Monday, February 25, 2013

So, You Think That There's Nothing We Can Do About The Environment?

Well, as I just said, think again.

Yes, it's an enormous problem. one that is as literally as big as the planet itself.  All of us are part of the environment, and all of us--for better and for worse--contribute to its present state.  So it's going to take ALL of us to fix and save it.  Not one or more governments.  Not one or more nations.  Every person on the planet has to do his or her share.  The sublimation of self-interest required to make that happen will be difficult in a narcissistic age like ours.  But, if each one of us wants to survive, to say nothing of thrive, we have absolutely no choice.  At the moment, we only have the one planet.  And the net result of our current conduct is its destruction.  Even in the short run, doing nothing can lead to financial ruin for us all.

So, what can each person do?  Lots of things, great and small.  One great thing would be to band together and support government and business leaders willing to turn trash into renewable energy.

Or to build high-speed rail lines.

Or to adapt coastal areas to allow planned flooding and capture water rather than surrender to it.  This is especially important, because we've already lost enough time that some degree of flooding is inevitable.  Strategies to capture this water, combined with desalinization, could result in a "lemonade from lemons" approach that turns potential disasters into an expanded supply of fresh water.

Or to make the most of our urban centers, which will always be far more energy-efficient than the suburbs.  Strategies for doing so, like triple-paning windows, are already well within reach.

Or who will admit that we can learn from the experiences of other countries in order to more generally survive peak oil.  Cuba has done this, for example.  One benefit of normalizing our relations with Cuba, which are little more than a monument to the politics of the previous century, would be to accelerate the learning curve in this regard.  Australia is another country from which we can learn; there, wind and solar power are more affordable than fossil fuels.

These are macro-strategies.  There are any number of micro-strategies as well.

For example, all of us can cut down on the number of bottles used for carbonated beverages, thanks to companies like SodaStream.  (Full disclosure:  I got a SodaStream system as a Christmas gift, and it has helped me to cut down substantially on the number of soda bottles and cans I buy.)

Or take small steps to reduce the carbon footprint of our living and working spaces.

In any case, when it comes to pursuing big and small strategies, we need to be braced for opposition from the oil companies and the right-wing media echo chamber.  They will lie, they will suppress information, they will practice divide-and-conquer politics, they will in fact do anything to facilitate the long-term death of our world for the sake of short-term profits.

But we can't be afraid of that.  Not only is this an essential battle, but it is also a winnable one.  Our success in dealing with the ozone layer is proof of that.

And, if we can enlist the aid of a few more Republicans like Chris Christie, winning will seem less like a fantasy, and more like an inevitability.

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