Conscious Consumer - The Long View

I encourage people to make environmentally conscious choices because we all have to solve this climate crisis. Albert Arnold Gore, Jr., 1948 - , Statesman

Fighting Defeatism

As corporate hubris continues to influence political decisions contributing to the ongoing destruction of our natural environment, we remain reticent.

Scientists have proven human activity is contributing to climate change. It is no secret our oceans are dying as the industrialized world's appetite for fish is driving stocks around the world to the brink of collapse. Our once bountiful fresh water supply is shrinking. Our food is toxic and air pollution is a major environmental health issue affecting both developing and developed countries alike.

Our complacency has led to dire consequences and we now carry the heavy burden - more starving children, more clear-cut forests, loss of natural sources, major crop failures, spiralling insurance costs from floods and fire and the extinction of species that are invaluable to humans for what they provide or symbolize - including the iconic polar bear.

Too Late?

We don't have to accept the casual, unthinking fatalism. The impact of our actions today has a direct affect on our common future. But first we must take personal responsibility for changing old habits and consciously making new ones.

Start by casting your vote at the cash register. Think about the impact of your purchasing decision and let manufacturers and retailers know you want them to move toward better practices; buy local whenever you can; talk to family and friends about lifestyle changes like not accepting plastic bags, and not wasting water in our daily lives; talk to your educators about introducing an environmental curriculum in our primary and secondary schools and set up committees at the workplace to get our businesses thinking green. And don't forget to let your politicial representatives know you have had enough of their empty promises and watered-down solutions.

For too long, we've allowed corporations to opt out of socially responsible practices. But we too are guity of opting in to convenience and overconsumption. If environmental restoration is going to happened we all have to do our part. In the long view, becoming involved and speaking out for our natural world is as important as the food we eat, the air we breath, the water we drink and the planet which sustains us all.

 

 

 

 

OP