Boycott JAPAN, ICELAND, NORWAY

Jolsa

LizEstelle wrote:

We may well have to pick and choose our targets, largely according to our personal prejudices in all likelihood but, whilst our f e c kless government sits on its hands and does nothing, I think it's up to the individual.

Yes, I don't have much good to say about the US and the Chinese. Whenever possible I don't buy their stuff, either.

Greenpeace may be your way and I respect that - but I for one believe firmly that the way to a whaling nation's heart lies through its wallet rather than protests in inflatable boats.

Why don't you check out my second link before making such statements (re: inflatable boats). You'll then see that in this instance Greenpeace are campaigning in a way that highlights the money that Iceland will be losing out on by continuing with its whaling program.

Sure it's an individual choice as to how you go about stating your own feelings on topics such as whaling. However some choices are more effective than others.

Supporting an organisation like Greenpeace (who don't just stage protests in inflatable boats by the way) who work tirelessly on multiple levels to raise awareness and force change for the better concerning issues such as whaling, will have more direct effect on the issue that enrages you so much than not buying something at the supermarket because it originates from Iceland.

Using your methods, you could be adversely affecting an honest hardworking person who, for all you know, shares your views on whaling.

Also as I've mentioned with regards to the US and China, not buying goods from a certain country because you disagree with one of its actions would mean that if you did enough digging, there probably wouldn't be a country left to buy from, including the UK!

If whaling is an issue that you feel so strongly about, and it's not about you not buying Icelandic goods so that you can pat yourself on the back and feel better about yourself, then I'm surprised that you disregard Greenpeace so easily.

tr3mor

Jolsa wrote:

It's not just having the means to do it, it's having the will.

What, the will not to boil our own water to move turbines when there's a constant and ready supply? It's like being offered breakfast in bed and saying "no thanks, i'll make it myself!".

Jolsa

tr3mor wrote:

What, the will not to boil our own water to move turbines when there's a constant and ready supply? It's like being offered breakfast in bed and saying "no thanks, i'll make it myself!".

Not really sure what we're getting on to, just wanted to point out that Iceland aren't all bad and their commitment to building an infrastructure based on clean power deserves praise.

Yes they're blessed with the raw materials to create this, but many countries have the option to invest more in natural power sources yet can't be bothered *cough* UK, USA *cough*

tr3mor

I'm not sure it does deserve praise really. It is much easier for them to use the resources that they have available than it is to make power from methods used by most countries.

Why would you praise someone for taking the cheapest and easiest route?

maow425

mountainbike wrote:

I absolutely agree with you 100%...I will not be buying any products from these countries while they do this.

I think you'll find that you can't switch on anything that uses electricity for a very long time, as the electricity we're using is likely to come from gas-powered plants, and this gas and the gas that goes to heat our houses etc is likely to come from Norway. Also, a lot of sea food like cod, salmon and prawns, are likely to come from the North Sea, part of which belongs to Norway, so that kind of rules out fish and chips for a while.

Boycotting anything from Norway, means that you can't buy products from companies who source their goods from Norway (and Iceland etc) either. A lot of companies use dry ice (solid CO2), and this is often imported from Norway or Norwegian companies based here.

And for those of you commenting on Iceland's use of their naturally renewable resouces to generate electricity; what about Norway, who generates most of it's electricity by harnessing the power of the rivers to drive the turbines. The UK has plenty of naturally renewable soources that can be used, it's just that the countryside folk seem to fall into the "it's ok as long as it's not in my back garden" trap. Britain has had plenty of time to take advantage of wave and wind power, but the plans to build the facilities for this is usually halted by people who claim it'll be a blot on the landscape or it will ruin the countryside. What do these people want? Energy to power their domestic appliances and to keep their houses warm or do they want our future generations to fry (or drown - depending on where they live) as global warming becomes an increasing problem?

Ok, rant over. Just a few thoughts really.

Jolsa

tr3mor wrote:

Why would you praise someone for taking the cheapest and easiest route?

