Months ago while sitting in a restaurant next to two gentleman having a conversation about Al Gore and how great he was this and that I asked a very simple question that led to rage. Now keep in mind I had spoken with one of these people earlier in the evening. That person is friendly with a waiter we know. Granted with the pompous attitude he had then I should have known what his reaction would be when I asked my question. And yes I was eavesdropping a bit. These two gentleman had also put away a few drinks that evening as well. This doesn’t excuse the fact that they are eco-hypocrites just like Al Gore.
Why is Al Gore an eco-hypocrite? Because all he has done for the most part is give lip service to the cause. When I brought this up during the restaurant conversation I was met with an angry rage. This is where things get funny. And surprisingly I actually held my temper and didn’t just go over and smack this fool upside his head. It wouldn’t have done any good anyway. The man starts telling me how I don’t understand that global warming is a major threat and that I’m a clueless idiot. I keep telling him repeatedly that he is not listening. Mind you I said this politely with a laugh. Not the way I wanted to say things. I would have preferred to say – no it’s your drunk ass who doesn’t get it. At some point his friend finally understands that I am merely saying that Al Gore is a hypocrite because he is not leading by example. I stated very clearly that if your going to be this loud public voice for change then you had best be making those changes in your own life. Especially if it is not a economic hardship for your household to do so.
I further explained that you can’t be screaming about global warming and how the planet is in jeopardy if your living in a large house that is sucking up a good amount of energy. This was met with a comment about how former Vice President Al Gore shouldn’t have to retrofit his grandmother’s old home to lessen it’s impact upon the environment. The other person who was a bit calmer stated that there were much bigger hypocrites in the world. Which I agreed with fully. However many of those people aren’t putting themselves in the national and worldwide spotlight making an argument about how we should all change or a climate catastrophe is going to take place.
At some point a catty comment was made about how we all don’t have to recycle our clothes. This is interesting for several reasons. I had done a recent article on the subject of clothes recycling around that time. And there had been no discussion in regards to recycling until that point. What this person failed to realize in their effort to be witty with a comeback is that the clothes recycling article was one of many others that covered the general subject of the environment. His comment did however show that he is a major hypocrite. Another one of these lets talk about the subject because it is politically hip but not make any changes to back up our talk. So I guess these two men can be happy that they have something in common with Al Gore. They’re doing nothing but talking about the subject. It should be kept in mind that there is some debate about if the Gore family gets their energy needs provided by a “renewable energy initiative”. Of course Wikipedia makes mention of carbon credits. Which of course in reality are nothing more than feel good environmentalism.
While there is nothing wrong with talk. Conversation can in fact sometimes lead to understanding, agreement and then action. There comes a point where talk is just talk. For years many well known people have been trying to get others to hear the message. Some of these people have even made movies long before the popular Al Gore fest An Inconvenient Truth. Either way my verbal sparring partners that evening swore that Al Gore was the loudest voice and that more people listened than ever before when he spoke. The question I’ll ask now is what real change have those words created? You still have companies polluting our air and water. Most of the United States energy needs are still met from non ecofriendly sources. In most cases relying upon natural resources that are limited.
Your average person really could care less about what is going on with the climate. Unless there comes a point where that situation directly effects them in some way. Proof of this is simple. Here in the United States we are once again seeing extremely high gas prices. At some point we may see shortages like we did during the Carter Administration. Yet most people you talk to would be hard pressed to want to make changes. All of these people will complain about the cost of gas and how it effects them. But I’d tend to bet if you asked them to drive a new type of vehicle they would thumb their nose at this. Al Gore’s stoner son’s Toyota Prius doesn’t make the family any less hypocrites by the way. Although it is good he at least picked a hybrid that lives up to most of it’s hype. Compared with other hybrids coming on the market.
If you asked the majority of citizens within the United States to start using electric lawnmowers you would be met with the same resistance. Asking these same people to recycle and to use products made from recycled goods would be just as much of a hard sell. Most everyone in my neighborhood still fertilizes their lawns with some type of chemical. Although natural alternatives are available that work just as well. There are all kinds of small changes that can be made that don’t require a large investment. Granted these smaller changes may provide less of a positive impact. But these are steps heading in the right direction.
For many of us who would like to make a more positive impact economics limit our ability to do so. Not to mention the fact that in many cases cost effective solutions aren’t available. Even with rebates most households can’t afford to install solar panels. Most of these people may not have the funds to invest in a tankless water heater. A truly ecofriendly car is only available to those with a lot of cash and those who are willing to make some sacrifices. Until you can get people to understand that some changes can be made with no or minimal lifestyle changes your not going to see the current tide reverse. Those that can afford to lead by example in most cases do not. An example of this would be the two gentleman I had my verbal debate with inside the Springfield, Il Friday’s that night long ago. I’d tend to bet that neither of these loudmouths have made any lifestyle changes to back up their concern in regards to global warming and it’s effects. Their argumentative behavior was more about politics and their opinions being challenged. They had that how dare you attitude. Truly being worried about the environment wasn’t the true concern.
If you are interesting in getting an idea of what this discussion would have looked like that evening. Watch the restaurant scene in Boiler Room.
The funny thing about all this is the fact that at a get together before Gnomedex 7.0 I was sitting with someone who actually does research into climate change ( Wendell Tangborn ). Unlike the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change who Al Gore shared the Nobel Peace Prize with in 2007. I honestly wish I had spoken more with this person that evening. In a previous article in regards to weather forecasting I asked one of the people present that evening ( Christopher Sloop ) if he felt that current climate patterns were just normal fluctuations that take place over time or were an indicator of global warming. This brings up a key part of the overall debate.
Last night the UIS Earth Day speaker said her top suggestion for the first thing people should do is get a caulk gun and plug up holes in their house. Its cheap and anyone can do it.
I think you’re right that its best to get people started with small, cheap steps. CWLP’s Energy Services office does home energy audits so you can find out the best steps to take for your home and they’ll refund the cost of the audit for anyone who acts on one of the recommendations. They’re also going to come out with more programs that make it easy for people to reduce their energy use as part of the Sierra Club clean energy agreement.
Personally, I’ve been doing more gradually over time. I don’t think its reasonable to expect people to spend a huge amount of money and dramatically change their habits all at once. Anyone can accomplish a lot if they set some goals and do a little more each year.
You also make a good point that the people who have more money, and thus use more energy, have the greatest responsibility to act. China is producing a lot of carbon emissions but US residents still produce the most pollution per capita by far compared to every other country in the world. That means we have more responsibility to act as individuals.
And the good news for people with less money is that programs that help them reduce their energy use will also reduce their monthly utility bill.
As far as cars go, I think people would buy a similar car to what they get now but with better mileage if they were given the choice. Detroit is the main obstacle. Right now the auto industry has dozens of high paid lobbyists in Springfield opposed to the clean car act so that they won’t have to use EXISTING technology on conventional cars to make them pollute less and get better mileage. The more I think about it the less sense it makes.
Sorry for the long comments but your post got me thinking. I appreciated your perspective.