An Old School, Conservative Remedy for Climate Change

Our planet is a chunk of molten rock layered with decaying vegetation, water bodies, and human beings with all that they entail.  It is sealed in an atmospheric bubble that essentially protects us from damaging interplanetary effects and simultaneously mandates that we be good stewards of our world because we are sealed in as well as sealed off.  It has evolved for a long, long time and that evolution continues today.  No doubt, part of that evolution is a direct result of how the humans who inhabit this world behave.  But a much larger and more fundamental element of that evolution is simply the natural changes inherent in the universe and its aging process.  To deny either evolutionary cause is foolishness.  But to disproportionately contribute causality to mankind and then ignore the evolutionary principles of the universe is stupidity.

In my former role as a lower level office manager for the United States Department of Agriculture, I had an opportunity to participate in a youth leadership workshop sponsored by the Hugh O’Brien Youth program (HOBY).  Read more about this great organization here: https://www.hoby.org/ .  The central theme of this particular workshop was conservation and environmental concerns.  I was never a gifted speaker or teacher; but on this one occasion, I did manage to hit the target squarely…even if the presentation was lacking. 

There were about 35 high school kids in the group and I asked them all to close their eyes.  I told them that we were going to board a spaceship and embark on a fantasy journey.  After years of travel, I advised them that we had arrived at our destination…our new world…and they should open their eyes.  The meeting room that we were in was that new world, with all the doors and windows closed.  I suggested to them that this would be their home for the foreseeable future and that this reality would create several concerns.  Obviously, coming up with food, water, and the necessities of life was primary; but my emphasis was on another aspect of survival.  In an enclosed and integrated space, how would we conserve our environment?

I reminded them that the challenge of life did not end with obtaining the fundamental ingredients that insured their nutritional survival; it also included dealing with the preservation of a livable environment.  I asked them to look around and consider what they would do with their disposable products; the metal, the plastic, the paper, the human waste, the black water, the gray water, the broken machinery of human existence….where would it all go?  How would they rule themselves in the close proximity of their confines?  How would they deal with the social cliques that exist in society and what form of justice and fairness might they employ?  The ultimate point was that nothing ever goes away; it remains with us and must be dealt with in some form or fashion.  Life is a balloon; you punch in one place and it juts out in another.  Furthermore, in a climate of limited resources it is essential to practice some form of efficiency and conservation.  A lively discussion followed about these challenges of co-existence in a high school context.  As you might imagine, that proved to be very entertaining.

Following this exercise, I asked them to consider a new topic.  Is it not true that the prior situation that we were imagining is, in fact, a microcosm of our existence on this planet?  And if that is true, how does our current behavior as citizens of the planet square with common sense?  How about the chewing gum, fast food wrappers, cola cans and cups, water bottles, spent tissues, and all the other miscellaneous items that we routinely toss out of our car windows?  How about the food we leave on our plates at home or the restaurant where we might be eating?  How about the careless way we discard clothing simply because it is out of style?  What about the people (or governments) that dam up a stream or a river in order to pool water; all at the expense of the people below the dam who perhaps counted on the stream or river and the people above the dam who might now find their homes or farms flooded?  And then there are those people (or companies) who burn and send smoke into the air, floating it upward…out of sight and out of mind.  There are also those that dump waste alongside the rural roads of America, into our streams and rivers and lakes, into our vast oceans, and even underground in our mountains and deserts.  How is this different from continuously piling up our waste in this fantasy new world constructed of four walls, a floor, and a ceiling? 

The inter-connectivity of our planet and all it entails is a wonder of creation.  There is so much that we still do not understand about whence it came and its origins.  We continue to struggle in the challenges presented to us, both social and environmental.  But at the very least…at the very foundation of the climate change argument lays the undeniable principle of accountability.  We are responsible for the messes we make and we are equally responsible for cleaning up those messes.  If we as an occupying entity on this planet can simply manage to practice a modicum of conservation and environmental consciousness in how we live each day, we will have gone a long ways towards doing our part to address climate change.  If only we can simply realize that every time we litter, or waste, or pollute irresponsibly…we are leaving our mess for someone else to clean up.  You see…eventually…it DOES HAVE TO BE cleaned up. 

And, you know…the point here is much broader and deeper than just the environmental climate.  How personally accountable are we when we sit at an intersection looking at a green light while talking on our cell phone?  Or when we have our grocery cart parked in the middle of the aisle speaking at the top or our voice into our smart phone; oblivious to all around us?  And what about the little things…like going through five stacks of jeans to find the right size and leaving them in a total and complete mess…or something as simple as returning a shopping cart to the collector rather than leaving it in the middle of the parking lot.  We use fresh water like there is a limitless supply, ignoring the global preciousness of that commodity.  We sit in the school drop-off line blocking traffic; because we didn’t have our act together when we left the house.   Common sense screams at us that all of our actions must have consequences.  If each of us could simply raise our personal consciousness, consideration, and accountability a notch or two; it would go a long, long ways towards addressing many of the conservation, environmental, and social issues of this modern civilization.  I fear that we as parents and grandparents are raising a generation of intelligent, ethical, and compassionate individuals who have been spoiled emotionally and materially to the point where they have no realistic concept of personal accountability.

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I do not intend this post to be about some broad ideal of social consciousness; or about becoming a respectable global citizen.  I am simply saying that it is important for mankind in general, and each of us specifically, to understand that we are but grains of sand in the universe.  We are not the center; we are not the arbiter of universal physics.  And the more often we acknowledge those facts, the better off we will be.  The concept of personal accountability lies at the crux of many great issues faced by society in today’s world.  It is applicable to the environmental, social, and even psychological well being of our species. 

When working on agricultural land to mitigate the flow of surface water; many people want to start with a blank piece of paper and dictate where the waterways and ditches will be located.  Our marvelous machines enable us to literally change the face of the earth to conform to our vision.  But experience has taught us that a far more effective and efficient way to approach this issue is to first observe how the surface water naturally flows.  Once those characteristic patterns are discerned, a master drainage plan can be constructed using them as a foundation.  The point is that things simply go better when we work with the land, rather than trying to dictate to the land. 

There are so many forces in this world over which we have no control.  That is not going to change.  We are part of this planet’s evolution; we are not the planet.  We are one of the influences on how it develops over the ages; we are not the only influence.  Our conceit and arrogance sometimes leads us to believe that we alone can fashion this planet in such a way to suit ourselves; that we have the exclusive right to shape it for the future.  Even more foolish is the concept that we have the sole power to control the evolution of this world.  Such is the monstrous pride of man.  This earth will spin through space for ages to come and we are simply along for the ride. 

What we can do is behave in a way that respects the world in which we live, exhibits a living ethic that demonstrates appreciation for limited resources and how they might be utilized and shared, and ultimately shows an acknowledgement of the privileges granted us by our very existence.  Call it what you will…paying it forward, common decency, respecting the rights of others, pulling your own weight.  I will call it personal accountability; living responsibly and cleaning up your own mess.