Environmental views

Let me begin quickly by saying this is but a short thought on a very broad subject, and the entire thought is not expressed simple due to space.

In the past three days I have had the pleasure of experiencing peoples perspectives on environmental issues outside of a U.S. classroom. There were a great deal of repetitive slides shown, that have popped up in my studies both in high school, and currently in college. There was also a great deal of similar topics to be discussed, such as green technology issues, and policy problems. I even found familiar sounding voices coming up with utopian like answers to these topics. But, what really caught my interest was in the responses expressed by those younger people (roughly 18-25), who feel they must take a stand and lead the way into a greener future.

I found these people to both well educated on the current problems, as well as very misinformed, at least in regards to global situations. The main ideas expressed by this group also depicted a nearly uniform idea of “grass roots” movements, really focusing on small scale projects. This is the distinct splitting point between myself and the many people with whom I spoke. I do not deny that I am uninformed on a great deal outside of the U.S. , but I do think BIG, and believe that small scale movements should be done in large scale ways. I do not believe that 10 small communities becoming slightly greener will do the job, but rather I would extend these green movements to large scales, and use the current systems available as catalysts for expressing such green initiatives.

One topic for example was the efforts to get rid of non-renewable energy sources such as nuclear power. Alright, I could agree that in the interest of sustainability that nuclear power is not the end all answer, and so did others in the group discussion. It was however a heated debate as to how this could be done. Again there was a push for localized solutions, and essentially cutting the large scale energy sources off; however this time it was a notion of cold turkey cut off. Simply get rid of large scale energy, like nuclear power, this next year and you will force people to go green…

Maybe it is a kick in pants that will push the envelope for people to live more sustainable, but likewise it is a very real possibility it may keep people from wanting to change their habits, since a cold turkey cut would likely bring out an outcry from the people, as they find themselves in a vulnerable state of transition. Conflicts like these constantly cropped up in the scene, but were addressed as best possibly, given the small 1 hour time slots allocated for group discussion.

It was conversations such as these that really hit home how people outside the U.S. are viewing environmental issues. I can now honestly say that my views although more enlightened have not changed where I stand on environmental topics, but I can at least take in a new perspective on why I stand on certain issues as I do. And I find that though no solutions were ever made, nor any consensus ever reached, that there was still a feeling of hope for a “greener” future.