Here are some thoughts that correspond to the assignment and then I’m going to go on an additional lengthy tangent because I’m so bothered about what my thoughts are.
- Describe the item that challenged your thinking and how it contradicts what you had previously thought or known:
A: I was watching the video from the Khan Academy regarding Environmental Justice and it hit me like a folding chair at a pro-wrestling event. I was under the impression that we, as a global community, are all in this fight for environmental justice together. I am coming to the conclusion that the reality of this is very, very far from the truth. Really, the fight for environmental justice is square in the laps of myself and people like me. The haves. To place some of the responsibility on the have-nots is flat out ridiculous. And grossly unjust.
2. Identify why you thought the way you did before. Was it something you learned in school, a friend, the internet, etc.?
A: I suppose due to my progressive leanings I was under the belief that everyone had an equal stake in this. My interest in this major was because I wanted to make a difference, but I knew that we all had to play a larger role in ensuring sustainable practices going forward. Social media probably played a large role in fostering and nurturing this belief. I suppose the hypocrisy of it all is that we, as Westerners, condescendingly point at the destruction of Amazon rainforest to support agriculture and grazing for beef that goes into our hamburgers that we cherish so much. We point at the local population in India burning wood instead of biofuel to stave off deforestation and soil erosion as we watch about it on our giant flat-screen televisions. You know what you don’t read a lot about? Why my household needs three damn televisions. There are only two people living here. That’s not including the two televisions sitting in storage in my garage.
3. Do you think that your previously held position was influenced by bias in any way? Was the position based on un-investigated assumptions?
A: My previously held position was absolutely biased. It is a self-righteous, holier-than-though, hypocritical stance seeped in a supercilious notion that the best path forward is for developing countries to learn from our mistakes and not hold us really accountable for any of it, because, hey, we didn’t know any better. It’s a lot more fun and interesting to point out the shortcomings in others than looking in the mirror and taking a hard look at what we are doing wrong. Media here in the US doesn’t hold ourselves to the task, because, that’s not the American way.
4. Are you rethinking your previously held position or not, and why? What evidence changed your mind, or reinforced your previously held position?
A: I have concluded that the quest for environmental justice must be lead by the haves. I believe that the vast majority of the effort must come from people like myself because I helped create the vast majority of the issues. I suppose I already knew subconsciously the reality, but watching the video and having the benefits and the burden so starkly visualized made me realize the shocking inequity of it all. I’ve lived on pristine beach fronts twice in my life. I’ve lived in Greenwich Village, Wrigleyville, L’Exaimple, and the Galleria. These are all very nice neighbourhoods with access to many green spaces. I have had very little exposure to the burdens that the lower income and other people of colour besides myself have had to deal with.
Until today, I used to think I was a pretty aware individual regarding our issues with global climate change and sustainable practices. How could I not be? I’ve never owned an SUV, I recycle and try to get recycling programs started where ones didn’t exist before, I don’t go to Las Vegas because I don’t think a city where a city shouldn’t be is exactly a sane policy, I buy organic produce, I buy green electricity, blah blah blah blah blah
There was a lot of discussion in this module about ecological footprints. In spite of all my diligent and conscientious efforts to existing within my means, I have absolutely surpassed what my “fair” share of resources should be. I have over 40 dress shirts just in the colour white, for pete’s sake. Double that number for blues, stripes, and other assorted colours. This is AFTER I donated over half of my wardrobe to charity. The reality is that I am too lazy to do laundry or go to the dry cleaners, so it suited my lifestyle better for me to just buy new clothes. This is not hyperbolic. When I played semi-pro rugby, my tradition was to wear a new pair of socks for every game and practice. I just liked the feeling of new cotton on my feet. I would give the once-worn socks to my teammates and on to the new pair for the next time. Nobody needs as many pairs of shoes that I have, although thank goodness I had them, as our second dog had a penchant for chewing on them and so many of them have been ruined, I still have over 30 pairs left after he went through about the same number.
It only gets worse from there, my consumption habits in clothes pales in comparison of my consumption habits of food and beverages. So the reality is this. Any form of justice, social, environmental, or any other sort starts with the jackasses like myself changing OUR standards of living. This is not something that we should even be looking at developing nations to address until we become better stewards of our resources and learn to cut back on what our consumption choices are. Almost 80% of the world lives on less than $10 USD a day. $3,650 a year. That covers a little over half of this semester’s tuition. Which I did not have to borrow money to pay. I would say a large reason why we are not properly balancing our resources is that people like me are providing the incentive for society to behave irresponsibly. I hope my changes in consumerism aren’t too late and that I haven’t done irreparable harm all on my own. : (
I absolutely adore this song. I now realize I don’t know the first thing about what it truly means.
I really appreciate your candor, Derek, and the content of your thoughts. You and I and many others like us sit in a very privileged position: We get to CHOOSE how much to consume, and to a large extent what to consume. I forget it myself. All the time. I’m glad that you reminded me of it. I think you are right that people in wealthy countries need to be the first to sacrifice. It is the only fair thing to do. But the media, the politicians, and certainly the corporations who depend on constant (excessive) consumption do not want anyone to think this. For the most part, they just assume that if we grow the economy, the problems will disappear. The evidence is pretty clear that at this point in history that is simply not the case. The nature of growth and the impacts of that growth are considerations that must be made. Just ask Herman Daly, et al.!
Great post. I appreciate reading your thoughts. Thanks also for the song. I never really listened to the words before.