University of Virginia Library

Commentary

Earth's Lifestyle Crisis

By LISA DUGGAN

Amid the commotion of apathy and
underplay, Earth Week (April 27-29) has
managed to make its appearance in the
University community. Its scattered and
spent heralds must meet the barbiturate of
week after week after week of special Weeks,
and must somehow convince us that their
message merits notice.

The point of it all, it seems, is to attract
our attention, to make us look up from our
log-book of daily concerns and acknowledge
another of the stream of global crises that
from time to time insist on disrupting our
routines.

Such a goal, once accomplished, is
nothing. So we all turn our heads from our
respective Secret Storm for another public
service announcement. So we all nod our
heads and agree with the nice people and get
collectively depressed over one more
pressing issue that we can do little to solve.
Somebody somewhere will know what
should be done, we think as we go back into
the kitchen to flip the hamburgers.

Earth Week will be nothing and do
nothing unless we do what we all refuse to
do, unless the meager heralds can accomplish
the impossible – change our lives. The
environmental crisis is an individual crisis.
Writing to congressmen and donating to
organizations cannot be enough. The crisis is
one of lifestyle and consciousness, things
legislation cannot reach.

Changing one's lifestyle to an ecologically
sound way of living is one of the most
difficult tasks around, so motivation and
concern must be high or the attempt is
doomed to failure from the onset. Finding
that motivation and then deciding what needs
to be changed (and how) is something a
university student should find easier than
most. The key is education.

Taking a basic course in environmental
science, or just reading books and magazines
and watching the newspaper, is the best
beginning. It is difficult to be concerned
when you are not aware of the extent of the
problem.

The education, though, is worthless,
unless what is learned is integrated into our
everyday way of living.

For instance, a knowledge of the
environmental hazards of power production
can be integrated into a lifestyle by cutting
down drastically in our power consumption.
The average American uses twice as much
electric power as a Western European, and
most of that is sheer waste. So don't buy an
electric appliance if a hand operated one will
do. Wash dishes by hand. If you must use
power, conserve. Use light bulbs with low
wattage. Watch a black and white T.V. –
it uses half the power that color sets
require.

Fresh water is becoming increasingly
scarce. Act on that by conserving water, and