I have always been fascinated with nature. It’s a force that dictates how we live on Earth — it’s the alpha and the omega. Nature affects all of us: It doesn’t matter who you are, what you look like, how much money you make or anything else. On any given day, what I do is heavily dependent on weather and what I might have to prepare for. So why does it feel like most people who inhabit our planet don’t take this into account?
There are many reasons and a lot of history as to how we got to this point, but I think I can break it down into one word: profit. Our planet is slowly getting warmer, and in the not-so-distant future, Earth and all of the species that inhabit it will become extinct. Crazy to think about, right? It makes me want to do whatever I can to help, and I try to do that in my day-to-day life.
This is what makes the war on our environment so challenging. There are too many moving pieces that don’t have our planet’s best interests in mind. But the truth is, the Earth is the one thing that unites all of us. However, going green isn’t always economical.
Why save the earth if we won’t make any money doing it?
Environmental activists are constantly told to find another way — “No this won’t work, we’ll lose too much money or it won’t give us the best look for our consumers.” In my opinion, forgetting the environment to make money should be considered a heinous crime.
The irony in it is that money will be made, but if nothing is done to save the environment, then that paper will be the first to burn when our time comes.
So as activists, and good moral people, how can we combat this? I’m not looking to radically go after large entities to prove a point. I would lose. But I can start to think about the Earth and others before I think of myself. I can decide where I spend the (little) amount of money that I currently have, and put it into companies that I know want to protect the earth.
We can all do this. The main way is through education. Let’s educate ourselves to see who really has our best interests in mind. After that, as with almost any movement, we must show strength in numbers. We have to show that the people want a healthy environment, and that there is more than just money to make in this fight. We have to see which politicians and large corporations will fight with us.
After this happens, we can start to make our demands. We can show that the people really do have the power, and that money is not the main goal. Sustaining life is the goal, giving future generations a chance to change the world is the goal and doing the right thing, no matter how hard, is the goal.
Grant Stover is a sophomore studying English and a concerned environmentalist. Email him at gs155412@ohio.edu
