Your repeated use of the term "tree huggers" suggests that you missed my point. Not that there is anything wrong with being a tree hugger if that's what interests a person. It is just that many people think of tree huggers as being extreme environmentalist and perhaps a little off kilter. My point was most people are not the extreme end of one side or the other when it comes to environmental issues. Where do you stand?
Where I stand is this: It's common sense, not to mention (from Judeo-Christian standpoint) Biblical to take care of and have dominion over the Earth.
There is nothing wrong with choosing to drive a hybrid car, which uses less fossil fuel and perhaps produces less negative impact on the
environment, while saving the owner some money on fuel. Several folks in my neighborhood have recently bought all electric cars, some as their second car which they use for short jaunts. I presume folks spending the money for a Tesla, use it as their primary vehicle.
In and of itself, there is nothing wrong. But, there's a big difference between having such a car as a viable OPTION and attempting to mandate that all drive such cars, because otherwise, they're harming the planet. Some people like cars like the Tesla; others think they suck. your mileage may vary.
I considered installing solar panels on my roof to offset the cost of electricity. Unfortunately, I have a shake roof which still has some life left so factoring in the cost of a new roof rendered this idea not profitable at this time. I check the energy star ratings on appliances before purchasing new ones. How efficient an appliance is, is a consideration. We recycle as much as possible rather then throwing everything in the trash, but we aren't obsessive about this. Being a financially conservative person, I admit these choices are driven more because of possible cost savings then by a desire to be environmentally conscious.
I've recycled since I was a kid. In fact, I remember saving up cans to get change to buy flips (frozen Kool-aid in Styrofoam cups, for those who didn't grow up in the South), candy, and cookies. My son (now that he's 4) has taking cans and bottles to the recycling bin as a chore of his. I'm financially conservative, and socially too. To me the two go hand in hand But again, your mileage may vary.
Everyone who considers their impact on the environment is not a tree hugger. Some of us are just regular people who try to make intelligent choices, which may or may not have a positive effect on the environment.
Considering your impact on the environment is one thing. Attempting to curtail political freedom and economic prosperity by dismantling fossil fuel sources (costing people their jobs and livelihoods, especially in the Midwest) and jacking up their energy costs (all the while, the very people who do so live high on the hog, using those very same resrouces) tends to bug me.
It's more upsetting when you find out such is being done, based on utter garbage, by people cooking the books to push their own agenda, at the average man's expense. Hearing these folks yelp about our causing the planet to burn up, when these same groups of people said the exact opposite less than 40 years ago (i.e. we'd be human popsicles) simply tells me these people are loaded with bull, with the end-goal of stripping folks of liberty and money.
Every left-winged politician, celebrity, scientist, and lobbyist will make darn sure that he/she is exempt from the very standards that would be imposed on you and me. It's no coincidence that many "treehuggers", as I call them just happen to be anti-capitalists and communists.
I heard a joke that these folks are like watermelons: Green on the outside; RED on the inside.
