Web 2.0 Part Deux - My Inner Tree Hugger

For this week's Web 2.0 assignment I commented on a editorial in Wednesdays edition of the Democrat and Chronicle. The editorial focused on the need to deal with our environmental issues now, because we have been ignoring them for so long. The sign up was really easy - just my email address really. It was the first time I had commented on a news article on the D and C's website and I learned a great deal from it. First, Heather was right when she said that the local news comments tend to be a bit nastier. This was not bad, but obviously an editorial on global warming is going to spark interest from both sides of the major party lines (and one from the minor party lines- me). Second, this comment spaces are pretty intense. I did not have the time to check out the variety of sources (IPCC, UN, etch), but people here were at least trying to do their homework. Third, this homework was really to support their own opinions and not to get a more detailed or well-rounded look at the issue. And I really feel that is what my post below (I copied and pasted it on here b/c I do not know if this will still be accessible on the web tomorrow): Dougyfresh04 wrote: Right now what is going on here, through this comments, is basically a "i am more aware of what really is going here than you are." To me this is a microcosm of what is really wrong with our country - we cannot agree on ideas that are good - if they are not in step with our political views. Environmental issues are not a republican or a democratic problem, they are EVERYONE'S problem. We need to look at this as an issue everyone needs to be concerned with regardless of whether or not you think global warming is a fact or not. The simple fact of the matter is we should all support doing what is best for our planet. Pollution, emitting CO2's into the air, using non-recyclable products, consuming vital resources without conserving them are all things that do more harm to our planet than good. We should all be able to agree that we should do our best to protect our environment, because it is the only one we have. 6/11/2008 9:06:19 PM Here were some other post, so you get the idea of the comment blogs climate (pun intended) - I took out their names though So, where's the "expert opinion" on what caused all the past global warming and cooling long before man began spewing CO2 into the air? Seems to me we better understand this before we cause more death and destruction than the Iraq War - 100-fold, I think ;-D - by implementing draconian measures to "save the planet."6/11/2008 2:00:07 PM And the rebuttal: So, where's the "expert opinion" on what caused all the past global warming and cooling long before man began spewing CO2 into the air? Same answer, in the IPCC reports: www.ipcc.ch 6/11/2008 2:08:26 PM I actually kinda like the idea of any "marxism" but to me this is a growth of how we debate a lot in our society - at least from what I have seen. Debate have been replaced by arguments where we try to beat the other or make them realize our world view is more right than theres. The culture of competition has created an atmosphere were we are actually not finding a common ground on protecting the environment or at least having a cleaner one, at the very least. Anyway for those who are interested here is a link: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080611/OPINION02/806110347&s=d&page=#pluckcomments