This is an interesting question for me, and I am not sure that I can appropriately give an answer. I am an environmentalist in terms of ideas, however my actions do not always reflect those ideas. For example, I believe that limiting water use is necessary or the majority of the world will experience water shortages within the next hundred years. Does this cause me to take a shorter shower in the mornings or limit my water use while washing dishes? No. Sadly, it does not cause any truly helpful change in my life in terms of sustainability.

The reasons behind this apparent apathy, despite my deepest internal caring, is simply the scale of the issues. There are massive issues with the way humanity allocates resources as a whole. Thus, why does my using a gallon less of water make any kind of a difference? From the perspective of a true environmentalist, I believe the response would be along the lines of, “every little bit helps.” While I do not disagree with this perspective, it is difficult for me to believe that my decision to eat a salad instead of a steak will disrupt the meat industry enough to make a difference. The people at fault for the excessive waste are not the average American, they are the corporations/businesses that exist in this country and how they operate.  

Massive corporations in general are the reason behind much of the pollution in our atmosphere; while I applaud institutions like EMU for their efforts to operate in sustainable ways, until this applies to industry I do not see large changes occurring. It is all well and good that one university operates from solar power, but the reality of the situation is that we need more. There is no legitimate reason that the majority of our power should not come from solar, hydro and wind energy. In the US alone, there are huge swaths of desert that would allow for solar fields, as well as plenty of mountain ranges and rivers for wind and hydro power. If industries were more willing to make this transition in energy sources I think sustainability would be more realistic.

This does not mean that the cause is worth ignoring, as I said before I am entirely behind the ideas of sustainability. I recycle, and, as a smoker, I stopped throwing cigarette butts on the ground over a year ago. I do believe that individuals must be part of this transition to sustainable practices as well as larger entities. However, to say that it is entirely on the individual is ludicrous. In the grand scheme of things, the only way that individuals can make an impact on climate change and humanity’s impact on the environment is through activism. One person will not reverse climate change and extinction, but a billion? A billion people would have the authority to tell legislatures what needs to change rather than merely suggesting it.

I grew up in a small town in Minnesota. When I was young we would have beautiful winters where there would be snow on the ground from November to March. I have not seen a winter like that in almost a decade. So, if I am asked if I am an environmentalist, the response is of course I am. I miss seasons and a healthy earth and will do my part to make that happen again.