply. "I Ain't Green and I don't care."
It prevents a lot of difficulties.
"Much of the hand-wringing can be blamed on Denver's Democratic mayor, John Hickenlooper, who challenged his party and his city to "make this the greenest convention in the history of the planet."
Wouldn't the greenest option be to not produce throwaway crap like souvenir baseball caps and fanny packs?
They have to examine what is best for their region. There is no environmental panacea. The larger states (like TX) may have to evaluate multiple solutions.
Have to agree with forestwalker, why make more junk?
forestwalker has the best solution.
Charles Cosimano has the worst.
Because *not* making throwaway souvenir stuff might negatively impact the economy. I mean, if *everybody* did it...
If they want a green convention, they should skip the swap and tell everyone to bring their own dang caps and fanny packs.
forestwalker, you read my mind (ahead of time, even more impressive).
Fad hats and fanny packs, 99.99% of which will end up in a landfill or buried in a closet, are not green.
Awesome, I replied before reading a single post, I like to see I'm in the majority for once on this blog!
Instead of china or paper plates, they could use bread baked as plates or bowls. (or would baking be bad?) I get so confused
This whole thing would be funny if it weren't so pathetic.
To Group:
Maybe, I thought plants were organic by the nature of not being inorganic. Oh well you have political fads or science.
Sincerely, J R Dittbrenner
They should hold a virtual convention online. The carbon emissions from the flights to Denver alone render anything they do superfluous. But yes, it is funny that they want to be green by making lots of "green" garbage.
This is a perfect illustration of our political (and governing) process. Symbolism, symbolism, symbolism. Who cares if the organic cotton union-made piece of junk ends up in the landfill, thus exacerbating the problem you are pretending to address? The really important thing is that you can get a nifty press release out of the deal. And so, when every adult knows that the solution to this deep problem is both conservation and exploration, our governing class dithers by pretending that they can sue a coalition of foreign governments. (OPEC). Rather than accept that every attempt to solve a problem involves risks and benefits, our governing class insists on doing nothing because everything involves a sacrifice or a risk of some sort. Can't drill because it might hurt an iceberg. Can't conserve because it's "admitting defeat". Can't develop alternatives because a cute seagull once got killed by a wind turbine.
Isn't it time to "throw the bums out again"?
What to do? Union or organic? Well, since tomatoes don't vote, I'd choose labor. Duh.
So, what is "green" about using union labor? It seems that the term is losing much of its meaning.
Boy, just think if they had to choose between a union-run organic cotton using textile plant which was run by an African American vs. a union-run organic cotton using textile plant which was run by a homosexual in a committed relationship! Or, a non-union shop run by an AA female vs. a union shop run by a boring white man.
But wait. Now that the head of the Democrat party has dark skin, are white men now considered "diverse" enough to qualify for special treatment in their functions?
Orrrrr, since he is really of mixed race, does that mean that everyone is now diverse?
And of course, most importantly, what does it mean that the candidate being endorsed at the greenest convention in history has never worn a single organic hemp or organic cotton suit on the campaign trail?
And just because this is so fun: how will they manage to be more green than the 1860 fossil fuel-free Republican convention which ended up nominating the first Abe Lincoln?
Well, somebody already beat me to the observation about all the flights to Denver.
Maybe they should bicycle.
Question -- Will a President Obama forgo the use of Air Force One?
Marc - That was hilarious. Haha... The 1860 Republicans were green before it was cool and trendy. I definitely see a bumper sticker or t-shirt in the works.
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