I'm still on the waiting list for this book, but doggonit, I'm going to jump in anyway (after all, not having read the book hasn't stopped me from joining the discussions at my book club!).
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > Jim wrote: > > > I have a bit of a problem with this idea that > environmentalism and > > economics are mortal enemies. There has to be some > middle ground. > > In fact, in the long run, environmentalism makes > good business sense. The problem is that so many > businesses in this country don't take the long run > into account - next week, next month, maybe next > year, but five years from now? WTF cares. > > And yet Diamond has written about oil or gas > exploration in his beloved New Guinea (either in > Collapse or an Op Ed piece can't remember) about one > of the companies being very cognizant of > environmental issues (had to do with how they built > the roads to and from the mining sites I think > amoung other things). He contrasted this to another > company with more traditional approach; the > environmentally aware company did better - sorry > that I can't remember the details. The conclusion > was that environmentally sensitive actions were not > more expensive. One way use the market to insure > environmental protection is to insure that the costs > of doing business include the environmental costs > (e.g how much will cost to clean up a site after it > is mined out). We have a better handle on this now. > If the true cots are figured in a corporation will > have to make a market driven choice as to how much > it is worth to do something to the environment since > it will have to pay those costs. Similarly, people are frequently willing to pay more for organic or 'fair trade' products, such as milk or coffee/tea. When educated about benefits to the environment or local populace, folks often choose to support those goals; of course, one has to have the income to back up one's desires. Debbi who had a boyfriend from Missoula, at one point, and has hiked in the Bitterroots __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
