Earth Beater

When I read Jack London's "All Gold Canyon" I realized that the impact of man on the environment was greater than I realized because when the miner left, there “…remained the hoof-marks in the meadow and the town hillside to mark the boisterous trail of the life that had broken the peace of the place and passed on”(London 109). I am a person who loves to advocate taking care of the Earth and treating it with love, but I realize I am still destroying it more than I am restoring it. I love psychology, and because of this I began to ponder why do those who love the environment continue on destroying it? Even now I am using an abundant amount of power. My T.V, air conditioner and three computers are on. Not to mention a light in one room I am not using is on, a lamp, and countless appliances that are not being used are currently plugged in as well. I am addicted to convenience. I am more self focused and comfort seeking than I ever thought I'd be or ever wanted to be, and yet I have not gotten up to turn off a single light because I am too afraid to break my creative writing flow- selfish. There is an interesting article in psychologytoday.com that evaluates the reasons why we love the environment with our mouth, but abuse it with our actions. The study done in the article reveals “individuals use resources more wisely when the group...is small in number, communicates well and is informed that goods are limited”(Gifford). However, in the United States it is the exact opposite of that! Americans feel protected in their little bubble and don’t realize the gravity of their actions and therefore continue on living the same way. I say Americans, but really the ignorance extends across the whole world to many different countries, and me.  

Okay, so I am selfish, now what? Reading around on the subject I found that one of the top ten ways man is destroying the environment is by owning a car (Schwarzfeld). I have a car (who doesn’t?) and I had always prided myself on it being a certified “Ultra Low Fuel Emission Vehicle” but that doesn’t actually help the environment, it just hurts it less. So how could I help? On 50waystohelp.com there are many ways listed that would cause me to lower my impact on the environment, such as take a shower over a bath, or go vegetarian once a week. I do a lot of the things on the list already, but I am still making an impact. The presence of humans on the planet is always going to make an impact unless we get rid of all electricity and waste, and I don’t see enough people ever caring that much for that to happen. I once watched No Impact Man, a movie about a man who tried to lower his and his family’s carbon footprint (a number that tells a person’s impact on the planet) to 0. It was quite humorous, but it was also clear that doing that in my society would prove to be far more difficult, and really almost impossible. 

I took a test that told me my carbon footprint was 19 and it said that the U.S national average was 27(The Nature Conservancy). The world’s national average per person, however, was only 5.5(The Nature Conservancy)! I still believe in trying to be as low an impact as possible, but it is strange how no matter what, we make an impact on this Earth, whether it be a 5.5 impact or a 27. (For anyone reading this wanting to know their carbon footprint, here is the link http://www.nature.org/greenliving/carboncalculator/index.htm). I want to make greater strides in trying to lower my impact and be less selfish and more sensitive towards the other living creatures on this planet. This is not just my home, but the home of many. I also realize I won’t be able to lower my impact down to zero, but that’s okay, that doesn’t mean I give up and open up another factory! I want to tread lightly and be a friend to nature, not a foe, and that's exactly what I plan on doing!

Work Cited

"50 ways to help the planet." Wire & twine. Wire & Twine, n.d. Web. 2 Apr 2012. <http://www.50waystohelp.com/>.

Gifford, R.. "Why We're Destroying the Earth."psychologytoday.com. Sussex Directories, Inc., 2000. Web. 2 Apr 2012. <http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200003/why-were-destroying-the-earth>.

Gifford, R.. 2000. Graphic. Psychology Today. Web. 3 Apr 2012. <http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200003/why-were-destroying-the-earth>.

London, Jack. "’All Gold Canyon,’ from Moon-face and Other Stories." 1906. The Literary West: An Anthology of Western American Literature. Ed. Thomas J. Lyon. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 109. Print. 

The Nature Conservancy, . "Carbon Footprint Calculator."The nature conservancy. The Nature Conservancy, 2011. Web. 2 Apr 2012. <http://www.nature.org/greenliving/carboncalculator/index.htm>.

“’No Impact Man’-Official Trailer.” 29 July 2009. Web. 2 April 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9Ctt7FGFBo>.

Schwarzfeld, Matt . "Pollution: Top Ten Ways Man is Destroying the Environment." Curiosity.com. Discovery, 2012. Web. 2 Apr 2012. <http://curiosity.discovery.com/topic/pollution/10-ways-man-destroying-environment.htm>.