What really makes her a good pick is that every time Obama says something that can be interpreted as an attack on her and her family, it will be. The fact is that the Republicans probably want nothing nothing else. In this way they (and the media) can immediately start talking about and begging the Democrates to stop “smearing” Palin and her “hockey mom” way of life, and by doing so ask the american people if they really want a president that can do no better than that. Is this and the media’s handling of it low and unprofessional? Low I think, even somewhat disgusting. Whether it is unprofessional or not is harder to say I believe. It´s definitely deliberate.

Having lived in the US, in England as well as, currently, in Australia and seeing how waste is being treated in these countries makes me want to cry! Americans, English people (I refuse to call them Poms, that’s just too silly?!…who were the prisoners?!…) and Aussies all produce a massive amount of garbage every day. And when that massive amount of garbage isn’t recycled it has a devastating effect on our planet. Not saying that people in all other countries are great, definitely not, but where Helena and I are from, Sweden, I must say people are generally pretty good. We, (yes, including party animals like uni students!) are aware of the importance of recycling our own rubbish. We actually, just like Helena described, do walk with our rubbish to the nearest recycling station to put newspapers in the newspaper container, coloured glass in the coloured glass container, plastic in the plastic container and so on. It seriously is the least we can do for our planet on a daily basis!! Look at what’s happening to it…temperatures going nuts, ice melting etc etc…it really isn’t doing too well and it’s all our fault so if we want to keep it we better look after it!

Another thing I just have to add here is the thing with the plastic bags…it just drives me nuts how they over use them in the supermarkets here! I can’t stand when they pack your bags for you (which is very kind, but not environmentally friendly). They put about two items in each bag. That could be because the quality of the bags is so poor they’ll break if you put more than a loaf of bread and a small bag of tomatoes in them. In Sweden you have to pay for your plastic bag if you don’t bring your own bag to the shop. That’s so clever since it makes people bring their own bags (and the ones you buy if you have to are strong and ‘proper’ bags that can be used over and over again). The supermarkets here do sell the environmentally friendly strong carry bags though. They are great and even makes carrying your groceries easier. It’s just a shame that not many people are using them… If you haven’t already bought one or two and aren’t using them…what are you waiting for?! Again, it’s such a small thing, but if everybody did it, it would make such a huge difference.

We need to take care of our planet, it’s EVERYBODY’S responsibility! We’ve only got one, and it’s not doing very well…

You give the example of people not caring about recycling. Why does our culture encourage this?

South Australia’s had a lot of success in getting people to recycle by simply charging a 5c plastic bottle deposit on every plastic bottle sold in the state. If people do the right thing and return the bottle, they are rewarded by getting their deposit back. If they throw the bottle in the bin or on the ground, they lose the deposit. And if others – community groups, scouts and guides – have to clean up after them, they get rewarded for doing it by collecting their deposit.

In the rest of Australia, how are people rewarded for recycling a plastic bottle? How do they compensate the people who clean up after others? How do we fine people who do the wrong thing? In many cases, the answer is simply “we don’t.”

Going deeper, why is there so much waste that needs recycling (or throwing out) in the first place? I think the answer is partly because we have a culture that encourages us – every day – to waste natural resources, and because we don’t pay the true (environmental) cost for what we use.

Slightly different topic, as a fellow LaTrobe Journalism student, I’ve added a link to your blog. Any chance of adding a link back?

As you pointed out, there is so much more that can be done at a local level to reduce climate change. The problem is changing selfish attitudes that have no consideration for the future consequences of their actions.

So can we educate these people further? Probably not. I suppose all we can do is try and lead by example. Whether it be recycling, driving less or even reusing the same plastic coffee cup, there are little sacrifices that we can all make to ensure we are not contributing further to global warming.

Although I’m not so sure whether I can agree with you that university students can be excused because they’re teenagers. Most of them aren’t. Someone who is in their early twenties and have brains enough to undertake a university degree I believe should be capable of realising that their actions effect the world.

Or actually, when I reconsider it, living at college and studying at uni is for some people mostly about getting drunk. Guess that lot don’t consider or analyze anything very carefully.