Its a goal and financially I am in a position where I can afford to buy apple juice that is made from non chinese apples (the cheap stuff is made from Chinese apples) and toys from the U.S. and Europe and other countries for children of friends and family members. If you look around my apartment you will find all sorts of Chinese made goods but when I am looking for something I always try to go American and short of that I go Canada, then Europe/Japan and then kind of play it by ear from that point on. I have a background in international affairs and what not so I am capable of making quick decisions on which country is better to buy from.

In ten years I may be the one who is married with kids with a mortgage and a van to fill with gas and at that point I will reconsider my financial choices. I am not one of those people that expects working class people, poor people and people with limited incomes to do what I do. I understand it is hard for them and if it comes down to buying american apple juice and getting your kid childrens tylenol obviously the childrens tylenol wins... When I was a kid nobody paid much attention to the environment , save for enviro geeks and activists, but then slowly young people joined the cause, then well off people, and so forth. The other day I was in the super market and I saw a woman with a bunch of kids looking at two types of paper towels and was saying to herself "well its 30 cents more, but its 30 percent recycled" as she put it into the cart. Did she save the planet? Of course not, but she is trying and may buy a hubrid minivan when they become financially viable, and may stop buying chinese apple juice when the price of local juice drops a bit.

As for shifting our consumeristic culture Ive been trying to do that too. Of course, like everyone else my age, I have an Ipod but I try to make smart choices. I bought what I needed rather than a more expensive delux edition. I like to use craigslist to get lightly used furniture and what not, which saves me a bundle.

I realize Im not saving the world, but I feel that we all should be more careful about what we do. Its like the tragedy of the commons.

Many of Iraq's athletes were allowed to compete after reconsideration. Only a few had missed deadlines for enrolling in certain sports.

Im sure there were people who thought that it was useless to give South Africa a hard time over apartheid. "Oh what can I do about it, oh well I guess I will just keep on doing business with them and ignore the fact that they discriminate."

Last time I checked Nelson Mandela is not in jail and the Government is now not segregated. It still has issues but it is working on them.

They would have been a better "non traditional" choice for the games and it would have been a much better "success" story.

Beijing was elected the host city on July 13, 2001, during the 112th IOC Session in Moscow, beating Toronto, Paris, Istanbul, and Osaka. Prior to the session, five other cities (Bangkok, Cairo, Havana, Kuala Lumpur, and Seville) submitted bids to the IOC but failed to make the short list in 2000. After the first round of voting, Beijing held a significant lead over the other four candidates. Osaka received only 6 votes and was eliminated. In the second round, Beijing was supported by an absolute majority of voters, eliminating the need for subsequent rounds.

via Wikipedia