I think not!!
When the August/September 2007 issue of Planning arrived in the mail, I had to smirk and roll my eyes at the cover page. Why? Because this issue deals with the environment and on the cover is the following question:
Global Warming: What Can You Do About It?
Honestly, my first reaction was: Not a fucking thing!!!
Why?
Because the key word here is global. No matter what I do as an individual, it will not make a difference.
Why?
Because as I “do my part” by recycling, composting, or buying environmentally friendly products, my neighbors don’t give a shit. Either they are driving around in their gas guzzlers, throwing their recyclables to the landfill or cutting down trees in their property because they don’t want to rake the leaves that fall on their yards during autumn.
What’s the point of me trying to curtail global warming if our own cities don’t do their part as well. Yes they might have recycling programs in effect and energy saving incentives but they are just as guilty of causing negative effects on the environment. Sprawl and uncontrolled growth which many cities do little to address, is one of the biggest culprits. Not only are pristine green-fields destroyed to give way to new development, these new developments, be they commercial or residential, only encourage heavier use of the automobile which increases the demand for gas and emissions polluting the air. Yes, having a recycling program is good, but planning mixed-use communities which can be self-sustaining, cause minimal impact to the site and reduces the need for the automobile is even better.
Our federal government is not much better at trying to solve the issue. After all, it is run by politicians whose primary goal, for the most part, is to stay in office. They will only push the agendas which will keep them in office. This would require that citizens gather in mass and demand the federal government push environmentally friendly policies. But even if our citizens and government did such a thing, what about the rest of the world? We have nations such as China who are causing havoc on the environment due to industry and manufacturing. Nope, one or a handful of countrys’ environmental policy is not going to solve the problem because this is a worldwide problem and it is up to world leaders to unite and work together on this global issue.
No, I as one single individual among 6,752,446,163, and counting, cannot make a difference to solve or reduce global warming. Can the world unite to address this issue? Probably not. Everyone has their own agendas which conflict in some way with the need to protect the environment. In the meantime, I’ll try to do my little part and have some peace of mind.
You’ve pretty much summed up my philosophy there. I’ll do what I can, but I’m not Superwoman.