I care about the Environment. What does that say about
me? 4-25-08
Before I get started, it should probably be noted that I am
not one of those fanatical tree-hugger types who get all freaked
out
about every tiny little thing there is to freak out about as far
as the environment goes. I do, however, care enough to make a reasonable
effort, and I encourage others to do the same.
I care about the Environment. The Earth, however, I am not
concerned about. The Earth will be fine. To quote George Carlin:
"...There is nothing wrong with the planet. Nothing wrong
with the planet. The planet is fine. The PEOPLE are fucked. Difference.
Difference.
The planet is fine. Compared to the people, the planet is doing
great. Been here four and a half billion years. Did you ever
think
about
the arithmetic? The planet has been here four and a half billion
years. We've been here, what, a hundred thousand? Maybe two
hundred thousand? And we've only been engaged in heavy industry
for a little
over two hundred years. Two hundred years versus four and a
half billion. And we have the CONCEIT to think that somehow we're
a
threat? That somehow we're gonna put in jeopardy this beautiful
little blue-green
ball that's just a-floatin' around the sun?
The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been
through all kinds of things worse than us. Been through earthquakes,
volcanoes,
plate tectonics, continental drift, solar flares, sun spots, magnetic
storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles...hundreds of thousands
of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors, worlwide
floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring
ice ages...And we think some plastic bags, and some aluminum cans
are going to make a difference? The planet...the planet...the
planet isn't
going anywhere. WE ARE!"
The environment has been a hot topic of debate
for good reason. I believe that Global Warming is occurring. It's
potential causes are debatable, and I'm not going to get into that.
It has gotten to the point though that what you believe about GW
and the environment says something about you as a person.
I find this bizarre. Why does one's opinion about the state
of the environment reflect upon the personality of the individual?
I had an encounter with a client at work regarding the subject that
left me thinking long after the conversation had ended.
The client, "John", a man in his mid to late 30's, brought
his vehicle in to the shop to diagnose why his "Check Engine" light
was on. John has always been pleasant and easy to work with when
I've
serviced
his vehicle in the past. John is single, lives alone in a rental
house and (not that this is relavent at all) is possibly gay.
The diagnosis was that there was a fault in his evaporative
emission system, which in a nutshell recycles fuel vapors from the
gas tank to the engine instead of simply dumping them out into
the open like older cars do. This is a relatively new system that
has been standard equipment on vehicles since the late 90's. Auto
manufacturers became required to install such systems due to pollution
concerns.
I explained the diagnosis to the client. Like many people
tend to do, he asked me what the consequences were if he were to
not authorize the repairs.
After I explained the defective part's function more thoroughly,
the first words out of his mouth were: (in a laughing tone) "I don't
care about the environment."
I was not offended so much as I was a little perturbed that
he'd assume I'd be ok with that perspective and that I'd likely agree
with that viewpoint. In the end, I convinced him to authorize the
repairs anyway by using other means to persuade him.
I don't think John is an asshole in any capacity. The community
in which I work is conservative, right-wing, homophobic, bible-thumping,
Republicanland. Many members of the community adopt this viewpoint.
For him to assume I would agree is a little naive, but the fact is
people who think like I do are a vast minority in the town in which
I work, so although it's a tad premature to assume I am like him,
it's not unexpected on my part. John doesn't have kids; if he did
he may feel differently. I respect his right to have an opinion.
Which brings me to the fundamental difference between Liberals
& Conservatives: Liberals are open-minded, Conservatives are closed-minded.
Conservatives deny GW because they are short-sighted and just
don't give a shit. Liberals may not be any smarter than Conservatives,
but at least they're open-minded enough to examine the possibility
that there's a problem.
I really hate labels, but if I have to be labelled a Liberal
then so be it. At least let me explain why though.
I care about the environment quite frankly for one reason.
Health. I believe our health depends on it.
Think about it. Science is all the time discovering new cancers,
syndromes, diseases and ailments (some of which I highly suspect
are nothing more than inventions by pharmaceutical companies designed
so sell more drugs; I don't need to write an essay on this, just
rent "Sicko") that didn't exist 40 years ago.
Why? Sure, some of them may have just gone undetected for all this
time, but I think the majority of them are caused by environmental
contamination. Look at the increases in things like birth defects
in babies, autism, cancer, etc. You mean to tell me that the
increase in environmental contamination has nothing to do with this?
It may not, but you cannot rule it out or dismiss the possibility
just because it's convenient to do so.
If you haven't seen "An Inconvenient Truth", I recommend you
do so. If for nothing more than the perspective it offers. You may
not agree with the content, or believe everything it presents as
truth (I don't). But, if even half of what Al Gore claims is true,
it's an issue that is worth your attention and there could be consequences
for future generations if you ignore it.
