The importance of being Earthlings
By Heather Bowers
IV Leader Staff, May 3, 2007
The Earth is not a planet for “liberals” and “tree
huggers”. It’s not a planet that is meant to act as our own personal garbage
disposal, either.
Too often these days, taking care of our own planet has
become a political agenda involving debates on global warming, which usually
involve Al Gore at some point or other.
Personally, my brain is not scientific enough to understand
the extent of the mess that global warming is causing. Sure, Al Gore offers
these threatening pictures but to me, he never really offers any solid solutions
to the problem.
Using renewable energy makes sense on many levels. We are
helping to reduce pollution caused by the burning of coal, which is our primary
source of energy.
Using devices such as wind turbines and solar panels will be
economically sound in the long run. Unfortunately, these devices cost so much
that only those who can afford them are using them. That means that most
Americans are still getting their power from the coal .
As a country, if we really want to reduce our dependency on
foreign oil and diminish our “carbon footprint,” action needs to be taken on a
national level.
Federal and state governments need to create programs and
invest money into building wind turbines for schools and public institutions.
Cities need to adopt programs that will allow solar panels to be installed on
buildings.
Scientists and engineers need to receive more federal
funding. Instead of funneling so much of our money into foreign countries, we
need to fund research and construction on technology that is clean and
efficient.
Even though renewable energy technology costs more money to
install and get going, in the long run, the payoff is more environmentally and
economically sound.
People pay for quality, and this goes for the planet, too.
There has to be a point when saving money is not justifiable if we are emitting
millions of tons of pollution into our air and rivers and destroying our planet
before the next generations have a chance to enjoy it.
It’s not about politics, “tree huggers” and money. It’s about
our own responsibility to keep our own home planet clean and spinning for
generations to come.