There are so many things wrong with the environment, that it's difficult to say which one is the most outrageously harming factor, since they are all so inter-connected. Our consumption causes pollution, which causes a hole in the ozone layer, which causes the greenhouse effect, which causes acid rain, and so on and so forth. People have been debating about this for years and will continue to debate on it, so I might as well jump in also.
The aspect that I'm most interested in and worried about, is what comes before all that. In other words, why does all of this happen and why does it continue to happen? Mindset. To me, the attitudes and lifestyles that most people have adopted in the world today is the most pressing challenge on the environment, because that's where it all starts, and is the most difficult to change.
Attitudes of negligence and resignation are just not acceptable anymore, time is running out. What do I mean by attitudes of negligence? Well, take the comment from the person Narise was talking about. "I don’t believe the Greenhoax Effect one bit. The evidence for global warming is scant and questionable. The evidence for an anthropogenic cause is nearly absent. Who ended the last ice age, Fred Flinstone?"..."Green is the new Red." Green is the new Red????? Someone who pulls communism out of environmentalism is truly too blind to see their own impact. What I cannot comprehend about this manner of thinking is the inability to see the ridiculousness of their own argument. Let's just pretend for a moment that global warming exists only because of natural variations in the Earth's temperature as it has been occuring for eons now and we have nothing to worry about because we're not even accelerating the process. Is it still such a criminal idea to want cleaner waters and fresher air? Do these people not like the oxygen they breathe or the water in their shower that helps them stay stank-free everyday? Is planting trees (which provide them with the beautiful Burr Walnut wood veneer in the interior of their Bentleys) some sort of crop-circle ritual to them? I just do not see the logic behind that sort of rationale.
Attitudes of resignation are manifested by people who acknoweldge that there is a problem, but are overwhelmed by it so much, that they prefer to do nothing about it, because they believe they can't make a difference. But that's not true, every little bit makes a difference! For example, I too was very enthused with the three R's, growing up. I first learned about them in Ranger Rick Magazine, which I loved to read and learn about creative ways to recycle things like egg cartons and the like. When my schools had competitions on newspaper recycling, my class always won by a landslide because I would make my dad bring all the used newspapers from his coworkers! Now, I am a vegeterian, I buy as much local and organic produce asI can afford, I continue to recycle as much as I can, I buy Seventh Generation products and other eco-friendly brands, I don't have a car, I turn lights off when I'm not in the room and unplug unused appliances, and I definitely do not leave the water running while I am brushing my teeth! All in all, I thought I was doing a pretty good job taking care of Mother Earth. That is, until I realized I have an eco-footprint of 4.6 Earths!!!!! What a downer. How is that possible? Well, I do travel and fly A LOT. And I'm telling you right now, while I feel really guilty of my footprint, I am not going to stop seeing my family or exploring new countries, which I realize is probably a negligent attitude to take (however it is much better if I go see my family, than if my entire family comes to visit me!) I will also say this much, if Richard Branson, or any other entrepreneur, comes up with the first airline powered by ethanol and corn oil, I will give up my United Plus miles, and become Green Air's premiere frequent flyer.
So was it depressing to find out just how much I still leave a big, fat mark on the world? Yes. But can you imagine the alternative? What if I didn't do all those other things like eat meat and start driving an H3? I would probably use about 9 Earths...and that is far more depressing!
So when it comes to Stanley Fish, I completely understand his frustration, and I applaud him and his wife for continually changing their habits and products in order to make my footprint less noticeable.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
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