Today is "Blog Action Day" where bloggers across the globe will blog about one issue: the environment. And as a blogger, I’ll be joining my voice among the world.
So, here’s my take on the environment. It’s important. We must take care of it. It’s the only one we got.
Of course, there are caveats to this statement. While we want to be good stewards of the earth, we must also balance this with practicality and efficiency. For example, we may want everyone to recycle. However, it would be impractical to have people sort trash at the dump.
Yes, I think it’s vitally important that we take care of the environment, but I don’t think it’s as drastic as most people seem to think it is.
Global warming is a great topic. While I believe that the world average temperature is increasing, I do not believe it is cause for alarm. In fact, I’m not sure if even carbon emissions is as high as people say it is. Don’t get me wrong: I think it’s important to cut as much pollution as you can. But the need to be "green" seems to have the kind of passion that’s only rivaled by Rosie O’Donnell’s contention that 9/11 was an inside job.
Energy efficiency is also important. Switching to a low-wattage bulb or going with one of those halogen lights is a great way to reduce your energy intake and save some money. But I don’t think we should go out of our way simply to save a few watts/bucks.
I think we should bring back nuclear power. In the History of the United States, there has been no fatalities due to nuclear power. In fact, the only meltdown to happen in the US was at Three Mile Island and there was only one injury.
We need to ween ourselves off of fossel-oil in general and instead embrace alternative fuels such as plant-derived ethanol. We need to do this not just for environmental reasons, but because we shouldn’t rely on our enemies to supply us with the lifeblood that pushes America forward.
We should learn to travel more efficiently. The United States has a culture of going somewhere because, well, we can. Then we complain that we take the largest amount of resources. We need to rely on trains, buses, and even our feet to take us where we want to go. Not just for everyday commuting, but also for vacations.
The environment is important to everyone. We can’t help but admire it’s majesty and beauty. Human existence has, is, and will continue to leave it’s footprint on this earth, no matter what laws are put in place to stop it. We must all do our best to conserve responsibly, not out of the fear Al Gore and others push onto the population.