My Turn
I recently came across a great article in the Guardian (http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/apr/22/zero-waste-millennial-bloggers-trash-greenhouse-gas-emissions) about people doing exactly what I wanted to start doing when I wrote my first post almost a year ago. The blogs mentioned are: http://www.goingzerowaste.com/ http://www.trashisfortossers.com/ http://www.litterless.co/ http://www.zerowastehome.com/about/bea/ http://www.paris-to-go.com/search/label/zero-waste The situation Iām in is interesting - now that Iām in a smaller city in the āflyoverā section of the United States of America Iām in a very different situation than I was in California or the liberal enclaves of inner cities that have been my home for years. I currently live in Saint Cloud Minnesota, which is part of the district that once elected Michele Bachmann to Congress. And in the sauna of my gym I took part in a political conversation where everyone else was obviously a Trump supporter. As in any part of the country, there are all kinds of people who live here. As a local man put it to me,Ā āWe try to forget the whole Bachmann thing ever happened.ā A young woman I met recently at an open mic went on a relentless rant about environmentalism and how Minnesota could essentially live autarkicly without having to import so much junk from around the world. Whether the details of her arguments were sound or not, Iām always struck by how in every corner of the Union there are people who care and are trying hard to make the world a better place. I need to mention that Iām not a liberal, or a conservative. I find these labels divisive, simplistic, and wide open for manipulation by interest groups. My belief system is more pragmatic - whatever works, works best not because of an idealistic premise, but because it just simply works. Still, I have to point my finger at the conservative movement for its total downplaying of the environmental crisis our world faces. I read conservative media from time to time to broaden my horizons and listen to arguments that challenge the liberal notions I was raised with, and nothing burns me up more than the total denial about climate change and the impact of commerce on our world. Itās still worth mentioning that there are dissenting voices in the conservative world. See this article in the National Review, for example -Ā http://www.nationalreview.com/article/433281/endangered-speciesa-plan-saving-themĀ - certainly a publication that generally pays no though to environmental collapse.
I have to mention that liberals are also not guilt-free in our current crisis. While green activists in Germany have pushed for the end of nuclear power, a far worse effect is happening by replacing it with coal of all things, the dirtiest energy source there is. More insidiously, every time I look at a social media post of someone I know traveling to remote locations of the world, I cannot help but think about the amount of fossil fuels burned up to indulge in the great travel bug we all have these days. Then there are the foodies who tend not to think about all the resources spent getting just the right ingredient to their table plate, no matter how much energy is spent making this happen. Many middle-class liberals seem to spend not a single thought thinking about the consequences of indulging all their cultural whims on the planet - what it takes to bring a band to your town, the wine to your glass, the coffee to your mug, the quinoa to your plate, the ethnic furniture made out of rainforest wood to your living room.Ā
I am also guilty of these things. My family lives overseas, and if Iām ever to see my dear cousins and aunts and uncles I have no choice but to fly - a sailboat would just take too damn long. I like my coffee - I havenāt found a place to get Minnesota coffee beans yet. But that doesnāt mean I canāt make an impact on what I do with my life, that none of us can. Even if the whole world made a 10% difference in its consumption by being more conscientious with its choices - think of what that would mean.Ā
Because doing something to make the world a better place isnāt just better for us - it will make us better people.Ā















