Earth Day

It is Earth Day 2011. What a glorious day it is here in Portland, Oregon. The sun is shining, there are people out in the streets, and the park blocks at Portland State University are hosting a few dozen environmental groups working hard to make our world more sustainable. I talked to many of these groups, all having goals ranging from wilderness certification and energy conservation to banning plastic bags and ripping invasive ivy out of Oregonian forests. They all differ in experience, popularity, and knowledge but they all have a vision of a healthier and greener Earth that they’ll stop at nothing to make a reality. They’re changing the world, one mission statement at a time.

The practice of infuriated and empowered citizens advocating to improve humanity and the planet started not so long ago. This week in my Sustainability class, I learned about the Anti-Slave Trade, Abolitionist, and Congo Reform Association movements. These movements were initiated and carried on the backs of men and women who had no physical connection to the exploited and abused Africans they were advocating for. In the case of the Congo Reform Association, Edmund D. Morel and many other supporters never even traveled to the Congo. Although regulations and realistic travel abilities held those advocates from entering Africa, human empathy and dedication were able to seep into the minds and conversations across Europe and America. This stirring in the globe was able to release the Congo from King Leopold’s torturing grip. The Congo Reform Association stood up to an injustice and made the world a better place.

How can I make the world a better place? What injustice lingers in the world today? I am going to dedicate my life to reducing waste. The common garbage landfill is evil and represents a dark side of our consumer culture. I believe that all of the materials humans use should be recyclable, bio-degradable, and/or compostable. The three Rs in the waste management triangle are essential and important: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. The use of petroleum and other non-renewable resources must be seriously regulated. Singe use, disposable plastic items make no sense. A popular campaign happening currently, and one that I have personally worked on, is the “Ban the Bag” campaign.  Plastic bags are polluting natural environments like the ocean. They don’t break down, they are killing animals, and they are completely substitutable. This campaign represents a progression in campaigning and ethics: we are now fighting for the rights of non-human animals, non-sentient plants, and non-human ecosystems. I am excited and inspired to see what will happen over the course of my lifetime.

I will end with a quote from one of my favorite philosophers, Aldo Leopold. "A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise." Humans have an amazing position as being the only organism on the planet that has the power to stop and consider the impact and ethics of our choices and actions. We can all choose to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community which we are all apart of. Edmund D. Morel improved the biotic community in 1904 and I shall continue this beautiful practice today in 2011. Thank you.