A Conversation of Hope

I stumbled upon the following question and answer conversation online. It's worth sharing.

Zag asks, "Is it sensible to give up hope for the environment?" and continues, "I care passionately about our natural world, but watching its steady and relentless demise over the decades is depressing. Is it sensible to give up on it now, or is there still time and is it still possible, considering the nature of humanity, to save the natural world from total destruction? Does the human race have the capacity to save large areas of the natural environment? It doesn't look like it to me..."

Andy responds with the following quotes and advise:

We may be fighting a losing battle, but we are having a lot of fun trying to win (old folk song).

If we all give up on trying to save the environment, that pretty much guarantees a negative result. But if we keep on trying, we have some chance that we will win.

If you dedicate your life to fighting and working to make human civilization sustainable, you've given your life a framework around which you can build knowledge, courage, intellectual integrity, curiosity, generosity, and a passion for teamwork - - - all of them admirable character traits.

You are going to spend your whole life doing SOMETHING, in any case.

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Likewise, "Is it sensible to just give up on cleaning the litter that is dumped in the environment?" Seeing the litter that ends up back on the street sides & green spaces in our community days, hours and sometimes moments after you have cleaned up the litter and properly disposed of it, can be, well, depressing!

One of the first things I say to volunteers who come out to community litter clean-ups is don't be discouraged when you see litter back in the environment where you just spent hours cleaning it up - because it WILL happen! And don't think that you aren't making a difference - because you are - even if for a day that area is litter free - you are reducing the amount of garbage in the environment - all of which eventually ends up in our waterways. Also, litter begets litter - so if a section of the city is cleaned from time to time - people will think twice about throwing their litter in a tidy section as opposed to a section that already consists of garbage debris. But more importantly, getting out there and cleaning the streets shows leadership in litter control - and most people learn by watching what other people do. If motorists and pedestrians witness a group of volunteers busy cleaning up litter - they are more likely to think about the problem of litter in the community - what is more - that cleaning it up is a community affair. Participating in litter control also adds to the safety and well-being of our children and animals - that otherwise might hurt themselves on dangerous/hazardous litter items. Finally, getting out there and being active in litter control promotes positive environmental awareness, it sends a strong message to the community about ecological citizenship and fosters civic pride among community members alike.

So then, the answer is NO - it is definitely not sensible to 'give up' on litter control or any other environmental activity because environmental integrity at times seems unattainable. We make a difference in every effort; even though it may seem small and insignificant, we are changing the world one water ripple outward at a time.