FriendBurst Blog

I’m beyond fear, beyond anger, I’m downright seething.

It’s not that quick, knock-the-bowl-off-the-counter kind — but the
slow, drawn out, meltdown kind of livid. I want to know who was cocky
enough to build nuclear power plants ON the Ring of Fire (there are a few beauties
in California too). I’m angry that I’m supposed to feel reassured that
this radioactive disaster is not in my backyard. We are in a locked
biological system! Despite no immediate health threats on our home turf,
Japan’s nuclear mess is our mess. As I watch the deterioration of
multiple nuclear reactors from the comfort of my 70 degree, well-lit
home, I’m curious: how long do Americans plan to continue on with the
environmental status quo?

I’m irate because I know the answer to that question: when it becomes good and damn unprofitable.

The truth is most people don’t want to be held personally responsible
for our environment. I grew up with a man who considered himself a
conversationalist, but was, truly, one of those early environmentalists.
I watched my father dedicate his adult life to protecting Wyoming’s
land and water. I played at the back of town hall meetings as he argued
with farmers who were over-irrigating the Colorado River, and meetings
with coal mining companies who were carving huge pock marks out of the
land. His cause, the protection of our natural resources, was extremely
unpopular through all of the ’70s, ’80s and into the ’90s. He was “the
Tree-Hugger,” “the Granola,” the “Sierra Club Kook.”

Honestly, his cause was not even appreciated in his own household:
don’t pollute, six inch deep baths, a home never heated above 64
degrees, panels of insulation we’d have to pull off the windows if we
wanted to see outside. I gave a hoot, alright — a hoot about getting a
shower more than three minutes long. It was…uncomfortable and
inconvenient. My childhood was a firsthand account of why many Americans
are not very good with uncomfortable and inconvenient. I get it.

I also understand how overwhelming the “environmental issue” is. How can I slow the devastation of the Amazon rainforest? How am I supposed to save the turtles, frogs, bees, lodge pole pines,
dolphins, sharks, and the manatee? Environmental experts are asking me
to believe that recycling plastic and eating less beef is going to
save the polar bear population? How can a 41 year-old gal have any
impact on a planet that’s capable of creating a 24 foot wave in a
matter of minutes?

For 30 years we’ve watched the environmental movement push their case
but I feel they made a critical error: much of it was done in fear,
not love. Can we blame them? If you believed your house was
deteriorating around you, wouldn’t you be damn scared? And fear always
draws attention — but it can also make people feel defensive,
powerless, and turned off. A wall of public opinion built up against my
father and the environmental movement. I watched him justify our clean
water, trees to build our homes, mature forests to clean our air — but
people didn’t want to HEAR their choices were destroying this planet.
So they turned away to check out all the bells and whistles on the
latest Smartphone.

How can we approach the subject of massive social change toward our
energy consumption without turning off the majority? Because this is a
fantastically abysmal time to take proactive steps. Between the Gulf oil
incident, the increase
in our dependence on oil, and now the breakdown of these nuclear
reactors, I think it’s fair to say we’ve done an abysmal job caring for
the planet over the last year. In fact, I’m going to take a green leap
and label our energy system as barbaric. Yes, barbaric! As in slavery
was barbaric to humanity; our energy systems are barbaric to this
planet.

Can we afford to make unconscious energy mistakes anymore? Why are
they building oil wells so deep in the ocean they can’t reach the
shut-off valve? Why wasn’t there a third shut-off valve for the second
shut-off valve for the first shut-off valve? Why wasn’t there a back up
system for the back up water cooling system in these toxic structures?
Why are they building nuclear plants ON a coast line or a fault line?
Are they building them at the base of active volcanoes? How many toxic
“incidents” are we going to have before the survival of sea turtles
becomes the least of our concerns?

Can we finally, finally, admit that the human race is NOT capable of
building anything that Mother Nature cannot destroy? Consider her as
the house in a Vegas casino: over time she’s ALWAYS going to win.

We are a species carrying iPads with a million applications but to
create family cars that get 50 MPG are beyond us. We’re capable of massive LED screens that roll up like fabric
but installing solar panels on every new home as a standard is just
not feasible. I don’t want to hear this crap anymore! The truth, the
absolute truth, is in our homes and offices: our society is more
interested in technology as entertainment than using it to create solid
energy solutions that coincide with Mother Nature.

But this isn’t about technology, it’s about demand. Not from the World Wildlife Fund or Greenpeace or Al Gore
— but as a total population. The status quo will not change until you
and I JUSTIFY it. We are the ones who will determine when our energy
system has become unprofitable, not Exxon.

Do you think we are ready to take responsibility for our impact on
this planet? The electricity we demand, the gas we demand, the water
and land, the food, the up-to-date electronics? Because WE are the
demand! We are the demand.

If you’re ready to do something proactive to counterbalance the tragedy in Japan and the Gulf, here are four powerful steps:

Change Your Perception of Stuff. Every material
object EQUATES to energy. My son sees a “free” toy and thinks, “No
money? I’ll take five of them.” I have to explain to him that this
plastic toy has a money value and an energy value: the petroleum in the
plastic, the electricity to manufacture, the gas to haul it to this
store, the electricity to light the store, the gas to haul it to the
dump, the land to hold it for the next 1,000 years. EVERYTHING has an
energy cost. Even that delectable tomato you grew out of your own
garden. Every time you buy, eat, use, dump a product, you are voting how
our resources are going to be used. So if your child isn’t going to
take the toy in his McDonald’s meal out of the wrapper, have him request
that they keep it for someone else.

Eliminate Unnecessary Energy Usage. Think about
the average amount of time you use a water bottle: 30 minutes tops? And
maybe you are recycling them (better than the trash) but remember it
costs energy to recycle that bottle. If it costs more energy to recycle
than the energy we will gain from reusing it… Obviously, the best
choice would be one drinking container you reuse for years. My personal
favorite energy dilemma is the used paint brush. Which choice is the
least energy taxing: chemicals to remove the paint from the brush (and
where do you deposit that paint thinner?), gallons of paint filled water
to clean it, or throwing the used brush in the trash? I buy the
cheapest wooden brush, keep it wet until I’m done painting and then
throw it in the trash. Not an easy decision. For more energy conscious
ideas check out The Energy Guy.

Buy “Greener” products. I’m not thrilled about
supporting chicken farms whose chickens have never seen the sun. I spend
the extra money for eggs that come from open range chickens and I’ve
found a brand that isn’t that much more than regular eggs at Costco.
Choose areas you are willing to demand greener products. If you’re torn
between products, go for the “greener” one. Not sure which one is
greener? There’s an app for that: Good Guide.

Take One Environmental Stand. What is your
absolute favorite aspect of nature: bird watching, city parks, the
ocean, the mountains, snakes? Find a group that supports this area and
give YOUR energy to it. Environmental groups are making it incredibly
easy for your voice to be heard. Don’t want another oil well drilled?
There’s a group working for that. Want to snorkel without mounds of
trash floating by? There’s a group working for that. Here are a few
great places to start:

Union of Concerned Scientists-Citizens and Scientists for Environmental Solutions

Oceana-Protecting the Worlds Oceans

Sierra Club-Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet

Earthjustice-Because the World Needs a Good Lawyer

You and I are deciding right now how our energy is going to be used
and reused. The question is, are we ready to demand a change? Are you
ready to go beyond “thinking green” to “living green”? If so, how?
Inspire the rest of us!

* * *