Why I'm not an Environmentalist
My concern for the environment started when earth, fire, wind, water and heart combined to fight the forces of corporate greed and irresponsibility. Yes, Captain Planet was my hero. I’ve had quite a lot of greening influences in my life, from cartoons, to a kid’s solar experimentation kit, to my friend’s parent’s weird composting toilet. I’ve developed quite an awareness of global environment issues, especially to do with energy and I think make a decent effort to change my lifestyle in order to reduce my impact on the world. But I don’t call myself an environmentalist, not in a million years. How can I care about the environment on one hand yet refuse to join the ranks of like minded individuals on the other? The reason is that calling yourself green is about as definitive as calling yourself the world’s best street fighter. Within 24 hours of making such a claim you are almost guaranteed to be in a hospital ward after being well and truly schooled by a Thai underground kick boxing champion, or in this case a vegan Greenpeace activist who lives in a solar powered mound of dirt.
The eco-hypocrite police are the most far reaching, swift and strict global task forces the world has ever seen. Al Gore gives up his political career and devotes his life to try and educate people about climate change and gets slammed for his electricity bill. Sting puts his neck out for the environment and gets stung for his less-than-green Police concerts. The Toyota Prius is one of the most efficient and least polluting cars on the market but is somehow accused of producing acid rain. Call yourself green and you could well have reporters sifting through your garbage for un-optimised recycling practices, or calling you an eco-terrorist because you still eat meat. I’m trying my best to care for the environment; I’ve changed my light bulbs, I fill my recycling bin, I’m even planning on building an electric car to reduce my energy consumption, but I doubt that qualifies me for the elusive title of green. Frankly I think I have better chances going for best street fighter.
Maybe its time we start rewarding people for the positive contributions they have made to the environment rather than digging up dirt on them so we don’t feel as bad about still using toilet paper. The green movement can keep moving forward towards a better earth through spurring each other on. Or we can tear each other apart for not changing our entire lives for the better in one single burst. What do you think? Is there a place for being critical of other people’s green efforts or is it better to just focus on the progress they have made?
Stumble It!