Whenever I feel a little too comfortable in my treehugger social bubble, I need only look as far as my condo complex to give myself a good slap in the face. There are recyclables in the trash…pretty much every time. There is trash in the recycle bin…pretty much every time. The dryers are going full blast when [...]
Posts Tagged ‘pessimism’
11 Dec
Can good intentions save the planet?
I’m permanently undecided as to whether the environmental problem is a consciousness problem (we all need to wake up, realize our resources are limited, and make some changes), or a legislative issue (we need someone to enforce the fact that ruining the planet is not a democratic right). On optimistic days, I lean towards the [...]
18 Jul
“We went green last year.”
I’ve come across this phrase on a few blogs, most memorably on a ‘green review’ blog. To paraphrase, the whole thing went something like, “My family went green last year when we switched to all natural personal products.” Excuse me? You did what? The ex-English major in me is freaking out over the use of the past tense. [...]
24 May
Why We Can (But Won’t) Save the Earth
Today I find myself supremely frustrated by the following set of facts: Humans are smart enough to predict, detect, and measure environmental problems caused by our actions. Humans are also smart enough to produce viable solutions to circumvent or minimize many of them. Humans are unlikely to act with sufficient speed, unity, and scale to succeed in doing so. (See Copenhagen.) [...]
