Maybe the idea is stale. Stale ideas need new emphasis. Emphatic thinking is
a form of an assertion. Any denials need to be referenced, or validated as
inferences.

I would suggest the 'slip sliding away' hypothesis be deferred to those
individuals where 're-cycling' does make a material difference, ie.
phronesis, the idea that prudence or practice is required to meet and
maintain goals for the sustainbility of the earths natural resources.

A propositional attitude is fine, but in the end it is what is replaced or
put back into it's rightful or designated place that counts. Why do rural
folks in various places recycle up to 90% of their potential 'waste'? Are
they enviros without the blue raincoats [Lenard Cohen]?

john



----- Original Message -----
From: Chiaviello, Anthony <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, August 22, 2001 10:39 AM
Subject: Re: Myths by Anti-environmentalists on Recycling


> Encouraging to see agreement from some quarters already. Since moving to
> Houston, I have stopped recycling after almost 30 years of it - though I
am
> a loner and consume very little - because I have seen no positive change
in
> packaging, nor diminished use of resources due to recycling, nor the
> emergence of reusable containers. Business as usual seems to continue with
> or without recycling programs, and here they do not pick up glass or
certain
> plastics, so . . .
> -Tc
> Anthony R. S. Chiaviello, Ph.D.
> Assistant Professor, Professional Writing
> Department of English
> University of Houston-Downtown
> One Main Street
> Houston, TX 77002-0001
> 713.221.8520 / 713.868.3979
> "Question Reality"
>
> > ----------
> > From:         Steven Bissell[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> > Sent:         Wednesday, August 22, 2001 8:42 AM
> > To:   [log in to unmask]
> > Subject:      Re: Myths by Anti-environmentalists on Recycling
> >
> > Back in my "environmental activist" days I would remove all the packing
> > material from purchases at the check-out counter and leave them for the
> > store to deal with. I always felt that if you could make the retailer
> > absorb
> > the cost of recycling/disposal there might be some changes. My little
> > campaign never caught on and I don't do it anymore, but I still recycle.
> > The
> > town I live in has a very large recycling program that pays for itself.
> > You
> > can recycle almost anything here including yard waste, chemicals, etc. I
> > use
> > the mulch made by the city on my garden and think that by-in-large the
> > program does promote some awareness. I know my wife now checks the
bottom
> > of
> > all containers to make sure they are in the "right" category for
> > recycling.
> > In the main, however, I agree with Anthony that recycling programs are
> > like
> > peeing your pants while wearing a blue suit; It gives you a nice warm
> > feeling, but no-one notices.
> >
> > Steven
> >
> >  Dada is not dead
> > Watch your overcoat
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Discussion forum for environmental ethics.
> > [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Lisa Dangutis
> > Sent: Tuesday, August 21, 2001 6:34 PM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: Myths by Anti-environmentalists on Recycling
> >
> >
> > That applies, if and only if, the market stays on continued products,
and
> > doesn't diversify into new recyclables. I suppose it may have some
> > validity in that case. (IMHO).
> >
> > Lisa D.
> >
> > In a message dated 08/21/01 7:40:25 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> > [log in to unmask] writes:
> >
> > > What about the radical argument that a partial recycling program based
> > on
> > >  market demands simply legitimizes the dominant throwaway society?
That
> > >  recycling makes people feel good and thus not feel that they need to
> > change
> > >  the disposable system itself.
> > >  ciao
> > >  -Tc
> > >  Anthony R. S. Chiaviello, Ph.D.
> > >  Assistant Professor, Professional Writing
> > >  Department of English
> > >  University of Houston-Downtown
> > >  One Main Street
> > >  Houston, TX 77002-0001
> >