Sustainability Month’s theme as an “environmental armageddon” does not seem quite accurate. I attended many of the events and not once did I hear of an inevitable death to mankind. What I heard was rather how we can profitably transition our society and economy towards sustainability to ensure a healthy, resource abundant future. Many of the speakers you did not mention displayed convincing evidence of how sustainability can be highly economically viable. Companies such as Wal-Mart and Dow have moved toward “green” chemicals because they have realized the profitable results that occur.
Making a transition to a sustainable society is proven to be feasible through evidence, unlike that to which you compare global warming, “eugenics.” Eugenics was a philosophy and NOT supported by any empirical data. Global warming has empirical evidence of its occurrence or at least that CO2 is certainly causing acid rain. It does not mean that the theory will somehow end up a holocaust-like situation.
The Kyoto Protocol does not just stop global warming. It promotes safe and sustainable agriculture, efficiency in industry and the development of renewable energy sources. If you like to fish, don’t go to the San Joaquin River, it is completely lifeless (it used to be abundant with salmon) because of unsafe and unsustainable farming practices in the San Joaquin Valley. Perhaps, the reason why the government’s one-sided analysis has stated that the protocol will cost trillions is because of the many powerful oil lobbyists who have politicians in their pockets and would despise seeing the country stray from oil dependency. They also forgot to mention the hundreds of new markets and jobs it would create. Sustainable societies are possible, it will just require some education on the matter.
Rob Fitzroy
Political science senior