The ultimate environmental sacrifice?

[maccyd82]

Hullo WABbers,

Theres a question Ive been pondering for a while now, and that is - what is the ultimate environmental sacrifice a person can make? Maybe living in a mud hut and becoming self sufficient...?

And then also as a follow up what is/are your own personal sacrifices you have made, that you can say you have done primarily for environmental reasons? e.g going veggie, vegan, changing your lifestyle etc...

Im curious as to others thoughts on this.

For me: I think the ultimate sacrifice a person could make for environmental reasons would be to not have any children -to remove futher generations of consumers who will use valuable resources.

In terms of personal sacrifices, well I have given up my car and now use public transport, and I surpose I have made financial sacrifices e.g by buying food from the local farm shop which is locally produced but more expensive. I also have a career in the Envrionment sector, but thats not a sacrifice - I love it! I also tell people I dont write Christmas cards for environmental reasons, which is kind of the main reason (bah humbug)...!

[nightshade]

Give up the car, the social and economic ramifications would be enormous.
People would walk and talk together,(you could actually be in a pedestrian collision witha former4x4 driver and not come off worst) no more emissions, more disposable income, fewer imports of rubber, steel, hydrocarbons etc.

[Deb London]

I guess the ultimate one would be to move to a climate where clothes are hardly necessary and where you can live off fruit trees and birds eggs. Dying early would be a result of this, and the ultimate sacrifice.

I sacrifice more than some. Heating as low as I can bear, walking/running to and from work or getting the bus. Spending thousands on fitting the greenest boiler. Cutting down on meat. Growing my own. Recycling. No kids (I don't buy the arguments that I have heard for having them, but that ends up as a political discussion). Solar lighting in some places. No flights. I would never travel for a tick on a wildlife list. And so the list goes on.

But I certainly don't pat myself on the back for any of this. It's far less than a drop in the ocean. And I don't dwell on the things that I do. It's easy to become self-righteous. So I don't. And I do understand that some people absolutely need the use of a car, a warm house or any of the other things I cut down on or omit.

There are a couple of things I won't go without. I wouldn't give up the internet. I do use it a lot to learn and I do try and to do something with that.

And I won't sacrifice my own life.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Deb London

And I won't sacrifice my own life.

which is of course the ultimate sacrifice one can make - think chico mendes for example who was assasinated for his activism against deforestation

Chico Mendes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

that kind of scarifice makes walking to the shops look a bit tame by comparison

[Gill Catton]

Hmmm I'd have thought bringing about some sort of worldwide apocalypse that reduces the human population by two thirds and ultimately that the evil genius you have then become being killed by an avenger would be the ultimate sacrifice!! (and best for the planet).

but that possibility aside yes I'd imaging living as self sustainably as possible. I worry though about the number of intelligent, compassionate people who understand the importance of our environment choosing not to have children to save the planet - surely children from such people are really needed in the next generations? People who couldn't give a stuff are certainly churning them out !! (Obviously though its a personal decision and one I can see both sides for)

[maccyd82]

Originally Posted by Gill Catton

Hmmm I'd have thought bringing about some sort of worldwide apocalypse that reduces the human population by two thirds and ultimately that the evil genius you have then become being killed by an avenger would be the ultimate sacrifice!! (and best for the planet).

but that possibility aside yes I'd imaging living as self sustainably as possible. I worry though about the number of intelligent, compassionate people who understand the importance of our environment choosing not to have children to save the planet - surely children from such people are really needed in the next generations? People who couldn't give a stuff are certainly churning them out !! (Obviously though its a personal decision and one I can see both sides for)

So maybe the sacrifice would be to all give up our jobs and become science teachers?

[Lancashire Lad]

Originally Posted by maccyd82

..... what is the ultimate environmental sacrifice a person can make?....

There is only one sacrifice that can be made which will ultimately have any realistic effect on the environment as a whole, but unfortunately the human population of world does not appear to be ready to face the problem - let alone do anything about it in the numbers that would be needed!!

What is that sacrifice - Don't have any children!!

The exponential growth in human population cannot possibly be sustained. We are currently on track to double the world's population yet again, in only 57 years time if things are not changed significantly.

People talk about using less energy, but even if everyone in the world used 50% less energy, we would be back to square one in 57 years time, because there will be twice as many people.

All these discussions about global warming, energy conservation, carbon taxes, etc. etc. ad-infinitum, will come to nothing, or at best delay the inevitable.

That is - unless humanity gets a grip on the real problem - too many people!!!!

Regards,
Mike.

[Deb London]

I think the planet is heading for meltdown. But people will continue to have kids.

IMHO, Gill is totally right to be fearful of what might happen when the folk with consciences decide that too many kids is not the best idea for the planet. But really, what can you do?

Not a lot.

About 1000 babies were born in the time it took for me to write this.

[Gill Catton]

Perhaps still have one child per couple in whom you encourage passion for the environment. Still reducing the population while (hopefully) leaving someone to keep fighting the fight or educating others for the next generation.

[Deb London]

It's also a good idea to get involved with teaching kids whenever possible, even if you don't have them. To try to teach them about nature etc. To try and encourage their enthusiasm. It might not seem to be paying off at first, but sometimes thoughts take a while to sink in.