The greatest concern of all times: the Environment

It seems like I'm on a roll today since my accounting homework is less appealing than ever right now, so let's get to another topic that has been quite important in my life up until now in one way or another: the environment.

I've been involved with environmental organizations at school in a way or another since the age of 14. Considering it's been 5 years (and relativity teaches us that the younger you are the greater the impact of one year on your life), one might think that it's something I care about a lot (that's what I told those people from med school during my entrance interview in any case). But the truth is, I don't... not really. So I guess that would make me a hypocrite and, what's more, not a very convincing one at that (the people from med school didn't believe me). So that brings us to the reasons as to why I do it.

Initially, it was because I needed volunteer hours in order to get my high school diploma and the school's environmental organization was a convenient choice. But why did I keep returning to the environment whenever I had a project or a topic to choose at school? One might say that it was out of habit or because it's something I'm comfortable with. Then why do I recycle? More importantly, why did I bug my parents to recycle? (my parents who have spent the largest part of their life in Romania, are as environmentally friendly as Bush is). Now I don't mean to criticize my parents. They are good people and in fact, I think that in this difference in mentality lies the answer to my questions (at least on this topic).

Why do people recycle? Why do they get involved in environmental projects? Why do they participate in rallies against CO2 emissions? Well for the simple reason that an environmental conscience has been ingrained in us in the Western world through schools and the media for the past 10 years. In Montreal, when the thermometer goes past 30°C in the summer, buses reduce their fees to encourage people to leave their cars at home. In Romania, the government frequently announces upcoming heat waves and provides advices to the populations (like spend time in an air-conditioned shopping mall) and provides spots with an access to water supplies in major cities, but they rarely link the phenomenon to global warming. Schools never mention recycling to students (or at least they didn't in the 6 years that I studied there) and overall, people have higher concerns than reducing their carbon emissions (like furnishing your new apartment in the latest fashion and with the latest technologies, ensuring that crops produce enough and at a reasonable price, or simply trying to get enough to eat every day...as you can see, concerns vary depending on income and social status).

Now if we judge Romanian politics from the western point of view, they may seem backward, lacking insight and simply insensitive to a problem that concerns us all (because we and our industrial actions are the cause of the problem). But frankly, when you're on the verge of bankruptcy, the environment is the last thing on your agenda and I think that all developing countries like China and India have the same mentality. And how about we turn the tables and judge Canadian or western European policies (unfortunately we can't include the US because Bush refused to ratify Kyoto) from the point of view of a developing country. Wouldn't it seem like a lot of money is spent (or planning to be spent....politicians always seem to plan things but never get them done) on something that makes us feel good about ourselves? Because that is what all this environmental frenzy is: a way to make us feel like we're doing something noble and good for all humanity. That is why I have been doing it.

But overall, is recycling our humanities essays and cutting down on our time in the shower actually going to do anything? We often hear about the mass effect... if all of North America contributes, then we shall all be saved. I don't really have any numbers on this, but I wonder just how much good are our meagre efforts doing compared to all the multinationals which keep polluting like there's no tomorrow. And if anyone gets in their way (like the government), well they just move to China or India where they can pretty much do whatever they want environmentally-wise. And speaking about the government, what is it doing to help the planet? Carbon taxes! Ah the dear old carbon taxes. Now I don't know if anybody ever read a nice little book called "Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide To Global Warming" by Bjorn Lomborg, but it actually has quite an interesting stance on the subject. The book has been subject to a lot of controversy (as you would expect on something that strays from mainstream ideas about the environment), but basically what it presents us with is alternatives to Kyoto which is mainly focused on cutting down our CO2 emissions. By using UN reports and statistics, Lomborg shows how the situation isn't as catastrophic as the media make it out to be and how, by investing in R&D and social measures rather than following Kyoto, we can obtain much better results as far as human welfare is concerned. Because overall, what are we really trying to do? Make sure that temperatures stay constant for the next millenia (which is preposterous since it goes against the very nature of the planet which has been through various ice ages since it came into being) or make sure that the global population has the best living conditions possible? I'll leave that to you to ponder and take a look at the book if you ever get the chance. I know that it seems contrary to all that we have been hearing so far in the media and myself, I was reluctant to believe it at first, but the guy does have 40 pages of bibliography! That has to count as some proof that what he is saying isn't complete and total nonsense.

And after all this, I know that I might seem like some insensitive, hypocritical ass who denies the very existence of global warming. That is not true (well I might be a bit of a hypocrite, but then again who isn't these days). Global warming is real and we are the cause of it. However, we shouldn't loose our sleep over it and as ordinary citizens, I don't think that there is much we can do about it. We can gather in the streets and protest, but then again what kind of measures should we request? In the end, I think it comes down to a question of priorities and how much we are willing to sacrifice. But one thing is for sure. We should all, each and every one of us, stop saying that we want to build a better world for future generations. After all, future generations in Africa won't care much if summers are 5°C hotter if they have nothing to eat, drink and they are dying of AIDS. And yes global warming will ruin crops and reduce the amount of water available (from what CERTAIN models predict). But if we only invest in the environment, things will at best only remain as they are now (slim consolation). By actually investing in agriculture and in better water irrigation and storage systems we might actually have a chance to improve things. In any case, I'm not going to rewrite Lomborg's book here (though I am on the right track). Just read it if the subject is of any interest to you.

Now before I end this already unbearably long post, I'll just leave you with a sketch by George Carlin which touches on the subject and brings a few balls in the homecourt.