There is only one goddess Gaia and Al Gore is her only prophet...

[kandrathe]

And there you have it. Perhaps five percent of the people might do the right thing simply because it is right. The remainder will not unless coerced. Five percent do make a difference, but not enough of a difference. So, coercion is necessary. The question is then simply one of what form the coercion should take.

I think we've slipped to this level, and in fact been driven down to this level. At every turn in our society, ignorance and ignorant choice is rewarded.

That's a wonderful idea. It may help greatly to the acceptance (and observation) of laws mandating ecologically responsible behavior. But it will not substitute for those laws as long as self interest exists. But as we've seen from the fisheries, from the timberlands, from the mines, and more recently from the tropical forests, when the choice is between immediate profit and future well being, the immediate wins every time. Your solutions might work if we were speaking of an intelligent species. We're not. We're speaking of humanity, which, at best, has a few intelligent individuals in a population of six billion.

I agree there need to be a framework of natural protections ( an environmental Bill of Rights per se.) that codify what each of us should instinctively know as a mammal (e.g. don't crap where you eat, smoking is a personal choice so do it when you're alone or only in the company of other smokers, etc).

Especially when the absence of ecological and safety regulations are a large part of their competitive advantage. It is going to take more than "Pretty please, it's the right thing to do" to convince them to give that advantage up. Once again, your words argue for the need for enforced laws.

I don't wish for anarchy, especially with the environment. However, I believe within the implicit "Natural Laws" theory we might deduce and codify those that would protect the environment rather than exploit it. So, I envision something reasonable somewhere between anarchy and totalitarianism. For example, there are times when I have to agree with PETA that clubbing baby seals to death for their fur seems cruel and exploitative. And, then others where reasonable methods of managed forestry would actually enhance forests and their ecosystems.