My stance on the environment

When it comes to the environment my views are all over the chart. They are inconsistent and don't make any sense. On some things I'll think one way, and on others the complete opposite. I suppose some examples are in order. In my dorm room at the University of Connecticut the TV is on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This may seem like an exaggeration, but it isn't. My roommate and I go to bed with the TV on, and when we go to class in the morning the TV stays on. The light is usually on. Our computers are always on. I have all my chargers plugged in constantly--this matters if anyone is a big proponent of 'phantom energy'--. I worry about the energy crisis, yet I do nothing to prevent it. Why is this?

Perhaps it stems from my frustration with the current system, and what complying with energy conservation will bring about. It is no secret that oil is not a problem that can be solved, only abated. If everyone cuts energy consumption by 15%, what happens? Oil prices will likely tank, and we will go back to abusing oil and cutting back on research on alternate sources of energy. Sometimes, I believe allowing the problem to get worse, is the only way to make progress. Andrew mentioned a number of things plauging our country at the moment--energy, stock market, and the sub-prime mortgage shitstorm--there are a number of things that we can do to stem the flow into recession, but should we? Is a temporary solution going to be best in the long run? It's like welfare, if we stop welfare people will suffer, but instead of relying on welfare and doing nothing, people will go out and get a job. If we allow the system to crumble, people will suffer, but we will be forced to fix the problem. I suppose it's time to bust out one of my favorite cliches, “Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.” ~ Confucius.

If the problem is fixed though, I still believe environmental conservation is a must. I'd also like to applaud Connecticut Govenor Rell's "OneThing" campaign. The general idea is if 3.5 million people do one thing, it adds up to a whole lot. It truly does. It's people like Rell that let me know that some people are trying to change things, and it just might inspire me to shut off the TV when I'm not in the room.