Maybe ESA could conduct a poll of members that live in highly populated desert areas that by definition are unsustainable like Tempe, Arizona. Or maybe vegans and vegetarians should not brag about themselves over the ECOLOG listserv.
On Tue, Sep 8, 2009 at 7:50 PM, Kevin McCluney <kevin.mcclu...@asu.edu>wrote: > I recently attended the 2009 annual meeting of the Ecological Society of > America (ESA). The theme of this year’s meeting was sustainability. There > were many great talks on this subject and a few truly pessimistic ones. > One > speaker proposed that human beings are, by our very nature, destined to > consume and reproduce as much as possible, and despite our best efforts, > this will lead to our own demise. During the same talk the speaker also > asked, “who is responsible?” He answered his question by saying that we at > this conference are just as much a part of the problem as anyone else. > > Is this true? I know I myself have taken many steps to lower my footprint > and many other ecologists have as well. > > For instance, at last year’s ESA meeting in Milwaukee there was an > interesting occurrence at local restaurants. The first night of the > conference I had a really good veggie burger at one restaurant. I went > back > later in the week for another. The waitress apologized… they were all out. > She went on to explain that the manager had heard our conference was coming > to town, so bought extra ahead of time, but ran out of those quickly > anyway. > The manager then went to the local grocery store and bought more. But > alas, > by the time I returned, they had run out of those as well. Further, when I > dine with friends at ESA meetings, I often find that more than half the > table orders vegetarian entrees. > > Why does eating vegetarian matter so much? Modern, industrialized > livestock > production is one of the more environmentally destructive human endeavors. > It contributes roughly one fifth of all our greenhouse gas emissions, more > than all cars, and these gases are major contributors to the rapid climate > change we’re experiencing. Livestock production also may, in certain > cases, > be leading to deforestation and destruction of important ecosystems, as > well > as to pollution of rivers, lakes, and even oceans. In addition, we all > know > that basic ecological principles hold that it takes less resources to raise > plant based food sources than meat based, since energy is lost as you move > up the food chain. Thus we can feed more people and use fewer resources on > a plant-based diet. All this caused the chairman of the Intergovernmental > Panel on Climate Change recently to proclaim that the best thing a person > could do to reduce their impact on climate change was to eat a more plant- > based diet. > > My wife and I haven’t stopped at eating low on the food chain. We’ve also > joined community supported agriculture, where we buy a share of produce > from > a local farm. The farmer gets upfront economic security and we get very > affordable, local, fresh organic produce. We pay just $18 per week for a > large bag of food. At this price we can afford to supplement our diet with > additional organic items from the grocery store. > > We’ve also taken a variety of other steps, from riding my bike to work, to > offsetting car and air travel through renewable energy from an > independently > certified company, to buying 100% of our electricity from renewable sources > through our local utility for as little as $15 per month. > > While we may not be reaching the small ecological footprint of those in > many > third world countries, we’ve done our best to come in line with our > planet’s > limits while maintaining a decent quality of life. > > So, are ecologists just as much a part of the problem as everyone else? > Are > all ecologists the same? What are the variety of lifestyle choices made by > ecologists? Not only would the answers to these questions provide a > response to the ESA presenter, but I think the answer would be interesting > to a wide audience. I propose that ESA conduct a poll of members, asking > questions about lifestyle choices and demographics, comparing ours to that > of the general public. If we are not different, this would be a bit of a > wake-up call. However, if we are different, then perhaps some of our > lifestyle choices would be informative to understanding how to achieve a > more sustainable society. > > If there is one thing I learned from a cultural anthropology course I once > took, it was that there isn’t just one right way to live. Human cultures > throughout the world are very diverse. But, from the inside of one culture > it is often very hard to see other ways to live. Let us not be trapped in > our culture, but seek a better understanding of all the ways of living, so > that we might find a more sustainable path. > > -- > Kevin E. McCluney > Graduate Student > School of Life Sciences > Arizona State University > Tempe, AZ 85287-4601 >
