I’m a city boy. I like people, and I’m happier when there are a lot more of them around me. Tokyo’s one of my favorite cities, partly because there are so. many. people. I like Manhattan, too, because it can be pouring rain at 3 am and you still have to fight for a taxi. I also love the diversity of beliefs, languages, races, cultures, tastes and attitudes that concentrate in the metropolis.
One casualty of my urban fetish is that the environment isn’t one of my political hot buttons. Don’t get me wrong–I’m not for the wanton pillaging of non-renewable resources. I put my trash in the receptacles conveniently located by the exit doors. I mock people who commute, flaunting my 10-minute walk to work. And I’m a card-carrying member of the Green Party (okay, no card, but I am a Green). I like animals enough to try to not eat them (quite so often as I used to). Maybe it’s residual conservatism, but I’m a blatant humanist–I have a difficult time devoting time and money and emotional energy to solving animal and plant problems when humans are homeless, sick, starving, and sometimes killing each other.
So one of the reasons I liked An Inconvenient Truth was because Al Gore made it very clear to me that global warming was a human concern. While I’m saddened that polar bears are drowning because of the receding Arctic ice, I am alarmed by the people who will suffer when Bangladesh drowns in shallow waters, when Africa is more severely plagued by drought, when the Himalayan glaciers that provide water for tens of millions shrink away to nothing, when bigger and badder hurricanes and typhoons assail the coasts of the world.
I went into the movie aware that there are enough people in the world to change the climate on a global scale; I left with a sense of urgency. Not only have we released enough pollutants to at least contribute to warming trends, but we are at a critical point where we need to reign in our excesses before we precipitate a host of catastrophes. I’ve made a lot of individual commitments over the years to reduce my own negative impact on the earth, but I don’t think this is enough. I’m going to do what I can to get the word out. You’ll see more green posts here, especially as the environment relates to religious and social concerns.
I don’t want to politicize the movie, even though it’s hard to avoid, what with main star being the former opponent of the current knucklehead in the Oval Office. This movie is ultimately about interconnectedness, which I hope transcends “liberal” and “conservative.” I’d like to think that Republicans care as much about the world their children will live in as much as Democrats. Reducing carbon dioxide emissions, channeling research and investment into renewable energy resources, building mass-transit infrastructure, building more fuel-efficient vehicles–is there any reasons why conservatives can’t support these measures? All this earth are belong to us, liberal, conservative and politically clueless alike.
So all of you, regardless of party-affiliation, go out and see the movie while it’s still in the theaters! If you’ve already seen it, read the book! Get the word out! The people of Tokyo and Manhattan are counting on us!
5 responses so far ↓
1 pilgrimgirl // Jun 5, 2006 at 7:52 pm
For most of our marriage, you’ve seem to have simply tolerated my environmental enthusiasm–my desire to eat vegetarian, my insistence on growing my own produce, my desire to purchase items second-hand to reduce the strain on earth’s resources, etc. I like that we’re seeing more eye-to-eye on these issues now.
I especially like that you were the one who convinced me that I we should watch the Al Gore movie as a family.
2 PodMonkeys // Jun 6, 2006 at 3:29 am
I recently read through select articles from about a years worth of National Geographics, and boy do they paint a scary picture. Most were on global warming, pollution, and power. Did you know that an average coal plant goes through about one 120 car train worth of coal a day? That each one puts out the pollution equivalent of every car and truck in America? And that China wants to build hundreds of coal plants in the near future? Then theres the fact that coal companies in America are cutting entire tops off mountains in Virginia, and leaving golf courses, sludge pits, and the potential for 40 foot high toxic mud slides.
As much as I don’t like Al Gore (and I’m a Green/Rainbow party here in Mass), I would like to see this movie. I also recommend everyone sits down and goes through a years worth of National Geographics in a week.
I think its pretty sad that theres still people who believe that its all just a natural cycle happening along at a normal pace. (If I remember another NG artical correctly, theres a National Glacier Park thats gone from around 47 glaciers to about 20 in less than 100 years, and might soon be zero.)
I think its kind of a race. We need to stop doing certain things so that the world will still be in one piece for our children. But on the other hand, you can’t convince everyone to make changes now, so you sort of have to work on the children to make the changes, while doing what little you can yourself. So the question is, if we can get our children doing the right thing, will it be in time for the Earth? (Did that make sense?)
3 Caroline // Jun 6, 2006 at 12:06 pm
Whether or not global warming is a true phenomenon (and I think it is), it’s so very important to take care of our Earth. I think it’s very irresponsible on our part if we keep drilling, polluting, and cutting down trees and to continue ignoring the consequences.
I hope Al Gore’s documentary will cause politicians in DC to perk up and start making changes. I’ll keep my fingers crossed…
4 Miko // Jun 6, 2006 at 8:59 pm
wow, you’re a green, too?! w00t. And I’m so jealous of Ms. Pilgrim for being able to grow your own produce! Every little bit helps. And maybe, if we all do a little bit, it will turn into a big enough bit to make a change.
5 John // Jun 9, 2006 at 9:42 pm
Great, great comment, Mr. Podmonkey.
Is it ironic that our family of origin produced two Greens?
Miko, are you a fellow California Green?
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