Day 7
It has been one week since I began
my water conservation project. I must admit however that there have been
instances of weakness in my actions and will power. Mainly points of forgetfulness like bringing
my Nalgene to one of the cafeterias on campus in which I drank out of plastic
cups which were then washed with unnecessary water. I also failed twice to
stick to the cold 30 second shower at night. However I did realize that the
motivation to stick to thirty second cold showers is actually easy to do in the
morning when I need to wake up, so I learned that to avoid unnecessary water
usage it is best to stay away from showering in the evening while tired.
Despite those failures in my ethic
I have stuck to the reduced flushing after urinating and it has proven to be a
very simple technique to conserving a great amount of water. I also have
discussed the statistics and consequences with many peers about how this
technique is an easy change in one’s life that will benefit the earth and it
seems like most people have responded to it well. At least no one has called me
gross and decent amount of people said they would actually try it, so I take
that as my biggest success thus far.
These issues of mental capability
to stick with a challenging program have provoked me to think about what our
environmental concerns stem from. This class is only in the third week and my
own personal ethics and environmental opinions are nowhere near fully formed but
for me it is clear that our individualism is what has brought us to destroy so
many natural habitats. Kant stated that we have the ability to recognize the individual “I” and
that we are capable of making choices whereas animals react solely off of
instinct. I believe that this ability holds great power, but that we have not
used it correctly in many aspects. We have polluted the air and the water in the
search for supreme comfort. It is like Christopher Stone said in his article Should Trees Have Standing? “Many of our
so-called ‘material comforts’ are not only in excess of, but are probably, in
opposition to, basic biological needs.”(197). However if we have the ability to
make choices, then all is not lost. Mankind is not draining resources and
destroying habitats out of instinct, it is because we have chosen to do so with
great ignorance towards the damage that comes with our decisions. To most
people it is obvious that we have done so out of our own choosing, but what is
not obvious is that we also have the ability to make other choices. Choices
that may not be comfortable but that will in the end be sustainable not only to
other animals but in the long run to ourselves as well. When discussing the
mindset of using nature as a tool to aid human progress Stone also says that in
order to get away from that perspective “…We have to give up some psychic
investment in our sense of separateness and specialness in the universe.”(198).
I realize this may seem incredibly opinionated but it’s not asking for certain
individuals to make great sacrifices it simply takes small efforts from everyone,
nothing too grand or tiresome. As Rachel Carson stated “… I Think we’re
challenged, as mankind has never been challenged before, to prove our maturity
and our mastery, not of nature but of ourselves.” The mind is our most powerful
asset as a species and living simply does not require strenuous choices, it
only asks for consciousness in everyday life.
