Saving Nature continued post

As for the question about saving nature I do believe that it is worth it to try and save it.  I think people benefit more from nature than they actually let on.  It is a wonderful and bountiful thing that can really help to spark creativity or provide a healthy lifestyle.  Fake things get old really quickly and so if there was no more nature and nothing was natural, then people would be left with non-recyclable waste and a fake feeling of life.  Nature is necessary and people need to be a part of it, not rule it out and continue on with new technologies.  Working to save nature is necessary in working to provide a healthy and livable future for the next generations.

Me In Nature

I have had a couple thrilling experiences immersing myself in nature's bliss.  One such experience would be my bike tour that I took in Ireland.  I biked the southern coast and it added up to about 500 miles.  I was biking for 3 weeks and it was wonderful.  I had never felt so alive and so a part of nature.  That was our only mode of transportation from place to place and along the way we explored natural phenomena and natural beauty.  I still remember the smell of the clear air due to the minimal amount of cars on the road.  I remember feeling as though the outdoors were exactly where I wanted to be at all times.  Another really great experience was when I went to Costa Rica.  There I did some volunteering in the rainforest and my second week was spent kayaking the bay.  This area was far from any city and any real civilization.  We had to either pick or catch what we ate and the water was our road.  We went fishing without real fishing polls and that was our dinner cooked over a fire.  It was an amazing experience and I had never felt so one with nature.  Coming from a town so close to New York City, it was hard to imagine a place so natural and wonderful.  I loved the experience and I really felt different interacting with nature and not being surrounded by man-made things all of the time.  I would recommend to anyone who feels they have lost touch with nature or do not like it to go on a trip like that one.  It really opens your eyes as to how sustainably one can live without excess stuff and to really share nature with the surrounding creatures who are not necessarily trying to outrun you like other humans are.  It is amazing sharing nature with other non-human beings.

Thinking about doing eco-friendly things again, but...

I've talked to one of my friends about how often she drives a car. Everytime she goes somewhere, she drives. Even when she goes to 7-eleven which is about only several minutes away from her house. Also, she keep the engine running while she goes into the store. I told her that maybe she should walk instead of driving because driving everywhere even such a small distance only sounds wasting of gas, unhealthy and is not eco-friendly. However, she said that she always thought about it and she knows it would be better if she did so. But still driving a car is easy and convenient for her to do. She also said that she might sounds just being lazy but the environment won't change even if she walks instead of drving a car. When I heard this, I thought it sounds kind of familiar. I believe that such small thing does little but still necessary. I also thought that maybe there are more people tend to do same thing as she does although people tend to say, "walking is better than driving a car for the environment" when they talk about the eco-friendly things, but It seems difficult to keep doing those things in everyday life....? It still makes me a little confused.

We're consumers, so what? You are too.

While in Salvador, Brazil I was able to talk to some youths about the environment and the conversation was extremely humbling. I know that the US is not doing all it can to stem environmental degradation where it's own contribution is concerned, but these Brazilians really let me have it. They spoke about the Bali Convention and how the US was being incorrigible in not cooperating or committing to any of the agreeements laid forth. They also reprimanded me for being a wasteful consuming American who guzzles disproportionate amounts of petroleum. However, they did admit that they were also at fault, because the youth I spoke to were priveleged Brazilians that consumed at a level commensurate with the youths of America. They saw the environmental crisis as a serious issue, but were not making any significant changes in their lives to combat the problem. They duly noted that they should not be expected to do anything if the US and China, the top leaders in emissions, would not make steps to stop alleviate the problem.

Over the break I talked to my parents about the environment and the situation we are in at this time. I started the conversation off by stating that consumption is a real problem in today's society and that we should try and limit ourselves. My parents grew up with not a lot of money at home and my dad worked really hard to get to where he is. Despite his rags to riches story he is not much of a consumer in terms of material things. He likes to have his nice comfortable house and such but he was never one for fashion or fancy cars. Although he cuts himself off in that way, I told him it was more about saving money than preserving the environment. He is like that with the water running or air conditioning as well, but what he doesn't realize is the amount of energy that goes into building the house he lives in or in extracting the materials that are needed to build the house. I agree that it is not necessarily fair to ask someone who has worked hard all their life just to live in pure simplicity, but at the same time it is the awareness that counts most. My mom does not agree that the more money people have the more they will consume. I thought, after discussion in the classroom, that the cycle of stuff was a really interesting and accurate way of putting things. The more money my dad saved or made the bigger house he was going to have. So either way, richer people have and want nicer things in order to show their status in today's society. That is what I said to them and they eventually agreed with my point of view and they started looking at things in a completely different manner. It was civilized and ran through just like any other conversation.