I think I am tired of being "Green".

Price is probably a factor in this too as packaged items are often be cheaper for some reason???
Plastic packaging offers better protection for less weight than alternatives. Items sold loose often have to be higher grade and look more like our vision of perfection, people perceive the less perfect looking options as inferior and don't buy them. As a result there is much less waste with the pre-packaged options from the supermarket's perspective, but packaging does lead to more waste in the home as people often buy more than they need.
 
I'll be giving them a vote too

I certainly won't. They have not come through on their policies of looking after animals. Ireland is the puppy capital of Europe and it is a disgrace at the size of some of the breeding establishments allowed.

We are still producing far too many greyhounds with only a handful of them being used for racing at top level. The rest are treated dreadfully with the rescues supported by the general public through donations having to pick up the pieces. The Government including the Greens have allocated €19M to Greyhound Racing Ireland for 2024.
 
Also the 24hr transport of calves to France is disgraceful
 
There is no doubt but that the consumer does not always do what is in their best interests. Sometimes the state needs to intervene and packaging is a simple enough issue that could be tackled by introducing some restrictions on use of plastic.
In terms of the wider question, everyone has the ability to do something positive and as one poster said, just do what you can no matter how small it might seem, even if it is as simple as planting one tree in your back garden. For me personally I've taken a much greater interest in the garden for a mulititude of reasons, one of which is to help become greener but another is to learn and be better at growing my own food because there are skills that are being lost from generation to generation and I want to be able to pass on some of these to my children. That includes composting and learning as much about the science of it all.
Water harvesting isn't something I'm as concerned about personally so I have no issues flushing the toilet regularly - in fact I hate these half flush buttons and rarely use them as they never flush the toilet properly!
The main thing for me is not to feel guilty about the things that are "not green" but do try and make some positive changes if possible.
 
Humans are not replacing themselves anywhere outside Africa.

Well within my lifetime people will stop worrying about climate change and worry more about a falling human population.
Not really the case as the Western populations are rising mainly because of inward migration. It be another 50 years before population peaks. There has been massive population growth over the last century. In 1900 there were a billion people now there are 8 billion plus . That population growth was largely a result of exploitation of fossil fuels and hydro carbons. Because the growing of food and manufacturing switched from man power and animal power to machine power which caused a huge increase in productivity. There is no way that we can switch away from hydro carbons by 2050, it simply not achievable. Doesn't matter what Mary Robinson et al says, she is not a technologist.
 
Not really the case as the Western populations are rising mainly because of inward migration. It be another 50 years before population peaks. .
Is that true? A lot of the increase in the Westen population is from the aging population. It would ve interesting to see a reliable analysis breaking this down.
 
While I'm at it, I'll ignore the candidates who say "Vote for me because I am a woman" also.

If they are already elected TDs, then why not look at their record first? Some of them are pretty good politicians and, in fairness, many of the good ones don't seem to feel the need to continually play the gender card.
 
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I am all for more offshore wind, and LNG.

Yet even Minister Ryan himself, no doubt a massive supporter of offshore wind, has stated that "it takes a month to build an offshore wind turbine and seven years to get the permissions".

I wonder has he done anything to remove the blockages / permissions / consents?
 
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He appears to remain very much in favour of the right of any citizen with a bee in his/her bonnet to object to almost any proposed development on the basis that the local rats, slug or cockroach population may be affected adversely. Hence his stated desire to see interconnectors installed from as many other countries to Ireland as quickly as possible. It's probably much quicker to design and install an undersea electricity cable from (say) New Zealand to Ireland than it is to get planning permission for a wind farm in Leitrim!
 

So clearly you believe that that the situation regarding puppy farms and the overproduction of greyhounds will improve if the Greens lose all of their seats in the Dáil? Care to explain how?
 
