Copper mining section between Ducktown and Copperhill], Tennessee. Fumes from smelting copper for sulfuric acid have destroyed all vegetation and eroded the land (LOC 1944)I had a lot I wanted to write about today. I've been looking forward to Earth Day for weeks. But I find myself swamped with work to do. So here is five minutes of my Earth Day thoughts:
A couple of weeks ago I went to the local libraries book group. The book up for discussion was Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. I had enjoyed the book and was very curious to see what others had to say about it.
Aaron and I live in an area where million dollar condos are not unusual and all the attendees appeared to be from the local area and more than a little well off. I was consequently surprised that the most frequent complaint against the book was against the suggestion that people use their purchasing power to support more sustainable practices.
Several people said, I liked the idea but doing this or buying that is so expensive/inconvenient. These are people that I expect have a much bigger budget than most Americans. And I thought if not you, than who? Who is going to start supporting sustainable practices?
It was a good reminder that we will never have enough money to do the right thing. You have to decide what is right and then find a way to do it. How many of us Mormons really have enough money to pay a tithe? But it works because we have made the decision to be tithe payers.
I believe the same thing about turning to Environmental practices. It is a moral decision because poor environmental practices, unsustainable living doesn't just hurt the big generalized "planet" It hurts people. It means chemicals in our drinking water, poison in our food, eroded land, deforestation, starvation. It means inequality. If you are rich you can escape the consequences and live where it is still pretty but if you are poor you live where it is dirty and unhealthy.
So there's my five minutes. In the next couple weeks I'll try to talk a little more about what Aaron Reuben and I are trying to do to live a little greener. We're not great at it but we've decided to try.
And if you made it to the end of this post, here's an offer that I've never tried before. In honor of Earth Day if you leave a comment I will put your name in a hat. If you get picked I will make you a 5x7 painting of the person or animal of your choice. Happy Earth Day!
