The Luxury of Caring About the Environment

As Americans we enjoy the highest standard of living on planet Earth and we just so happen to inhabit a piece of the globe rich with natural resources and ecological services necessary for our survival and prosperity. Water always pours from our faucets, the lights come on with a flip of a switch, heat arrives at the push of a thermostat button, and most of us don't have to think too much about where and in how long our next meal will occur. These luxuries open up the World to us, allowing people to direct their effort and attention elsewhere, like toward their jobs, dreams, passions, and hobbies. I like many others have been blessed with opportunities, free time, and financial breathing room that has allowed me to explore. Like Theodore Roosevelt's soul searching journey to the Dakotas in the late 19th century, I to traveled West to be inspired, experience bigger country, and live closer to nature. Roosevelt felt that good, hard, honest work outdoors instills a strong ethical code in people and helps establish core values which guide future decisions and perceptions of the world around you. This in turn develops an unquestioned character in man that allows him to tackle adversity throughout life. I share this sentiment and have undoubtedly been forever changed by my experiences working and living outdoors. So much so that I am dedicating my career to protecting and conserving natural resources. Just like Roosevelt made conservation his prerogative once in office, I make environmental protection mine when choosing a career path. I happily and excitedly join the green revolution, charging ahead creating new markets for business, establishing new laws, and forming interdisciplinary coalitions.

What if things were different though? What would be my prerogative if I lived a life of day to day survival? If Roosevelt hadn't traveled west by choice and instead was born into a poor ranching family struggling to make ends meet, would he still have had the vision for the National Parks System? Would the word "sustainability" even enter my decision making process if I had a drastically shorter life expectancy and no assurances of comfort? I can't answer those questions with total confidence but there are 1 billion people out there living in situations far different from my own, who certainly could. Realizing the virtues of environmental preservation and stewardship happens only when you have the luxury to stop and smell the roses. Much like financial planning, environmental conservation relies on somehow getting ahead and accruing savings. Much of the planet lives paycheck to paycheck or hand to mouth; forgoing something today in order to save it for tomorrow is not an option.

Since environmental problems happen on a global scale it behooves us lucky few who hail from the land of plenty to develop strategy to alleviate the stresses of existence from those who can't do it themselves. I believe it is our duty. Thankfully I am not the first to make the connection between environmental degradation and global inequality. Professor Roz Naylor directs the Center on Food Security and the Environment at Stanford University, where she an her students and colleagues study global food systems and research the socio-economic problems that plague our planet. Check out what they do at http://foodsecurity.stanford.edu/. 

Long story short is, we cannot expect to make large scale improvements to our environment or mitigate emergent climate change effects if the average global quality of life remains so low. It's difficult to make ideas like conservation, preservation, and sustainability relevant to someone who is just merely trying to feed themselves and their family.