The end of the year is nigh, and Christmas even moreso. Seems like a good time to express some big-picture environmental concerns. Before I start, let me caution that these considerations are strictly personal. I hereby absolve my TREPA colleagues of all responsibility for what follows!
After the big-picture stuff, I will tackle some smaller, seasonal, doable issues.
Here is how my first biology professor introduced the concept of ecology:
Every living thing tends to make its environment unfit for it. We tend to deplete the resources we need to sustain us until we run low, and we tend to convert these resources to wastes, up to a level where they become toxic. I blame today’s biggest problems on a combination of overpopulation and overconsumption, leading to depletion and pollution.
Everything has its limits. When we give them a chance, environmental scientists can warn us of likely future problems, either with depletion of resources or with being poisoned by our own waste. That’s important. We can choose to listen to their warnings or ignore them. However, realize that if we don’t control ourselves, we will be controlled. That second “option” is not an option at all, and is never pleasant.
Climate change is a case in point. There is enormous evidence that our activities are accelerating global warming. One hundred per cent certainty almost never happens in science, so I can respect honest skepticism, but outright denial at this point is neither logical nor honest. Skeptic or not, the likely consequences of climate change are so horrible that we all need to do our best to slow things down.
Poor folks in hot and low-lying countries are being hit the hardest by climate change. They didn’t ask for it. Shrinking glaciers in Bolivia are creating increasingly serious water problems in a poor country, and South America’s second largest lake has dried up. Just wait till a billion or so folks in Asia get hit with the same problem, as the Himalayan glaciers shrink to critically low levels.
Expanding deserts are not going away quickly, and neither are associated droughts and famines in Africa. Why are all those refugees drowning in the Mediterranean? Bad government is only part of the picture.
Then, there are rising sea levels. A lot of us older-timers notice that high tides nowadays cover land that used to be safely above water. We also notice some bits of land (like Pompey’s Nose at the eastern end of Chebogue Point) are eroding away. Nope, it isn’t wise to build at sea level these days, nor to build on coastal drumlins. And wait till some of that rising sea water starts getting into aquifers that supply us with drinking water.
We still have some choices. A lot of folks, mostly living on the coastal lowlands of poor countries, don’t. They didn’t ask for the problems coming their way.
The parents of these kids in the Mekong Delta were bright enough to build above flood level. So why are the floors of their houses below high spring tide level now? What does the future hold for the millions of kids like these?
Not our problem, I guess. Not yet. However, I’d prefer take steps to reduce my carbon footprint before I get bitten by the wrong mosquito.
Keep in mind, too, that reducing our energy use and consumption patterns ends up saving us money. And while cleaner energy may cost more in the beginning, that is bound to change as initial investments get recouped and more efficient systems get developed. Let’s stop arguing and get on with it.
I have talked about the importance of water stewardship in earlier columns. Compared to most of the world, we still have a relatively abundant and clean supply, and need to stop taking it for granted. Last summer’s drought was a warning of a problem we’re likely to see all too often in the future. At the same time, deforestation, extensive construction, paving, and draining of wetlands reduce our capacity to hold water for dry periods. Careless pollution of water by industries, homeowners, and recreation enthusiasts can affect how we are able to use our water supplies.
We need to appreciate the services provided by a relatively unspoiled environment a lot more than we currently do. We cannot live without water; do we really want to have to pay for it?
Let’s look at it another way. Conflicts between the economy and the environment get frequent attention in the media. In my experience, such conflicts always involve short-term economic fixes. Environmental concerns and long-term economic concerns amount to the same thing. So if you care about your grandchildren, you’d better care about the environment.
This column will keep on giving suggestions about how we can become better environmental citizens. If we’re thinking big picture, though, let’s keep in mind our obligation as citizens of a democracy to get as well-informed as possible about the issues of the day, from various sources, be willing to pay for credible journalism, form opinions carefully and critically, and then to vote, as per sweet reason and our conscience, keeping in mind the grandchildren’s grandchildren. As an expatriate American friend put it last month, “Each one of us around the world is charged with consulting our conscience to decide what we value most. Then we must pursue it locally with passion and the goodness that results will spread globally.”
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Now for some seasonally appropriate things we can do:
(1) Unwrap gifts carefully and re-use the wrapping paper.
(2) If Christmas brings you new stuff you don’t want or leaves you with usable old stuff you don’t need any more, give it away. The Salvation Army Thrift Shop is a convenient repository!
(3) What to do with old Christmas trees?
First of all, remove all decorations before disposal.
Then, what? Here are a few ideas:
(a) Use it for a winter bird feeder by hanging food off it.
(b) Cut the boughs to cover the garden to protect plants from sudden freezes and thaws; use the trunk to edge a garden.
(c) Compost the tree; chipping speeds the process and the chips make good mulch.
(d) Check for the scheduling of town curbside pickup programs in early January.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!