Environmental Ethics: Facing Our Carbon Footprint

Thursday, September 10, 2020

Facing Our Carbon Footprint

I spoke briefly during a zoom call about a questionnaire I was requested to take during a class I took in my early years of college. This class was Conservation of Biodiversity, a science class that also dealt with similar environmental ethics that we discuss on a day to day basis. To summarize the questionnaire people answer questions regarding their eating habits, transportation, a guesstimate of everyday electrical use, amongst a variety of other questions. The questionnaire then estimates how many earths it would take to sustain your specific lifestyle. My class had a low of 2.5 earths to a high of 18 (mine being 3.5). Going into this exercise I understood that humans underappreciate the earth and assume its resources for themselves and monetary gain. With that being said I would like to assume that my other classmates felt the same way about the environment. However, what makes the fight against environmental injustice so difficult is understanding how far behind humanity truly is in creating balance between natures basic needs and human basic needs. My classmates and myself are a prime example of a sample study of people that are aware of environmental issues but were not privy to understanding how shockingly unstable the earth actually is. Humanity is very strong with understanding that an issue is present, however when it comes to addressing said issue, facing it, feeling empathy for it, and finally creating a means to put and end to the issue is where the ignorance lies. One may even compare this ideology to grand issues such as the BLM movement and the income gap between men and women in the workforce. Here is a link the the questionnaire if you feel so inclined to face your personal issues with the environment and mother nature herself. https://www.footprintcalculator.org/

4 comments:

Stuart McLeanSeptember 10, 2020 at 3:04 PM
Commented on Betty Mae and Patrick's post
Also writing this blog entry:)
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Carolin EngelhardSeptember 10, 2020 at 8:40 PM
Hey Stuart,

I just took the quiz and I really liked it. I am kind of embarrassed to say that my result was 4.3 Earths, that is crazy! I think there are different perspectives though, because when I live at home, I would say that my consume is very different from when I am at college. That is why I hope and believe that once we get older, also our behaviour changes. Especially, when I think about my eating behaviour and eating food that is unpackaged and grown locally. At home, in Germany, I have way more control over it and my mum buys groceries. Once I am walking into the Walmart in the Boro, all I can think about the cheapest options. Of course, that should not be an excuse, as there are so many cheap AND environmental-friendly recipes and ideas.
I totally agree with your point that people understand there is a problem, but they do not do anything about it. There is always a huge difference between realising something but then just staying in your little comfortable bubble in which nothing changes. I am also guilty of this, because getting out of your comfort zone can be hard and sometimes I definitely need to push myself way more than I want to. That is also a reason why I like these classes as I believe that it is a way of connecting to people that feel the same way or have a similar mindset, at least in environmental things.
Hope more people are doing the quiz, it really makes you realise in how many different ways you are hurting the environment.
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TannerProvencherSeptember 11, 2020 at 9:05 PM
Hey Stuart!

I also have taken the quiz and had the result of 4.6. I completely agree with Carolin in the sense that I am living much differently now than usual. However, I was still not expecting a 4.6. It honestly was a surprise to me. I actually semi agree with the idea that people know that theres an issue, but neglect to do anything about it. I believe that people know there is a slight issue, but do not know the extent of their personal effect on the issue. I believe a quiz like this accurately shows that extent...in my personal experience.
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PhilSeptember 13, 2020 at 10:51 PM
I haven't taken the quiz yet, but I know my score will be a lot lower during the pandemic. Externally imposed non-commuting is good for the earth, not to mention my own state of mind.
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First things first--a proper education

“The complexity of our present trouble suggests as never before that we need to change our present concept of education. Education is not properly an industry, and its proper use is not to serve industries, either by job-training or by industry-subsidized research. It's proper use is to enable citizens to live lives that are economically, politically, socially, and culturally responsible. This cannot be done by gathering or "accessing" what we now call "information" - which is to say facts without context and therefore without priority. A proper education enables young people to put their lives in order, which means knowing what things are more important than other things; it means putting first things first.” ― Wendell Berry

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― Wendell Berry, The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays

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“Why should we tolerate a diet of weak poisons, a home in insipid surroundings, a circle of acquaintances who are not quite our enemies, the noise of motors with just enough relief to prevent insanity? Who would want to live in a world which is just not quite fatal?”
― Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

“How can we be so arrogant? The planet is, was, and always will be stronger than us. We can't destroy it; if we overstep the mark, the planet will simply erase us from its surface and carry on existing. Why don't they start talking about not letting the planet destroy us?”
― Paulo Coelho, The Winner Stands Alone

“When asked if I am pessimistic or optimistic about the future, my answer is always the same: if you look at the science about what is happening on earth and aren't pessimistic, you don't understand the data. But if you meet the people who are working to restore this earth and the lives of the poor, and you aren't optimistic, you haven't got a pulse.”
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― T.S. Eliot

“There is a tendency at every important but difficult crossroad to pretend that it's not really there.”
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― Jonathan Safran Foer, Eating Animals

“An attitude to life which seeks fulfilment in the
single-minded pursuit of wealth - in short, materialism - does not fit into this
world, because it contains within itself no limiting principle, while the
environment in which it is placed is strictly limited.”
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“One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds.”
― Aldo Leopold

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“The re-establishment of an ecological balance depends on the ability of society to counteract the progressive materialization of values. The ecological balance cannot be re-established unless we recognize again that only persons have ends and only persons can work towards them.”
― Ivan Illich

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Thursday, September 10, 2020

Facing Our Carbon Footprint

4 comments:

Peripatetics