Me: "I am writing an article on environmental conservation at Dartmouth."
An ECO Rep: "Is it a negative or positive article?"
Me: "It's pretty positive."
Same ECO Rep: "Okay, just remember that I know where you live."
So, the implied threat in the previous line is forcing me to write a "positive" article on environmental conservation. You know the type that says: we should not drill in Alaska, all of us should start carrying our trash around campus, composting is a good idea and so on.
Actually, just kidding. But I must say that ecological preservation is not a bad idea after all.
I grew up surrounded by nature. The garden around my house in India had 37 varieties of fruit-bearing trees, an additional 20 other kinds of trees, at least 15 varieties of flowering plants and two acres of lush green grass. No, I am not trying to brag -- in fact I am stressing the point that I have had the opportunity of enjoying the beauty of nature, unlike some anti-conservationists. I loved watering plants at least once a week. In fact, I even enjoyed working with the gardeners to maintain the landscape. I still recall our frequent misadventures trying to climb trees to get the best fruits!
With all this, it is quite a shock, even to me, that I did not end up becoming an enviro-freak. I do, however, try to do my part to help with environmental preservation. I try not to waste paper and I make sure that I have used every inch of a sheet before I discard it. Of course, it's a different matter that I actually need to utilize the entire sheet to solve math problems. No, I don't believe that the trees will "thank" me, but, yes, fresh air is good.
I hate water wastage. I cannot comprehend how someone could consciously waste one of the most precious resources we have on Earth. If I see someone wasting water, I feel like reminding him that there are several million people around the world who would do anything to be in his place.
Conserving electricity is a related matter. Switching off one light bulb will save a lot of energy which can be utilized for other purposes.
Pollution in general is the thing we should all worry about. We all know what types of pollutants exist and what the results of each are. We have to do our part to prevent it. We can easily recycle paper, plastics, glass, reuse stuff and avoid non-biodegradable materials.
So, why am I not an enviro-freak? I am not primarily because I diverge from environmentalists on several key issues.
Drilling in Alaska is one. I have been to enough national parks and wildlife reserves to appreciate their importance. But national security and energy-independence do take primacy when it comes to oil. I have heard arguments that Alaska does not have sufficient oil reserves to warrant such a move. The same people also argue that the United States should not make oil its first priority when it comes to dealing with the Middle East. So, according to these environmentalists, it should not use its own reserves and it should not control foreign countries for the sake of oil. The United States is the world's largest consumer of oil. So we are doomed to importing oil from foreign, and sometimes even hostile, states.
Vegetarianism is not my cup of tea. And, I don't even want to talk about veganism Either vegetarians lack meat proteins chronically or they have to consistently worry about eating the right quantity of protein-rich food. I don't even care about calories; how could I ever worry about proteins? Of course, I will wholeheartedly agree that maintaining an omnivorous diet is the best policy. Eat chicken and beef too, and enjoy life!
I will not carry my trash. Not on my life, no! What I find interesting about this project, though, is that every "trash-carrier" I've met does it in a different way. One carries everything disposable she uses -- milk cartons, bottles, paper -- the lot. Of course, she washes everything before putting it into her bag, which, as she herself mentioned to me, is water wastage, another environmental problem. Another carries just recyclable stuff. Another became too lazy to carry it around after just a couple of days. I cannot believe that trash will not stink if you don't properly wash it. So there's the cleanliness factor.
So, that was my two-bits to promote environmentalism. This should have come out during Earth Week, but, hey, better late then never!
