It’s been a long time since I wrote about sustainability, but it is one issue that will challenge Generation Y like no other generation yet. I’ve shied away from it because I got tired of reporting on news that always seemed to be negative. I got tired of feeling like a doomsayer, which—unfortunately—is what a lot of environmentalists come off sounding like. But Wired Magazine’s 15th anniversary issue has stirred up a lot of talk in the global warming circles that caught my attention yesterday.
Despite the fact that the discussion can be a depressing one, and the options can at times seen hopeless, it remains that climate change is a huge, looming threat for human society, and it will have a huge influence especially on those of us who will still be around in 30 to 50 years. A lot of my peers are passionate about green living and sustainability, and that’s encouraging, because the choices we make with our daily lives, and more importantly the advances we make in science and industry in our lifetimes will have a large influence on whether our planet will sustain human life for the next several hundred years.
I’m not here to argue how much human behavior has impacted global warming—that’s a moot point if you ask me. In my opinion, yes, climate change—to some extent—is inevitable, even without the impact of human society. But the fact still remains that we must either learn to deal with global warming one way or another, or our species may not be able to survive on this changing planet. Regardless of who’s fault it is, our generation has an opportunity to make some big changes. And the difference between failure and success could be several million human lifetimes. I’d rather see our generation preserve the Earth as a hospitable place for our children and grandchildren.
Wired’s latest cover story asks environmentalists, and all the rest of us, to rethink what the green movement means. The writers propose ten controversial “solutions” that run counterintuitive to traditional environmental agendas, citing that “winning the war on global warming requires slaughtering some of environmentalism’s sacred cows.” Here they are: Wired’s ten unconventional remedies for global warming. Click through to learn more.
Wired’s 10 Green Heresies
- Urban Living Is Kinder to the Planet Than the Suburban Lifestyle
- Air-Conditioning Actually Emits Less C02 Than Heating
- Conventional Agriculture Can Be Easier on the Planet than Organics
- Harvest Old-Growth Forests That Can Actually Contribute to Global Warming
- Coal-Coughing Industrial Giant China Actually Leads the Way in Alternative-Energy Technology
- Bio-Engineered Crops Could Put a Real Dent in Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- Carbon Credits Were a Great Idea, But a Carbon Tax Would Work Better
- Face It. Nuclear is the Most Sustainable Source of Industrial-Scale Energy
- No-Brainer: Test-Drive a Used Car Instead of That New Hybrid
- Climate Change Is Inevitable. Get Used to It
The Wired blog is attracting a lot of discussion—most of it negative. I can sympathize with those who place a great deal of value on conventional environmentalist tenets like conservation and energy efficiency, but I think it’s important to recognize that only a very small percentage of the population is ready to embrace the “less is more” mentality. As the article states, “We must accept that the world’s fastest-growing economies won’t forgo a higher standard of living in the name of climate science.” All across the world, as societies become more affluent, they become more materialistic and they consume more resources and energy. Changing that intrinsic human behavior will prove to be a much more difficult challenge than adapting to it. It’s time to find solutions that can work in our business-centric, materialistic world. That’s the real world.
What do you guys think? Am I off my rocker for embracing used cars and nukes? Do you think Generation Y stands a chance of turning the world sustainable? How do you hope to contribute? Or do you still think all this global warming stuff is bunk?
[source: Wired.com]
I think it boils down to peoples’ appreciation for industry and technology. I think the generally accepted green idea is that industry and the products we’ve made have only been bad for the environment. These articles imply otherwise, saying that through use of our technology we can solve problems as well, instead of just creating them. After all, it’s progress to be made, and progress will happen at some point. But it might happen sooner if we can all go towards the same goal instead of fighting progress at every seemingly bad turn. The end result is far away, and we have to keep that in mind. After all, sometimes it takes hitting the floor to bounce higher.
It’s probably negative b/c some of those things are less desirable for the individual – WHAT? A used car over a new one? Or living in an apartment in the busy, crowded city rather than living in a house in the ‘burbs?
Thanks for posting this! I was glad to read some of Wired’s ideas that I hadn’t heard before!
Thanks for the comments guys. The Wired articles really caught my attention the other day; I like the counterintuitive solutions they offered up.
Hopefully enterprise can pull together to concentrate on adapting what we already do (habits, products, development sort of way) in an effective way sooner rather than later. Hopefully our generation will get to be a productive part of the positive change!
Nice site Cody. I remember stopping through here some time ago, but now that I’m back I may stay a little longer. Blogging gets more addictive over time.
As for this post, it shows some interesting takes and responses to the climate problem – of which many people obviously don’t see as a problem. WIRED’s take on Old Growth and Carbon is full of monkeyshit, but at least they make a point to argue something, which to me is okay, as such discussion is more than warranted. Also, since my brother’s a climate change researcher (see In the Green in my blogroll) I’m probably biased in believing that Global Warming is an issue as well as caused by increasing human impacts.
And, one can’t just hope that our generation will be part of change etc…you need to BE part of that change! You’re a leader, make it so! That, and technology can’t save anything – real change has to come through actual change in habits.
**technology can’t save everything I meant – rather than ‘anything’…as it can do lots of good of course!