Today is Blog Action Day and the theme this year is the Environment.
The environmental problems the human race faces today is more than just Global Warming, which Al Gore has done too well to publicise. The other environmental problems the we seldom talk about is resources management – the management of land (including our arable land and forest), water, minerals (which would include natural gas, crude oil, coal, and metals).
This book would give you a general idea the disaster we could end up with, if we failed to properly manage the resources on our planet.
There are several case studies in the book, some showing societies which failed, and some showing those which succeeded. The main purpose of all these case studies however, is to remind us to use resources in such a way which is sustainable. For e.g., upgrading your mobile phone every few months, upgrading your computer as quickly as the next processor is available so you can play your latest games, and scrapping your new car to ‘make money’ before it’s life is up, are examples of not using the planet’s resources in a sustainable way. (In other words, the COE is an evil and environmentally unfriendly scheme.)
We might be able to export our environment problems to third world countries – for e.g. buying their resources on the cheap or dumping our industrial waste there, but it is only delaying the inevitable. By doing so, the people of the third world countries may suffer and perish before we do, but we are merely obtaining for ourself the privilege of being the last to perish.
So, you can start doing something for the environment from today by:
- Saving water – Do you know there are people in the world that have no access to potable water and many are drinking polluted water?
- Cutting down the use of electricity – Turn off the light at home or in that un-used meeting room, or your computer and television when you are not using them. Do not set aircon temperature below 25 deg. Celsius. (No, you are not saving money for the company, you are doing your part for your planet.)
- Not chasing the trend – You don’t need to have the latest if the one you have now already served your needs. The plastics used to manufacture some of these cool looking products like that overhyped iPhone is your contribution to the destruction of our environment.
- Supporting green companies and green products – You can start by asking where your product came from, and whether the methods used to manufacture them are environmentally friendly. Expose companies which pretends to be green, especially those which drives the trend and consumerism by releasing a new product every few months.
- Not wasting food – Do you know the amount of water and resources need to plant the crops, even those used to feed the livestock you eat? Throwing away food is almost sacrilegious. (I am not suggesting you start becoming vegetarian or becoming one of those PETA fan-boys either.)
Darth,
Thank you for taking part in Blog Action Day.
Unfortunately, I did not participate.
However, I wrote a belated post about an environmental issue. As a real estate agent in Minneapolis, I see a lot of people using a product in luxury homes that is very destructive in a number of ways. It may also be contributing to the changes in the environment. Check out this post, please:
Brazilian Teak Hardwood Floors, Slave Labor, and the Destruction of the Rainforest.
You can find this post at:
http://www.realestatetwincities.net/brazilian-hardwood-floors-can-you-say-slave-labor/
I realize I made this url too long. If it got cut off in the comment form, you can easily find it at:
http://www.realestatetwincities.net
Anything you can do to share this link or help promote awareness of this issue will be greatly appreciated. Most luxury home owners in Minnesota are unaware of the environmental and human cost of these products. I feel sort of ill every time I walk into a home that has Brazilian teak floors.
Thank you!
cc> I care simply because if the Earth dies, even the most powerful “Dark Lords of the Sith” (Darths) will become “Dark Lots of the Shit”.
wow, i’m impressed the darth cares about environment!
well said~!