"Do You Have a Minute to Give a Damn?"

I’ve mentioned over and over again in class my work this summer with Environment America. By the end of the semester I’m sure the examples I draw from my experience there may become tired, however it is incredible how much one can learn from standing on the street asking others for help in the environmental crusade. The most pressing problem in today’s environmental world, to me, is that of apathy and Stanley Fish’s piece, I Am, Therefore I Pollute, once again, brings me back to my canvassing work this summer. Spending my summer standing on corners repeating “Do you have a minute for the environment?” was undoubtedly one of the most frustrating and enlightening things I have ever done. It’s disheartening, but not shocking, that most people did not have the minute I asked for. In many instances I found myself very frustrated with humanity, but not at the people I would have expected.

Countless times I would encounter a person who’s minute for the environment consisted of them yelling “I drive a hummer!”, “Global warming is a hoax!”, or some sort of hippie hating, environment bashing comment. But surprisingly enough these people were not the ones who pushed my buttons the most. It was the people who took their minute to tell me they support what I am doing but don’t have the time, money, patience etc. A coworker of mine would always ask them how they support the issue and would address their dumbfounded, blank responses by explaining they could actually help the cause right there on the street if they were as passionate as they claimed. Although I was not as adamant as him to put these “apathetic environmentalists” in their place, I couldn’t help but allow these people to irk me more than others.

Yes, it’s great to agree with the environmentalists and not just label them as overreacting Birkenstock wearing radicals. However, thinking our ideas are great is much different than actually acting on them. Fish’s article is an excellent example of a person who agrees with the issues and sees the looming global problems as important yet he spends the entire piece detailing what a pain it is to actually live green. In today’s world it’s hip to be green and in a simple walk across campus I see numerous “Green is the new Black,” “Go Green” and “Love your Mother Earth” t-shirts and book bags. But I’m sure the people wearing them haven’t thought about the synthetic fibers, shipping costs, and actual environmental detriment which accompany their green fashion. It’s one thing to support what we’re doing to fix this planet, but it’s another thing to want to do what we’re doing and to do it enthusiastically. In the end we all need to throw our carefree attitudes out the window and become passionate about this earth. Because when it comes right down to it, the planet is the only thing we all share.