by Izzy Woods

When you get annoyed at the litter thrown from a vehicle at a stop light or at the teenager who misses the garbage bin in the park when he discards his cola flavored drink can, who is really to blame? Is it the individual who committed the crime or the government for failing to educate and action simple laws?

Whether you should spend the morning on your new organic latex mattress weighing up the options or get to your computer to send a letter off to the President, you do have to think about where the blame exists.

Consider the facts

Has the government issued enough laws to tackle the sources of emissions of both greenhouse and ozone depleting gases?

Have they really added their support to the need for low emission finishes for building materials, carpets and household and business furnishings?

Do you still see diesel trucks polluting your city or town? It makes you wonder how some manage to get around the vehicle emission laws and still maintain a substantial presence on the roads and open spaces where our children walk and play.

The workplace

Do you walk past offices and other buildings where noise is still an issue or the smell overpowers you? Do all of the businesses you know really actively promote ways that employees can get to and from work without the use of private transport?

How far do employers go in developing education about their business environment positives to empower others? Are their special needs agendas fact or fiction? You only to have to talk to employees for a few minutes to find out if the good health of the employees is paramount to the company or if the ideal view is that people are easily replaceable.

Erin Brockovich

For every Erin Brockovich out there campaigning on an employee’s behalf, how many businesses are operating in a manner that would place them in the quandary of spending to alleviate known problems or waiting for the legal minefield to open?

Is your local environment really safe and secure? Do you see problems and pass by them without informing the correct agency so they can deal with the problem?

Do you see enough people getting actively involved in helping to forge a spirit of greenness in your community or is it left to the few to fight for the benefits of all?

Management of energy

Despite seeing gas prices double in a short period of time, vehicles are being traded down in size and some are closer to being eco friendly, but how many people still drive their 3-6 liter engines without a care for what is happening to the environment?

How many people have really lowered their electric bill through using less electric with planning rather than just cutting down because of the recession?

Have we really grasped the need to cut down using the earth’s supplies of fossil fuels and replace them with sustainable products?

Zero waste projects

Does your community run a zero waste policy to enable the authority’s garbage collections to avoid your town or community? Do you know about the communities that:

· refuse all they can – perhaps food packaging by purchasing fresh food;

· reuse as much as they can after an item has ended its current lifecycle;

· reduce the amount of trash brought home to be thrown out at convenient times;

· recycle all that they can, just as nature does, so that everything can find a new home?

Whose fault?

Is this all the government’s fault or are they doing all they can to combat the issues with limited funding. Should the citizens of the planet all be held accountable for the green failings?

The government will argue that they have passed legislation that balances the needs of the country with the funds available and the expectation that people will take it upon themselves to show moral responsibility to act upon the issues. The people will see that a few take full charge of trying to move forward large projects to help the majority and some will do something occasionally, but a greater number sit and watch the rest do the work.

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