avoid environmental panic
It’s turning into a horrible summer. Arizona is baking even more than usual. Canadian forests have burned and the skies over some North American cities have turned orange. The rural Northeast is being battered by torrential rains, with many small towns experiencing widespread flooding. With ocean temperatures in the 90s near Miami, no one seems to be singing about those “lazy, hazy, crazy summer days” anymore. Schools may be closed for the summer, but for some, pain has replaced relaxation. Countries and corporations continue to promote and burn fossil fuels out of self-interest. Climate Models for the Early 21st CenturyYingshi As it turns out, predictions of the effects of a warming planet are so close that it’s easy to spiral into despair and panic. We see new weather disasters every day.
Despite the bad news, there is good news lurking beneath the surface. More and more people understand the crisis of environmental sustainability, and because of this growing awareness, we are seeing human ingenuity applied to solve our environmental crisis. Culture, economics, politics, and technology never change instantly, and when they do, it’s usually in response to war or natural disaster. But the winds of change are blowing. The first step in solving a problem is recognizing that it exists. This awareness is growing and unstoppable. The work of engineers and scientists has become even more urgent as they develop the technologies needed to transition to renewable energy and an economy based on renewable resources. These technologies are getting cheaper and less toxic, and we are seeing the beginning of an economic transformation. Currently, it is cheaper to extract natural resources from the earth than to extract them from waste streams, but this is starting to change. Fertilizers made from human waste and food waste are price-competitive with those made from raw materials, in part because waste disposal costs are lower and subsidize recycled products. Renewable energy is already cheaper than fossil fuels, and as battery technology improves, the intermittency problem will disappear.
The cultural force driving the onslaught of technological ingenuity is the growing realization that the only way to sustain our way of life is to develop a high-throughput economy that doesn’t destroy the planet. All of us hoping to enjoy the great outdoors this summer know the dangers of orange air, floods and fires. Flooding rivers and boiling oceans make it clear that we cannot continue with business as usual.These Empirical facts Like the smog that blanketed the mountains in downtown Los Angeles in the 1960s, the toxic waste seeping into the basements of working-class homeowners on the Love Canal in the late 1970s, or the toxic chemicals released by the East Palestine train derailment in Ohio in 2023. These environmental pollutions are real and frightening to the people living there. Even in our politically polarized country of blue states and red states, and an increasingly narrow world of social media: fires, poisons, smoke and floods cannot be ignored.
Poll data reflect changing perceptions of threats to the planet. The foundations for the transition to environmentally sustainable development are being built everywhere. Companies see their customers and their most talented employees asking about their company’s impact on the environment. Businesses aren’t concerned with “pure environmentalism.” It does not place sustainability above all other values, but places these factors in a mix of facts and values that influence decision-making. Companies are investing in clean technologies and working to reduce their environmental footprint. Ignoring environmental impacts used to be the norm. This is no longer the case.
We need to remember that environmental well-being is not the only value or goal we pursue. We have other serious problems: Russia is bombing homes and hospitals in Ukraine. New York City currently hosts more than 100,000 homeless people, half of whom are recent immigrants struggling to improve their lives. Mass shootings seem to have become the norm in this country. People around the world are facing an existential crisis, desperate for food, clothing, healthcare, housing and hope for the future. Sometimes these other crises predominate, and environmental concerns must wait. But unlike in the past, environmental concerns remain and remain in the decision-making mix.
Even amidst the horrific war in Ukraine, no one has forgotten the environmental devastation. New York State Department of Environmental Quality Commissioner Basil Segos took leave of absence to volunteer as an ambulance driver in Ukraine.In April of this year, he wrote a poignant essay describing the country’s hill.according to Segos:
“Russian forces destroyed or damaged more than 300,000 homes and 400,000 vehicles, millions of tons of debris Its toxic residue slowly seeps into the soil and water.The same goes for the shelling of dozens of major cities Industrial landIncluding the Azovstar oil refinery, where fierce fighting unleashed an extraordinary toxin. abandoned coal mine The eastern region is flooded with contaminated groundwater, affecting drinking water supplies and pushing methane to the surface.All this pollution threatens the health of Ukraine’s 43 million citizens – 6 million of whom now have limited or no access safe drinking water.The fighting has resulted in more than 50,000 dolphins in the black sea and be destroyed 3 million acres of protected land. “
What is important about Segos’ view of this damage is that Ukrainian leaders are also aware of and deeply concerned about these issues. I believe there were concerns about environmental damage in past wars as well, but usually not as quickly articulated. In my opinion, the prioritization of environmental damage is an indicator of the cultural shift currently underway. Still, this is far from the main issue in this battle for national survival.again, as Segos Observed:
“When civilians are shelled in their beds, environmental concerns may seem out of reach. But the extraordinary sacrifice of Ukrainian troops enables leaders to consider the impact of this disaster as they look to the future of reconstruction efforts.”
What does this have to do with environmental panic?i’m arguing view and a sense of balance. Yes, my six year old granddaughter’s day camp had to stay indoors on one of the worst orange sky days in NYC. Yes, I’m still terrified of the planet she inherited. She’s not the only camper whose summer life has been disrupted. New York Times Journalist Steven Kurutz recently wrote about the impact of this year’s extreme weather on summer camps.according to Kuruz:
“Campers are still swimming, playing tetherball, singing around the fire, and marching towards independence this summer, but they’ve also been battling an unstable natural environment. Parents sending their kids outdoors for enriching experiences—perhaps hoping for some kid-free time—receive disturbing messages from camp superintendents, including the latest on flooding, an influx of unhealthy air, or high temperatures. When wild weather sets in, Three years after pandemic, demand for summer camps increases“.
Despite the extreme weather, Kurutz found that “the summer of 2023 taught campers how to be resilient and adaptable.” I still hope we can adapt to a warming planet and ultimately mitigate global warming. The New York skies cleared up for my granddaughter and she was back playing outside in no time. We cope, but we are living through a crisis of environmental sustainability. People are living through this crisis first-hand, and it’s changing their understanding of how the world works. Like other crises facing humanity, I believe we will gradually resolve this one.
It is important to assess the progress we have made in applying new technologies to solve environmental problems. The pace of innovation is impressive, as is the speed at which human ingenuity can be applied to problem solving. The path to resolving this crisis has never been, and will not be, smooth and easy. Evil people like Putin pursue their goals without caring about the people or planet they harm. Some companies pursue profit without concern for the damage they do to the environment or life on Earth. But the amount of this evil far outweighs the vast numbers of people who understand these crises and are as determined to act as Commissioner Segos is.
One problem with environmental panic is that it makes people who worry about other issues less willing to engage in conversations about environmental issues. Another problem is that it can lead to paralyzing or impractical policy recommendations. While it’s been a scary summer and there’s reason to be scared, there’s no reason to panic. The alternative to environmental panic is the pursuit of purposeful, pragmatic change. There are signs of this change in businesses and governments in the United States and around the world. Environmental sustainability has moved from the fringes of our political agenda to the center. The environmental sustainability crisis is real, but so is our resolve to address it.
