Importance of Education and such...

There probably are numerous challenged facing the global environment today including pollution, global warming, limited resources…etc. However, the most pressing challenge facing the global environment is that so many people are unaware of this matter. Education allows people to learn about what is wrong, why it is a problem and how we can prevent them. But these people who have education access are very limited. My boyfriend has visited Beijing, China a few years ago and he was shocked when he saw the sky, dark and dirty. Of course, he had grown in the United States for his entire life so this view was abnormal. What do the Chinese citizens feel about this? Probably nothing, they may think that the dark sky is normal. This is just an example but a similar situation can happen everywhere and this is the challenge—how do we inform and educate people who are unaware of these severe environmental situations? The time is limited as these issues must be resolved, or at least start for improvement. Without knowing what is wrong and why it is necessary to fix the situation, there will be no improvement. So, to answer the question 1, the most pressing challenge facing the global environment is not being able to educate enough people. (If there ever was an ‘enough.’)

Stanley Fish’s article was quite interesting and I think many people can relate to him. Especially answering the first question and coming to this question, I think myself being educated about the environment; I have the responsibility to use that knowledge to improve the situation. To be a “good environmentalist” one must consider the environment as the priority. Stanley Fish is trying to do what he can do for the environment to be a “good environmentalist.” Yes, he sure is putting effort and thoughts to his actions but they are not quite simple and that is the struggle he faces. For example, he cannot become a vegetarian because he does not like vegetables. I have a friend who became a vegetarian for environmental reasons. I would classify that a “good environmentalist” would do such thing for the environment. I think this is what he is struggling—he cares about the environment and wants to help the global environment but cannot give up all his desire.

How can we live in an “environmentally friendly” way in the modern US? This is probably the most difficult question. There are so many products sold and food available that are “environmentally friendly” which results in high cost. Yes, there are many people in the US who are wealthy but that doesn’t automatically mean they can afford to live “environmentally friendly.” I don’t think there is anything special in particular that the United States citizens can do to be “environmentally friendly.” Everything is pretty much universal such as recycling, conserving energy and water, eating more vegetables and less meat, creating new programs and implementing them in the society etc.