Just Another Reason to Hate Environmentalists: They're Stinking Lazy!
First off, haapy Memorial Day to all. No doubt most people have exciting things planned for the holiday. I, for one, intend to catch up on some sorely needed sleep. But Jason, you've had the whole weekend? Yes, indeed... although the Oilers won last night. A great thing to be sure but the victory celebrations on Whyte Ave are really starting to get to me.
I make deliveries for one of my jobs and on many a mailbox I see stickers boldly demanding to users of said mailbox "STOP KILLING OUR FORESTS," or something else of that nature. Maybe it's the early hour, or the fact that I have little else to do at that time but I've often thought about the implications of such a move.
To me, a sticker like this smacks of a lack of individual responsibility. These individuals, like many of us, have a problem with junkmail and they'd like to think that it's for environmental reasons. The problem with this is that it accomplishes absolutely nothing. Junk mail is still printed off using paper products, the trees are still cut down, etc. Instead of taking a little extra time and maybe, oh I don't know, recycling it by themselves, they slap a freaking sticker on their mailbox and ta-da... problem solved!
It's this mindset that I think characterizes too much of environmental thinking these days. Far too many people, how ever well intended they might be, expect magical solutions to the challenges they see the world over. Take Kyoto, for example. This is something I've written about before but it is an agreement which does absolutely nothing about alleged climate change. And yet people think that just because we've signed on the world will be safe from the evils of polluters and we can all hold hands and all that jazz. Puh-lease!!
We as a society cannot hope to make any real progress if you continue to pass the buck on things that must be done. I mean, look at the kinds of things we're dealing with. We complain about deforestation and global warming and yet how many people drive around those ridiculous SUVs and can't even pick up after themselves. In Canada we expect elaborate social programs to make sure that we're taken care of but at the same time we don't want to have to pay for them through higher taxes. Kind of a challenge when the costs certainly aren't going down. Face it, too many of us are lazy slobs who craze the easy way out. The less you have to do the better.
I guess that's one of my biggest problems with liberal/Liberal thinking. It promotes and encourages that very way of thinking. Don't worry, everyone... our big huge government will take care of you, so you just vote for us and you can sit back and relax and you'll get your Kyoto, your universal daycare, and your gun registry. Instead of having the bureaucracy micromanage so many aspects of my life, I have no problem with having a little more responsibility given in my direction. Having new responsibilities is one of the best ways for us to learn about what needs to be done. Above all, it can help us to, GASP!, learn a thing or two about being responsible! A shocker I know.
This applies very much to environmental issues. Some vague agreement or broad government policies are not the way to go about securing change. Real change will come when more and more people step up to the plate and start doing things a little differently at their own level. Just think about how different things would be if more people decided to drive a little less or carpool, or use public transit. Just think about how nice it would be if more people could simply throw their garbage away. Little things to be sure, but they make a huge impact as more people catch on to the idea and start doing it.
So to you, you lazy tree huggers, get off your "green" butt and quit waiting around for the results you want to see and start making them happen.
I make deliveries for one of my jobs and on many a mailbox I see stickers boldly demanding to users of said mailbox "STOP KILLING OUR FORESTS," or something else of that nature. Maybe it's the early hour, or the fact that I have little else to do at that time but I've often thought about the implications of such a move.
To me, a sticker like this smacks of a lack of individual responsibility. These individuals, like many of us, have a problem with junkmail and they'd like to think that it's for environmental reasons. The problem with this is that it accomplishes absolutely nothing. Junk mail is still printed off using paper products, the trees are still cut down, etc. Instead of taking a little extra time and maybe, oh I don't know, recycling it by themselves, they slap a freaking sticker on their mailbox and ta-da... problem solved!
It's this mindset that I think characterizes too much of environmental thinking these days. Far too many people, how ever well intended they might be, expect magical solutions to the challenges they see the world over. Take Kyoto, for example. This is something I've written about before but it is an agreement which does absolutely nothing about alleged climate change. And yet people think that just because we've signed on the world will be safe from the evils of polluters and we can all hold hands and all that jazz. Puh-lease!!
We as a society cannot hope to make any real progress if you continue to pass the buck on things that must be done. I mean, look at the kinds of things we're dealing with. We complain about deforestation and global warming and yet how many people drive around those ridiculous SUVs and can't even pick up after themselves. In Canada we expect elaborate social programs to make sure that we're taken care of but at the same time we don't want to have to pay for them through higher taxes. Kind of a challenge when the costs certainly aren't going down. Face it, too many of us are lazy slobs who craze the easy way out. The less you have to do the better.
I guess that's one of my biggest problems with liberal/Liberal thinking. It promotes and encourages that very way of thinking. Don't worry, everyone... our big huge government will take care of you, so you just vote for us and you can sit back and relax and you'll get your Kyoto, your universal daycare, and your gun registry. Instead of having the bureaucracy micromanage so many aspects of my life, I have no problem with having a little more responsibility given in my direction. Having new responsibilities is one of the best ways for us to learn about what needs to be done. Above all, it can help us to, GASP!, learn a thing or two about being responsible! A shocker I know.
This applies very much to environmental issues. Some vague agreement or broad government policies are not the way to go about securing change. Real change will come when more and more people step up to the plate and start doing things a little differently at their own level. Just think about how different things would be if more people decided to drive a little less or carpool, or use public transit. Just think about how nice it would be if more people could simply throw their garbage away. Little things to be sure, but they make a huge impact as more people catch on to the idea and start doing it.
So to you, you lazy tree huggers, get off your "green" butt and quit waiting around for the results you want to see and start making them happen.
posted by Jason at 6:57 a.m.
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