Environmental Catastrophe? It Doesn’t Have To Be!

I don’t want to sound like an alarmist, but people do need to become alarmed. I don’t want to sound like an extremist, but people do need to realize the extreme importance of this issue. And I don’t want to be overbearing, because I could then easily be dismissed as a “crackpot”. This could then become a red herring which would make it far too easy to dismiss the message.

As I grow older, I become more aware of the degradation and disintegration of our planet and our ecosystem. I have been a birder, a nature lover, and a passive environmentalist for many years. I say “passive” because I have not been an activist. I think that might change. Perhaps it must change.

When my own daughter lectures me on my wasteful habits as regards the environment, I realize that I have been fooling myself into believing that I have been responsive to our ecological responsibilities, and our stewardship of this rapidly disappearing planet. I have been doing the “easy” things, but ignoring the difficult choices; rationalizing that “it is too inconvenient,” or “it won’t really make a difference,” or “I just don’t have the time to worry about it right now.” The irony is that none of us has the luxury to NOT worry about it. We are all running out of time with our environment. We are fiddling while the planet burns. Individuals must disabuse themselves of the notion that they can’t make a difference. We must abandon our excuses and be prepared to make sacrifices, convenient or not.

For a few years, I was a member of the Sierra Club. But I could never really identify with that group, their agenda, or their tactics. They see everything as black and white: they are the good guys in white hats, and anyone who disagrees, or who doesn’t fully embrace their agenda is the bad guy in a black hat. That deliberate polarization around the issues does more harm than good. The Sierra Club has given the term “environmental activist” a bad connotation. I am advocating activism without being adversarially polarized. Rational discussion of the issues and compromise are the only way to move forward.

How does one do this? By subtle reminders. By finding ways to make the topic enter into everyday conversations. By doing what we can as individuals despite the lack of governmental support. By giving each other encouragement. By discovering true compromises that both sides can embrace. And by thanking those that are making an effort, no matter how small, to conserve our energy and our environment.

Any solution to our energy problems will have an impact on our environment. And any solution to our environmental problems will impact the way in which we can manufacture, produce and consume energy. Both sides of both issues must be open-minded and willing to compromise. The two issues, energy and environment are inextricably linked in a symbiotic relationship. Intertwined with them are issues of the economy and of technological progress.

But can any lifestyle be comfortable if our wilderness and our wildlife disappears? Can there be any point in making a living and trying to better our lot, if the fate of our very planet is that of a barren wasteland? Nobody alive today has to worry about witnessing this tragic scenario. It won't happen tomorrow, next week, or next year. That is one reason why it is hard to be heard on this issue. Environmental catastrophe is not imminent even though our current path does make it inevitable.

We may not witness doomsday in our lifetime, but unless attitudes change, we will witness the point of no return – the point at which it truly will be too late to avoid environmental devastation. Unless attitudes change, it will be our legacy that we had a chance to save the environment but ignored it. One day mankind may discover that the earth is dying and it truly will be too late to save it!

But it is not yet too late.

A major obstacle is the fact that everyone is so busy surviving in today's economy, that few have the time to be contemplative about the issues. We may search for answers, but all the while we are serenaded by the siren song of maintaining a comfortable lifestyle - ordinary people tethered to the daily habituation of making a living. Few have the luxury of time to consider the possible ways an individual or a small group can make a positive contribution.

This inertia will be even harder to overcome than the adversarial relations between the environmentalists and the economic interests. Because everyone is overworked, over-stressed, and over-informed, it will be hard to even get their attention, let alone their action. The demands of survival for many Americans seem to dictate disinterest and apathy about all worthy issues that transcend their immediate, personal concerns.

We must fight this mental torpor and properly engage the issues. We need to embrace the problem and make it a cornerstone of our mental framework. It doesn't have to be an all-consuming effort, just a subtle, directed energy. It doesn't have to be in the forefront of our thoughts, just comfortably housed in our subconscious. It doesn't have to be hard, just a habit.

When motivated, thinking individuals can, and will, make a difference. Small contributions do add up. If you listen to public radio and are familiar with their semi-annual fundraising efforts, you know that they set a goal they want to achieve (say, $500,000) and ask everyone to contribute what they can – even as little as $25. That seems like a daunting task to raise a half-million dollars $25 at a time doesn’t it? Yet that is what they consistently do, every time! People are motivated to take small steps if they can see the aggregation being accomplished.

Conservation can be like this. We need to save a billion barrels of oil, one quart at a time. We need to reduce carbon emissions a particle at a time. We need to clean our rivers, a cup at a time. Americans need to eschew environmentally expensive choices, and embrace environmentally friendly ones. We need to reduce our collective footprint on this planet by each of us squeezing into a smaller "shoe".

I am naïve enough to believe that small efforts will not only make a difference, but will also eventually lead to larger efforts. And though we may not be able to reverse some of the damage that has already been done, we can prevent future damage. Perhaps some of the scars can be remediated and others healed. But I predict that concerted efforts will reap a serendipitous bonus: we will be surprised to find that we are not burdened by our sacrifices! The pride of our success in a noble and global venture such as this will ameliorate any pain or discomfort we encounter!

The immovable object which is responsible for preventing the realization of individual efforts is the inertia of attitude. It is far too easy to say, “Someone else will solve this problem.” But conservation is important on a grand and cosmic scale, and the effort to heal the environment is worthy and noble. It demands that we not rationalize our involvement. It demands that we not abdicate our responsibilities. It demands that everyone make better choices.

Conservation of resources and of our environment must be brought to the forefront of public consciousness -- without causing adversarial positioning. Individuals must be made to realize that their small contributions will make a difference. These individual contributions just might combine in a synergistic aggregation which is disproportionately large compared to the effort expended.

I truly and fervently believe that the tipping point from trendy, "feel good" novelty to environmental efficacy is not only within reach, but also much closer than we think. By keeping the easy, low-hanging fruit in the forefront (or at least in the visible periphery) of the consciousness of Americans, we can reach a critical mass of small efforts which will combine to achieve significant results. Many people will feel that they don't have time and can't be bothered by this issue. But if the remediation is portrayed as an adventure of epic proportions, they, too, might be compelled to get on board!

Three things have proven to motivate individuals to high action: catastrophe (Hurricane Katrina), common threat (communism), and magnificent adventure (the race to the moon). In saving the environment, we have all of these elements present. We just need to publicize, proselytize, and organize.

I know it can be done and the key is to recognize that success will come in small increments. But in order to keep individuals motivated about their individual efforts, there needs to be some kind of feedback mechanism to let them see these incremental improvements, and to let them know that they really are making a difference. More on that later.

Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs. -- Henry Ford