I wasn’t sure how this next interview was going to go. The friend I was going to interview typically has a strong opinion of things. At the end of the interview I was surprised at some of the responses he gave me. He, like the previous interviews, pointed out some things that I thought were rather thought provoking.
When you hear the word ‘sustainability’ what comes to mind?
“The first thing that comes to mind is the current state of fear generated by the media complex. People need to be scared to be controlled, so the environment is the new scare tactic. It is the new buzzword to give people a scare.”
What aspects of sustainability are important to you?
“Some resources are finite others are renewable. I think that is important to encourage the use and grow of renewable resources. “
As we talked further I learned that they recycle everything. Rarely does he buy “want” based stuff, as he tries to make smart purchasing decisions. He owns a push mower, installed compact fluoresces in his house, and takes the bus to work (40 miles saved each day).
Are you acting on those beliefs, and why?
He tells me that he is working on converting his car so that it will run on biofuels. He doesn’t like the idea of taking food and turning it into fuel. Instead he thinks that switchgrass should be used, and encouraged more. He also like badgering people to move away from ethanol.
Is there anything holding you back from doing more?
He says that the biggest thing holding us back from big change is the government. “Government makes it hard to be sustainable because they are not encouraging the most appropriate things. Stop encouraging nonrenewable things!” He also said that, “acting environmental responsible is not acting fiscally responsible. “
I try not to interject in my interviews, but this comment kind of got me going. When you act environmentally responsible, you ARE acting fiscally responsible. If you don’t consider the environment you are not considering the costs that you incur on society.
Finally, he said that he would like to see less action from the government and fewer laws. He believes that good intentions could have bad consequences.
If they are acting sustainable, what are they doing, and what do they think they can improve on.
The main changes he mentioned to me were, take the bus and ride his bike more. He also thinks he could take shorter showers, use less power around t the house, and buy more locally grown things.
Are you thinking about the impact of their decisions on future generations?
“I care about the future, because all decisions have an impact on tomorrow.”
Where do you think sustainability change will come from, large and small scale?
“Large changes need to be pushed by the individuals. A shift from both directions is essential for large and small change.”
Who do you think should play a bigger role in helping us become more sustainable?
“Everyone should be responsible for change. We don’t need a leader to get us there.”
Anything else you wish to say?
“People need to take a local role, local government. Changes aren’t made in the presidential office. Get the local government on the same page as what you believe in.”
He also thinks that having pride in being green is the problem in the green movement. “It works as a stigma as much as anything else.” He also said that he sees the green movement as another religious movement.
I said, “how so?”
“There are so many different interpretations of it. Not enough science, mostly politics and buzzwords.“
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Some of these quotes aren't quite accurate but the two that bother me most are the fiscal/environmental part and the government part and they are actually tied together.
ReplyDeleteAs the government continues to back "clean coal" and ethanol production, real environmental responsibility can be pushed aside. Until the government stops subsidizing dinosaur burning, it will be cheaper to go that route. Finding more efficient ways of burning fossil fuels is simply dragging out the inevitable. It becomes cheaper to jump on the "green" bandwagon than it does to engage in legitimately sustainable practices. Growing up in IL (something like 20% of Earth's corn is grown in my home state) I can say quite assuredly that corn should not be a fuel crop. But because corn growers can buy senators, it's the new "green" thing. When we spoke, I put special emphasis on the fact that change needs to come from the roots and from the top. The president cannot make laws and until you and I start voting for congresspeople, governors, county commissioners, and city planners that push for these things, the president will never have bills set in front of him that advocate what we need.
http://scienceblogs.com/highlyallochthonous/2009/01/the_rightful_place_of_science.php thought you might like this.
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