Dennis Dimick

Last Thursday, Dennis Dimick, National Geographic's Executive Editor for the environment, delievered a lecture at Oregon State University about the intersection of human energy needs and global climate change. It was the usual, powerful story, but coupled with drawdropping photos from National Geographic it was awesome. That story aside--we're scrwed if we don't stop the growth in CO2 emissions=-it reminded me of a conversation with my brother a couple weeks ago.

It started on the topic of tipping--why we tip, if we are obligated, how much, etc--and morphed into how people take actions all the time without owning up to the consequences. Do you blog or aimlessly surf the internet? Okay, but that means using electricty made from coal, thus contributing to further mountaintop removal, water and soil contamination, and CO2 emissions. Do you drive to work/the store/friend's house? Okay, I suppose that's fine, but you should at least own up to the fact that that choice is sending oil dollars to extremists in the Middle East and contributing to global warming. Instead, people refuse to own up to the fact that their day-to-day actions have cummulative and dramatic effects.

You can lessen your impact by riding a bike, turning down the heat, using electronics less, etc. We do not have to return to the Dark Ages in order to reduce CO2 levels to around 300ppm, but as we alter our lifestyles, we should at least own up to the fact that so many of our everyday actions have terrible consequences.