Blog Action Day - The Environment

[flyboy_fox]

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Remember the 90s? I grew up in the 90s, and one of the things that always stuck with me is the cartoons that aired during that decade, namely the first half (and the end of the 80s). Here's a few I remember:

- Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM)
- The Bluffers
- Smoggies

Gosh, those were the days. Back then, many cartoons had a real "Save the Planet" kick to them, and focussed heavily on environmental issues. One thing many of these shows had in common was that they focussed on a cast of animal characters, whereas the villain was inevitably human. Some people have scorned those 90s shows for villainizing humans so blatantly... but I always felt it was fair. Humans are the villains, and our actions do have a huge impact on the lives of woodland animals, even if those animals can't speak or aren't sentient even. Those shows had a profound effect on me... they made me want to take action, to do my bit to help preserve the environment and keep our planet clean and green. There was a lot of emphasis on the things we can all do, from recycling to being energy efficient to being careful about where we dispose of potentially harmful waste. Some see those old cartoons as preachy, but to me, they opened my eyes and made me think about what humans are doing and how negligent and wasteful we are.

I admit the lesson may not have sunk in completely. I still leave my TV on standby. I leave the light on in my room when I go downstairs for dinner (although I do use energy efficient lightbulbs). Perhaps worst of all, I leave my computer on overnight and when I'm out of the house. I mainly do this because my computer has an awful habit of not starting up again properly after being shut down, but it's no excuse. It's guzzling energy needlessly, and it would probably be a far healthier machine if I didn't leave it running 24/7 with no chance to cool down. There's always more we can do and I admit that laziness is my personal biggest barrier.

But I've always tried to be as eco-friendly as possible. It saddens me that where I currently live, there's very few provisions for recycling. You have to travel a long way to recycle even basic things such as glass, paper and cardboard. Green (garden) waste is collected weekly, which is all good and fine... but proper recycling facilities would be an excellent investment. As it is, landfills are piling up into mountains of waste, so much of which could be recycled or reused in some way, shape or form.

It saddens me when I see people so blatantly disrespecting the environment. It's always tragic to see a beautiful countryside littered with crisp packets and cigarette stubs. Or cars FAR more powerful than needed in a small town pumping out endless thick black smog. Or people who think that money means it doesn't matter how wasteful they are; that somehow being able to afford the extravagance negates the negative impact their actions have on the environment.

In London, you couldn't even see the stars at night because of the light pollution. Lucky for me, living out in the country in a very rural village has granted me the pleasure of seeing what England truly looks like away from the smelly cities and their haze of pollution.

Of course I'm not saying that industry is always a bad thing. We're humans, we've created things to adapt to our needs, and there's nothing that can reverse that. Heck, if I were to renounce industry I'd have to renounce my computer - HA! - and I don't see that happening any time soon. I don't believe everyone needs to be a saint or martyr themselves in the name of the environment. But the little things we can all do WILL have an impact on how quickly our natural resources run out. Turning off the tap when brushing teeth. Keeping the heating on low unless really needed. Not leaving things on standby *guilty*. It doesn't take much to make that difference.

I miss the morals in those old cartoons. Most cartoons today seem to focus on 'personal' morals... issues relating to friendships, romance, loyalty... mostly social lessons and mostly quite individual, affecting the protagonist only, or perhaps his/her circle of friends. There's far less emphasis on what we can all do on a much more global scale, and I find that sad. Some people don't even believe in Global Warming, despite all the evidence. It's all too easy to live in a bubble and convince ourselves that our single little actions don't affect things on a grander scale. But the truth is, we only have one Earth, and our Earth has a finite set of resources. One day they'll all be gone, and it's up to us - ALL of us - to determine how long we can make it last.

Comments

[hamlover.livejournal.com]

I walk/jog to school every day. By choice, notsomuch for the ecosystem because me using my perfectly good legs as transportation hardly makes up for the 10,000 other people in the town who have huge gas-sucking trucks.

But I guess it's an added plus.

[flyboy-fox.livejournal.com]

Well, it's healthy anyway ^^ Even if just for yourself. And I still feel that even one car off the road has a positive effect on the environment. Even a fraction less smog in the air is something.

Mangled morals.

[teamrodent.livejournal.com]

Jamie: Reduce, Recycle, Reuse, and Remember Sontails! ^on___no^

Re: Mangled morals.

[flyboy-fox.livejournal.com]

Naturally :) Sontails is VERY good for the environment.