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My own family is like that. But you're not without weapons at your disposal.

Last week, for example, my daughter chided me for throwing away a glass bottle (there were no recycling containers around). So you explain that thousands of people earn a living by making glass bottles from scratch, and if we recycled them all, then they'd lose their jobs and their children would starve. Is that what your daughter wants--starving children?

The same daughter made a poster last summer that said "Save the Polar Bears." So you find a YouTube clip of a polar bear killing a baby seal. All the baby seal (who looks like her favorite lovie,"Sealy") wanted was a breath of fresh air. How would she like it if every time SHE came up for a breath of air at the pool SHE had to worry about a polar bear killing HER? And make no mistake, a polar bear would kill her and eat her in a second. So why the misplaced sympathy? If she really loved seals, she'd WANT polar bears to be exterminated.

It's like Allen was saying the other day, you have introduce complexity and nuance into people with simplistic, black and white views of the world.

With adults, such reasoning is less successful, and you simply have to resort to eye-rolling and derision, as I did when my wife suggested that I use one of those cloth HT bags that, for reasons entirely inexplicable to me, she purchased with household funds. Because, as noted above, the purpose of such efforts is an attempt to feel superior, indicating that the person is simply beneath your notice--a ridiculous buffoon whom you refuse to engage--is, I've found, the best tactic.

Doug:

I disagree with environmentalists almost entirely. It seems clear to any objective bystander that it has become at least as much about radical left-wing politics as it is about conservation. Some would even say it has become a "religious" movement by those who view "Mother Earth" as sacred. Even the founder of Greenpeace thinks the modern environmental movement is out of touch with their opposition to clean nuclear power (I have said before, this is one instance in my life where I WANT to be like the French). I could go on, but you get my point.

However, I must confess that I have become a pretty avid recycler. It probably has something to do with the fact that I am a little bit obsessive- compulsive (but getting better), but I also think it makes good sense in a few important ways. Recycling has become fairly easy; at home we have pick up every other week. We can easily recycle things made of valuable commodities like plastics, paper and aluminum. It also saves landfill space. I have even been known to take out of the trash a can or bottle that one of the girls has erroneously put in the garbage, instead of the recylcing bin.

At work it is even easier; all I have to do is bag up my recycleables and take them outside to the curb.

Now don't get me wrong, if Republic Waste stopped picking up recyling tomorrow, I would probably stop recycling, as it would then become much more time consuming. Moreover, I am recycling with the understanding that it has become profitable for someone to take cans, etc. and recycle them, and we are not subsidizing it with taxpayer dollars (am I mistaken?).

The bottom line is that as a Christian and a good citizen I think that I am obligated to do what I reasonably can do to conserve what God has given us and help to manage resources wisely when I can.

Having said all this, we really need to drill, drill, drill for more oil.

Best regards,

Doug:

The "best" quote is "she's the Osama Bin Laden of green terrorists?" Is she annoying? probably. A terrorist? come on.

Maybe we could abuse language further and call these busy-bodies "the little Eichmanns of the environmental movement" or accuse them of genocide against office amity.

Sheesh.

Hey, Dave. It was a humorous piece. (See brian's response.)

Doug:

Oh, the quote was making a light-hearted Bin Laden comparison.

(BTW, saw Brian444's response but didn't see where he called his family members or other people terrorists).

Dave, not all humor is light-hearted. There's a genre known as black humor. Some satire is very funny, but also grim.

Most people skilled at processing humor would recognize that it is an exaggeration to compare an avid recycler to a mass murderer.

Perhaps this brand of humor has been overplayed and hasn't been quite as funny since Seinfeld's "Soup Nazi" episode. But some people still seem to enjoy it and get the message.

Maybe there should be an article about blog terrorist who try and make everything much more important than it is and are afraid to laugh at themselves or others. You know, the guys who ruin some well written and thought out responses with phrases like, "maybe we could abuse language further" or "why don't you learn how to spell before you post."
We could call them blogapoleons and make fun of them for taking themselves so serious in an anonymous forum.

As far as the Osama Bin Recyclins; I think South Park did the best job of satiring these people Kyle's dad had to move to San Fran from South Park because after getting a Hybrid he was too "green" to live with such people. Once he moved to San Fran a "Perfect Storm" of Smug Clouds destroyed the city. Cartman had to go in and save him from the dreaded Hippy Capital.

Side note Brian, I can only hope that beer you were drinking from the glass bottle was made with organically grown hops!!!