I remember a few years ago being in a political forum, and one of the topics was a discussion about a yearly event where people are encouraged to save on electricity for that one day, to reduce and make more people aware of pollution. Something to that effect.
The majority of the people there were really annoyed by the concept, and in retaliation they were purposefully going to run all their lights, TVs, and appliances that wastes the most electricity as possible.
So what does that tell you?
The point I was trying to make to the OP is that semantics matter. We get way to much hyperbole in our news and media today. Every body is a "chicken little." The end is nigh. The funniest thing, the OP sounded off in the thread I started about Mars, stating his fear that we'll destroy that planet too... What the Fuck is there to destroy on mars? The atmosphere is already full of CO2, there are no oceans, plants, animals...
It's the mob mentality. Some one hears a word used to describe something he's unhappy with, and the brain dead lemmings repeat it until it becomes "truth."
I am a conservationist. I love nature. I hunt, back-pack, and mountain bike for fun. I compost everything I can for my home garden. I try hard to conserve electricity. I do as much as I possibly can to preserve the environment. But when people get on their "We're destroying the Plant" hype I just cringe. That's only going to hurt conservation efforts if you cannot separate the rational from the emotional.