Gasland

[Racket_Man]

since I helped partially de-rail the inconsiderate non smoker thread I am starting this thread

why in the hell should we be all that concerned with tobacco smokers smoke when things like this are happening that are causing much more harm, damage, illness and possibly death not to mention the sever damage caused to the land air and water. and most of it is legal or at the very least cloaked in voluntary blindness (private AND PUBLIC) and government indifference (cause its legal by law). why should we as a society vilify some poor smoker "pollution" when there are WAY bigger issues and problems out there. yes the smoker is just a convient scapegoat for all of our problems.

Yes smokers are harming themselves and possibly others in a very limited way BUT what about the bigger picture. what about all of the Industial stuff that is going on right in or at the very least near your town or county. think of how your electricty is produced, how that factory near you runs, AND most importantly what are the byproducts of those facilities. you would be surprised

take one section of this. contempporary natural gas production, pipelines and processing facilities in the US

GasLand: The Documentary

GasLand the Wiki page

HBO sysnopsis of Gasland (currently showing on HBO adn through Sundance)

PBS's NOW program review the claims in Gasland
Read through the comments on this one to see how some of the pro drilling commentors use the economy, $$$$$ and outright "bullying"

Yes this documentary is a bit one sided, even though the maker tried to get the other side's view and position. most of the answers he got were "<CLICK> or during an on-camera the interviewee simply would not even talk about the subject or would just get up and walk out.

it seems most (but not all) policital figures are "towing the company line" of "cheap and abundant energyalong with JOBS and $$$$$" no matter the short and long term consequences. right let us pump and dump millions of tons of toxic chemicals over the land water and air. "OH there is NO eveidence of hamrful stuff there. OH look at this bright shinny thing over here."

the companies hide behind trickery, outright lies, lots of $$$$s in people faces, legalitites, lack of govenment oversight and deception. hmmmm sound familiar??????

and this is JUST ONE phase/section of our modern life with cheap stuff and not a care for what we are doing.

so why are we so damn concerned with the minicule impact smoking makes on our pitiful lives when there is SOOO much more going on.

[Crazedclerkthe2nd]

So many powerful people including business leaders, world leaders and Kings and Princes have billions and billions of dollars in the oil industry. The technology exists to wean us off oil very effectively, but these big shots aren't going to kill their golden goose.

[Andara Bledin]

The technology exists to wean us off oil very effectively, but these big shots aren't going to kill their golden goose.

Hey, Ford made a car that ran on hemp oil, which is an easily-renewable resource.

Well, it was, until they decided that hemp was bad for the pocketbooks of the chemical companies and the oil people, anyway.

^-.-^

[Gravekeeper]

So many powerful people including business leaders, world leaders and Kings and Princes have billions and billions of dollars in the oil industry. The technology exists to wean us off oil very effectively, but these big shots aren't going to kill their golden goose.

This. And only this. Period.

We have the technology to begin converting to entirely green energy tomorrow if we wanted too. But those at the top don't want too because then they might only have 10 billion dollars a month to rub on their genitals instead of 20 billion.

[Greenday]

Yes smokers are harming themselves and possibly others in a very limited way

Ah, I love it when people like to pretend second-hand smoke isn't dangerous.

As I said in the other thread, this attitude is just the same as "He doesn't have to do this so why should I?" Nothing will ever get accomplished with this selfish attitude.

[Racket_Man]

Ah, I love it when people like to pretend second-hand smoke isn't dangerous.

As I said in the other thread, this attitude is just the same as "He doesn't have to do this so why should I?" Nothing will ever get accomplished with this selfish attitude.

yah and just like breathing the air these days or drinking the water is no NOT harmful

and most out there including me would agree BUT the same can be said of Asbestos and the millions of toxic chemicals dumped into the air land and water AND we are exposed to on a daily basis but the same attitude presists as in "OH there is NO direct connection (even though we have ample evidence) between the two."

I believe that getting stuck on the freeway DAILY in rush hour traffic or living next to a factory belching toxins or living next to a refinarie or chemical plant is much more toxic and harmful

[Greenday]

I'm not saying those things aren't harmful. They obviously are and I agree we need stricter legistlation against these companies instead of this BS slap on the wrist punishments we dole out.

But just because they are so much worse, doesn't mean that smoking isn't harming anyone and that seems to be your argument. "They are worse so fight them, not us!"

[Wingates_Hellsing]

There is such a thing as prioritization. Second hand smoke, vehicle exhaust and current industrial particulate pollution are all small potatoes compared to nuclear, bio-hazardous and E-waste.

The reality of the situation is that we are doing a much better job of keeping the air clean and disposing of waste properly than we were a few decades ago and if anything are getting better. This includes advancements in handling radiological, bio-hazardous, and E-waste.

The places that are having honest to god serious pollution problems overall are developing countries which can't yet afford to care about environmental concerns as what the air will be like in 20 years is far less important when you're barely keeping yourself fed for the next week.

None of which is to say that there aren't real environmental problems. Lead remains a constant concern, and there will always be the isolated trouble spots. Overall though, we're doing fine. So let's reserve the fire trucks for the towering infernos as we're quite capable of handling the occasional camp fire with a bucket.