Responsible Use 📍

What Does It Mean To Be An Environmentalist?

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There are many people who consider themselves to be environmentalists. Yet, these people have very diverse beliefs and come from very diverse backgrounds.

On specific issues, environmentalists often disagree. One environmentalist might view the issue of providing pollution free power through hydroelectric as an acceptable cost to a damaged salmon population. Another might very well disagree.

What we can delimitate some fundamental processes that the environmentalist must go through to reach his rational conclusion:

  1. Carefully Observe The World
  2. Analysis What You Learn
  3. Question Why Things Are the Way They Are
  4. Act Upon What You Believe To Be Right

Deep Blue

In one way or another, you could argue that all environmentalists are seeking the best use of our limited natural resources and our limited land. In contrast to our natural resources, the human imagination is unlimited and we can find solutions to our problems.

Indeed, environmentalists seek the best use of the land. They want to see uses that are:

  1. Sustainable and protect our land for generations to come.
  2. Can be enjoyed and embraced without fear of being poisoned.
  3. Leads to human prosperity with diverse environments, smart cities, and prosperous farms.

We should seek environmental policies that not only protect our diverse species but also protect human dignity. We need an environment where:

  1. People can create, farm, and live.
  2. People can get away from urban life.
  3. People can live happy and productive lives in urban centers or in small communities if they so choose

What’s good for our environment is indeed good for our economy, as our economy is based on our environment. We must indeed be liberal in our quest to embrace new technologies and ideas that will improve our environment, but also conservative in respecting our natural environment around us.

Vandalizing Public Property

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One of the things that irks me the most is when people destroy public property. Some people cut down trees, spray paint rocks, tear up fields with quads recklessly, or do other damage. They seem not to understand that this public land belongs to not only them but to us all. Public land is out there for all to use, to enjoy and respect.

We don’t need more rules and regulations on how we can use public land. Just because some idiots choose to leave litter on the ground, doesn’t mean we should be prohibited from camping. Likewise, just because some people tear up the land with their quads, doesn’t mean all motor vehicle trails should be closed. You wonder why people simply can not see the beauty they are destroying.

There is a sign on Vroman’s Nose that says “Respect the Land, and the Land will Respect You”. That seems like such common sense, yet so many people fail to follow such things. Most of really love the land out here, and it seems only sensible for others to respect it similarly.

Earth as a Pickup Truck

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We all like our pickup trucks. They are fund to play with off-road, use them around the farm, tow our boats, and so forth. They are built strong and are pretty reliable. Yet, like most things in life they have limitations and we must be careful how we use them and avoid serious damage. It seems like a similar analogy can be used for mother earth. Our planet is tough and resilient, but with the pressures of 6 billion people on it we can damage it seriously if we aren’t careful.

Big Red's Dent

On a truck we can do some pretty serious damage. We can run it into a tree, blow the engine by allowing it to overheat, grind up the transmission by accidentally shifting into reverse while driving, or rolling it over while driving on snow covered roads. We can do same thing with earth by carelessly allowing massive amounts of toxic escape into the air without control, dumping massive amounts of chemicals into our waterways, or consuming all of our fresh water for frivolous uses.

Control of State Government - By Percentage of US Population

We aren’t just talking about minor things that while annoying don’t actually do that much damage unless massive aggregated together. A minor dent or ding in your truck might be annoying, but it’s not going to make the truck less useful. A campfire might release some smoke into the atmosphere, or a cow may leave some dung in a pasture, but that to our environment.

Big Red at Petersburgh Pass