The Parkland Institute

Editorial

A little green goes a long way

While environmental issues feel daunting, there's lots you can do (like reading this issue before recycling it)

When I put out the trash and recycling for the garbage collectors every week, I’m astounded by the volume of waste. Despite my attempts to reduce my use of plastic bags, individually wrapped foodstuffs and to eat all of my vegetables, my family produces several large bags of waste every week. And so do my neighbours.

As I scan the alley on garbage day, I spot bags and bags and bags and bags of junk. I’m happy to report that generally most of these bags are blue, but too many others are garbage bags filled with chunks of Styrofoam, old pizza, pounds of cat litter, diapers. All destined for the landfill. There are more than 3 million people in Alberta, and I would guess that most back alleys in the province look something like mine – a mix of black and blue bags.

It’s evidence of some degree of effort, but not a full commitment to the cause. It illustrates that most of us put in some effort when it’s easy (what’s easier than throwing random recyclables into a bag?). But only when it’s easy. We’re still got hummers and SUVs sitting in our garages, and we wait for 20 minutes to be served in the Tim Horton’s drive through. We buy individually wrapped lunch snacks and spray round-up on our dandylions.

...unless we’ve been making a conscious effort to be ignorant, we all know what needs to be done. Don’t drive (or as much). Give up the dream of a perfect lawn. Cook a meal, for a change. Recycle. Compost. The list goes on. Even people who are committing to doing what they want when they want are well-versed in these things.

We buy and buy and buy – new outfits, DVDs, furniture, shoes, cat toys and other assorted whatsits we don’t need. As environmental issues continue to escalate, our limited attempts to “go green” just aren’t enough. The good old college try is better than nothing, but it really isn’t good enough – as individuals, and as a society, we’ve got to do better.

And unless we’ve been making a conscious effort to be ignorant, we all know what needs to be done. Don’t drive (or as much). Give up the dream of a perfect lawn. Cook a meal, for a change. Recycle. Compost. The list goes on.

Even people who are committing to doing what they want when they want are well-versed in these things. But we’re all guilty of neglecting these things. Even the socially conscious sometimes forget the list. Some of my lefty friends are into wearing used clothes or wearing hemp, yet happily drive to the corner store for a carton of milk. Few people within my circle take the bus. We complain that it’s too cold here, in Alberta, and that the bus routes suck. But how many of us are lobbying government for better public transportation?

And I freely admit that I’m culpable too. While I am a proud bus rider, there are plenty of moments when I toss cans into public trash cans when I could’ve taken them home to recycle, or days when I’ve failed to map out a route and ended up driving around in circles, wasting fuel. I’ve even been known to buy coffee in a Styrofoam cup.

So, why is it that we’re not - to use a cliché – getting with the program? We know that the arctic is melting and the incidence of skin cancer is rising and our children’s bodies are filling with chemicals. We hear the terrifying warnings, courtesy of Al Gore, Greenpeace and scientists around the world. And yet there are still Albertans who argue that climate change is a myth (ignoring our dry winters and cold summers, apparently).

Local environmentalist and solar power expert Gordon Howell has done a lot of reflecting on our inability to act en masse. A large part of the problem is culture, he says. People do as others do - this gives them license to drive huge vehicles and live in fancy new houses. The behaviour our society gives us tacit permission to behave badly despite our knowledge of the risks.

"There are lots of reasons for them to care (about the environment). But they probably don't, unless they’ve actually encountered specific reasons that show them what a mess they’re making,” Howell says. In other parts of the world, water and energy rationing is a fact of life.

But in Alberta, we turn on the faucet and find a seemingly endless supply of clean water; we turn up our thermostats and warm ourselves. Without this first hand experience, environmental problems seem far away, and most people don’t change their behaviour, says Howell.

My hope is that this issue of the Post will motivate you to analyze what you can improve upon in your own life – everything from the trash you throw away to what you understand about the environmental issues around us. Issues like the oilsands can make us feel hopeless and worry that our individual efforts are in vain - but even small, daily changes add up fast.

If each of us stands up for the environment, we could even push the Alberta government in a greener direction and hold the PCs responsible for their terrible environmental history.

In this issue, you’ll find many different perspectives the environmental problems facing us. Frank Postill’s essay examines the modern relevance of a classic environmental text that predicted our current resource troubles more than 30 years ago (p.4). Stephanie David’s exploration of food security in Alberta (p.1) reveals that our current means of food production and distribution is untenable.

Land reclamation is unraveled by Joyce Hildebrandt (p.1), a conservation specialist with the Alberta Wilderness Association, who argues that it’s not only a flawed concept, but an obligation that companies aren’t taking seriously – no one is saving appropriately for the huge sums needed for reclamation efforts. I hope you enjoy the issue and urge you to let us know what you thought of the content or issues represented. We welcome both compliments and constructive criticism, so feel free to e-mail the Post at {encode="parkpost@ualberta.ca" title="parkpost@ualberta.ca"}.

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