Efficiency? ;-)

Praise because they're bothered about Climate Change for one.

jmarko

:mad:

Rant on.

I am sure I'll get flamed into the ground for this but I don't care, here goes...

I won't be boycotting any of these countries. We have such a two faced attitude to things like this, it's unbelievable. Just because they do something that offends my middle-class, western hang-ups doesn't mean that I can impose my will on them. We kill all sorts of animals in this country (and others) and do naff all about them. We bow and scrape to the nastiest of regimes and thank them when they dump on us. We even had people arrested for holding up Tibetan flags during a visit from the Chinese premier not that long ago. So what's so great about us that we know best?

By boycotting any country, you achieve only two things. You pay lip service to your own guilt for not doing more in your own realm and, secondly, you hurt the very people at the bottom of the chain who earn their living by providing you with the bits and pieces that you have stopped buying. It is them that lose their jobs.

America is absolutely ruining this planet but I bet that most of the people on this thread are happy to be sitting in front of their US owned, far east slave labour produced PCs. Well, to you, you're hypocrites.

Boring, ill-thought out, middle class guilt.

Rant over.

:mad:

jmarko

tr3mor

maow425 wrote:

And for those of you commenting on Iceland's use of their naturally renewable resouces to generate electricity; what about Norway, who generates most of it's electricity by harnessing the power of the rivers to drive the turbines. The UK has plenty of naturally renewable soources that can be used, it's just that the countryside folk seem to fall into the "it's ok as long as it's not in my back garden" trap. Britain has had plenty of time to take advantage of wave and wind power, but the plans to build the facilities for this is usually halted by people who claim it'll be a blot on the landscape or it will ruin the countryside. What do these people want? Energy to power their domestic appliances and to keep their houses warm or do they want our future generations to fry (or drown - depending on where they live) as global warming becomes an increasing problem?

Some interesting stats:

United Kingdom:
Population - 59,667,840 people
Area - 242,900 km2
Pop density - 246 people/km2

Norway:
Population - 4,620,275
Area - 385,155
Pop Density - 12

Iceland:
Population - 294,561
Area - 103,000
Pop Density - 2.9

Renewable energy in the UK provides 4.22% of the total at present (restats.org.uk). Presuming consumption is fairly similar then that is enough to provide about 50% of Norway's power. Considering the UK is less than two thirds the size of Norway, 20 times as densley populated and doesn't have as good a landscape for generating power, I think we're not doing too badly!

To compare our country to both Iceland and Norway is an impossibility!

Honestly, there's barely anyone living outside of the cities in these countries to be a NIMBY!

straws

jmarko wrote:

:mad:

Well, to you, you're hypocrites.

I think we're all hypocrites to some extent - I abhor animal testing and only buy natural cosmetics, but I eat meat (good quality stuff) and I take medicines when I'm ill. The point is the OP is making a stand for something she believes in, which is to be admired.
We can't all be completely ethical in all our choices in life, but small things can make a big difference and we should be supportive when others are trying to do something. 'All it takes for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing' (not the exact wording, I know).
By the way, I'm with the whales!

jmarko

straws wrote:

I think we're all hypocrites to some extent

I don't disagree but what I think is mindless is hurting the people who can least afford it. So we decide to stop buying x product - who does that really hurt? It's the poor s*d on the production line at the factory who probably can't afford to have a cut in wages. But who cares about them?

Why not lobby the relevant embassy or head of state? Why have a go at the poorest in these countries? Do you think that the factory worker who suddenly loses his job is going to think 'oh well, it's a price worth paying to save a whale?' or do you think they're going to say 'some a** has made me lose my job. i live in one of the coldest and most expensive places on earth and now don't have any money'. Who do you think you're hurting here?

It's just playground bullying. 'I don't like what you're gang's doing and I'm going to screw you over and I don't care who gets hurt in the process'. It's so ill thought out. The OP would do well in the US department that deals with foreign affairs!

Cup of collateral damage, anyone?

jmarko