Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?

I caught parts of Frontline: Heat night before last. It reminded me of how unsettled I am about how much is not publicized in this country with regards to the whole environment situation. Green is a big buzzword, but the parties' decisions with regards to the environment often leave many of us scratching our heads. As a general rule, our society's best efforts at educating the populace consist of public service announcements for reduce, reuse, recycle campaigns; and celebrities, claiming to be so savvy, trying to set the example for social responsibility as they ride around in hybrid cars and tout handbags that should have fed a small country. We see advertisements on TV that talk about "24 miles to the gallon" like it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. That's ridiculous! My minivan said 29 mpg on the tag, and it's not a hybrid.

Don't get me wrong, "reduce, reuse, recycle" is right on. But if our government (that's us BTW, the people) is so all for it, why is curbside recycling so woefully unavailable in so many parts of the country? If everyone stopped to think about where they would want to put their parish or county's next landfill when the current one is overflowing, maybe local governments might be more proactive in making recycling convenient.

Because these things distress me so, and because I tend to be vocal about things that most people just don't feel compelled to bring up (it's an annoying habit of mine, ask my husband); I'll be filling you in on what I've learned so far about environmental issues. Look for it from time to time. I'll probably top it off with what I think needs to happen (you are absolutely welcome to disagree), and what I expect will happen in the near future (which is usually different from the former).

I'll start today by telling you that the entire Frontline episode is available at this link. It was remarkably succinct in its discussion of alternative fuels, where we stand with respect to other nation's policies, and what's around the bend. Refreshingly, it was not a guilt fest. I thought it was fairly balanced: as it discussed other nation's advances, it also reported the factors that led them there. Let's lump them all under enlightened economical self-interest.

Mostly, I'd remind all you lovely homeschooling families to include environmental issues and the accompanying technologies with your other studies (or discussions at least). What you teach your child today will be the background for everything he or she does as a scientist, teacher, engineer, lawyer, plumber (Hi Joe!), architect, doctor, policy maker: as a citizen. It's not about global warming or "going green." It's about being good stewards of the gifts that we have, and it's about doing what's best for the people of the world. The planet will not care if it's oceans are dirty or it's temperature goes up or if fossil fuels are exhausted. We might though.