I'll be giving them a vote too. I know they're not perfect but think its important to have some elected representations who are pushing green policies - don't trust the other parties to do this.
Same here. Greens are far from perfect but and are a minority party in government. They're not going to fix all problems. But we need someone in government willing to propose less popular, long term solutions for the greater good.
 

I appreciate where you're coming from Sue Ellen - Ireland has a shameful record regarding animal welfare in many situations.

However, I do think the Green Party are their own worst enemy sometimes. Are they a bit naive with some of their policies ... or are the public a bit naive on how much they can actually do? They only have 12 TDs and think they are really up against it trying to make progress on some of their policies. Not only is the Dail dominated by FF and FG but there are also very powerful lobby groups against animal welfare. I think they are the public's scape goat for many issues while the bigger parties get away lightly on these issues when they don't even take a stance on such issues - feel they actually hide behind the Green Party on many things. While I don't give them my first preference, personally I'm happier to see them in government - than in opposition.

Anyway, getting off track now.
 
So clearly you believe that that the situation regarding puppy farms and the overproduction of greyhounds will improve if the Greens lose all of their seats in the Dáil? Care to explain how?

No I don't see those situations changing anytime soon because there is too much money/votes involved and many Governments have done absolutely nothing to sort it out over the years.

The Greens led animal activists to believe that things would change under their watch and got their votes. That has not happened but as we all know that's nothing new with politicians.
 

I've just looked at the Animal Welfare commitments in the Programme for Government (page 68 at this LINK) but am uncertain as to what progress has been made. (I know that the fur farms were forced to close down and the owners were paid about €8m in compo, but apart from that???)
 
So far I have learned that people are sick of doing the bare minimum to care for the planet because:
  • Recycling is annoying
  • Bicycles are annoying
  • A politician is annoying
  • The same government leader was planning to take a flight in order to do his job
  • His political party is doing things they said they would do
  • The party is also not doing enough of the things they said they would do
  • The party is trying to improve things but is not doing it perfectly
  • People who never voted for the party are going to continue not voting for them
  • Former supporters will now vote for less eco-friendly candidates as a punishment (seems logical)
  • A footpath was replaced
  • Envelope design is annoying
  • Someone's friend didn't text them and it hurt their feelings (fair)
  • Some other countries are not doing enough so we shouldn't bother
  • Some countries are doing more than us
  • Various random individuals are disrespectful so we should behave like a melodramatic tragicomic curmudgeon from a TV show
  • Banana packaging is a contentious issue, particularly in Reykjavik
This is like a fever dream scripted by Ayn Rand and Franz Kafka.

Why exactly are people getting in a huff elsewhere on AAM about pensions if no-one gives a hoot about the planet we plan to explore in retirement? Does inheritance tax even matter if future generations are going to spend all their money trying to fix everything we are destroying?

High-earning, child-free couples are paying €€€,€€€ per year in taxes to subsidise the children and grandchildren of people so separated from reality that they are not willing to accept the mildest of inconveniences to ensure breathable air, drinkable water, survivable summers, and a stable food supply. Maybe people should be able to opt out of that obligation too if they are tired of it.
 
@arbitron While I enjoyed reading the above post, and credit where its due, it summarises a lot of previous posts very well, you have omitted all of the positives that people have mentioned that they are doing, in previous posts, which is a shame - as there's good, not just bad, to be found ;-)
 

True, and I secretly agree about the little envelope windows being annoying
 
Banana packaging is a contentious issue
What's bananas about the banana packaging is that that the banana actually comes in the most eco friendly packaging
But we as humans think we can improve on it while forgetting that nature doesn't make mistakes
And at the same time I go buy a washing machine that the same people think there's no point in repairing it it's cheaper and more economically sound to just dump and replace it

In 1900 there were a billion people now there are 8 billion plus
This is what worries me the most, I believe that over the next 25 to 50 years that will grow to 10 to 11 billion
We are now classed as an outbreak species and there is only one way that that will end
Unless we cop on and realise that everything has to change and that that starts with all of us consuming less