Humans, just another cause of pollution: Journal Entry #6

           

           In today’s society, humans think that they are superior to any other specie on the planet. This mind set it wrong in many ways because in this world, all the species work together rather than one being greater than another.

            David W. Orr spoke about the idea that people are becoming uncomfortable with nature. They do not feel safe and have no desire to be involved with nature and look at it as a decoration. This is becoming increasingly common and when we speak about global warming and problems in the environment, these people do not feel the need to help. The work is not distributed fairly and people are relying on scientists and environmentalist to fix the world’s problems without their personal contribution.

            After reading this discussion, I realized how much I sometimes feel the same way. I do not mean to be lazy or ignorant, but I feel that there is not much that I can do to make a difference. However, I do try to do small things around the house like switch to the light bulbs to environmentally ones, recycle as much as possible, turn off lights and fans when I am not in the room, and unplug small electronics that I do not use on a regular basis. After taking the Ecological Footprint Assessment test, I saw that if everyone on the planet lives my lifestyle, we would need 3.93 Earths. The global average is 1.50 Earths. I found this shocking. This makes me realize how important it really is for each individual to try to be greener and that I need to take bigger steps in helping with this problem.

            In our reading, the Earth Charter, it speaks about steps that we can take in protecting our home. We need to change our attitude, help protect and restore our planet, prevent disasters, and adopt new ideas and technology to make a difference. The problem is ours and no one but ourselves are going to do something to make a change. The time for change is now.