Our planet is in peril.
That fact is slowly but surely gaining recognition, but doing enough about it in time to avoid catastrophe is far from certain. The mobilization of those determined and well enough educated to help bring about change is growing, here in the U.S. — by far the greatest source of pollution and its terrible short- and long-term consequences for the planet's health and well-being — and abroad.
But on balance, the situation as a whole isn't getting better. The International Atomic Energy Agency recently warned that the possibility of holding global warming to a limit of 3.6 degrees Farenheit was slipping away: "The door may be closing if we do not act boldly and urgently." Carbon emissions in 2010 rose by nearly 6%, a record high, to a total of more than 33 billion metric tons, and that despite the economic slow-down since 2008. A new record was also set in 2011 for billion-dollar weather disasters.
Environmental education is not yet well established as a subject in our public schools, and environmental awareness often comes with a debilitating price. Knowledge is accompanied by feelings of personal helplessness, and discomfort can dispel awareness, depriving us of the capacity to act.
Read more in one of The New Yorker's online blogs.
So it's important to know there are some fine efforts having real and measurable consequences.
One such effort is that of three small intertwined organizations working together to foster necessary and systemic changes in larger political and economic domains. These three deserve our admiration and support, and are important resources in our own education.
They work to more sharply define the problem. "Our actions combine to create more stress than ecosystems, communities, and human bodies can tolerate." And they work to bring good solutions to bear one step at a time, in local communities, in universities, law and medical schools, in states and in the federal government.
"Our vision—like yours—is that future generations will inherit a whole and healthy world. It is time to name this vision and take it very seriously. We refuse to leave our descendents a degraded, lonely planet. We can be their voice now and embrace our sacred responsibility to become good ancestors."
These are the words of Carolyn Raffensperger, Executive Director of the Science and Environmental Health Network.
"We are forging decision-making structures that focus on reducing total impacts, reducing each impact, and moving away from the system of evaluating each impact independently to see if it is justified or causes an unacceptable problem all on its own—the system that got us where we are today."
"Do we have justification for calling ahead and canceling the reservations of the next generation just because we want to eat their lunch?"
Carl Safina, The View from Lazy Point
Carl Safina and Carolyn Raffensperger are active in this alliance, consisting of SEHN, the Collaborative on Health and the Environment, and Cumulative Impacts. Together they are a wonderful source of information and evidence of constructive change. They deserve our support and participation, perhaps beginning with a look at their helpful websites. They offer persuasive evidence that change is occurring, and needs the energy and imagination of us all. Here are four concrete examples drawn from current initiatives.
EPA sustainability decision framework
Sustainability and the US EPA: Model for sustainability decisions at US EPA. National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences, 2011. The framework, which was requested by EPA, is intended to help the agency better assess the social, environmental, and economic impacts of various options as it makes decisions. The report is available for free as a pdf.
New Jersey cumulative impacts mapping
N.J. works to map cumulative impacts of pollution in neighborhoods. Carolyn Beeler, NewsWorks (WHYY), November 22, 2011. A model ordinance is being developed in Newark that would require cities to inventory existing sources of pollution, and make companies distribute to neighbors information on what, if any, pollution their operation would add.
Water costs more for minorities
Minorities pay more for water and sewer. Michigan State University press release, November 29, 2011. A study by Stephen Gasteyer and Rachel Butts, to be published in Environmental Practice, shows how white flight leaves minority residents to bear the higher costs of maintaining aging water and sewer infrastructure, leading to tens of thousands of water shutoffs in Detroit alone.
School lunches and the food industry
Impact of Federal Commodity Programs on School Meal Nutrition. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, September 2008. Thirty million children eat school lunches daily in the United States. An increasingly cozy alliance between companies that manufacture processed foods and companies that serve the meals is making students — a captive market — fat and sick while pulling in hundreds of millions of dollars in profits. See also How the Food Industry Eats Your Kid’s Lunch. Lucy Komisar, New York Times, December 3, 2011.
