Who Cares?

















by H. P., Branford, CT

I think the most crucial problem pertaining to our environment today is the lack of public concern for many of the issues involved in protecting our earth.

The environmental revolution in the '60s and '70s first brought to light the fact that taking care of our environment would involve the people's willingness to take responsibility for their actions and to monitor what they do to the environment. Perhaps not much was known about the ozone hole or global warming but there was concern. It seems that now we know more about these things, but people care less and less.

When George Bush first took office, he made a pledge to be "the environmental president," and that was important to people. In four years, with the growth of the recession, environmental issues were all but ignored. People are still worried about the economy and they don't seem to realize that both economical and environmental issues can be taken care of at the same time.

While environmental groups memberships and funding are down, the growth of groups such as The Alliance for America and The Natural Land Alliance are flourishing. These organizations advocate what they call the wise-use movement; an attempt to use more and more land for its members' personal gain. Members want to use more land for development, and with such statements like, "We're going to run the environmentalists out of business," it is clear that they are vehement in their opinions. The very formation of groups such as these indicates the turning of public concern.

We know what the problems are and we know what can be done, but no one wants to do it. If this is truly the prevailing attitude of the people, it is something we should be afraid of. We cannot even begin to try to make a difference in the environment if nobody cares to try.

All we can hope for in the future is that environmental issues will no longer be put off. Maybe people will begin to understand that the economy and the environment can coexist and it will be okay to care again.