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Grayson Eady

Mrs. Taylor

AP Language

25 January 2017

The Importance of Environmentalism

As many of you know by now, I was raised as an environmentalist and by an

environmentalist. My dad works on sustainability contracts for the United States military. My

idea of a good bedtime story is Dr. Seuss The Lorax. I hardly ever leave a room without turning

off the light. I drive a hybrid to school every morning. So, obviously the idea that our everyday

actions should cater to the needs of the Earth is not by any means a new idea to me. Personally, I

am not and have not ever been able to pull myself away from the Earths cry for help. In fact, a

year ago my world was turned upside down by a movie that explained the endless horrors that

our meat and dairy industry inflict upon the Earth, and as a result I became a vegetarian within

the month. When my Facebook feed reminds me that 2016 was the hottest year on record, I

sketch a new design for my electric Volkswagen in hopes of driving an electric car throughout

my senior year. Surely, that is just me. So, why should you care? The answer comes down to a

few simple, yet monumental points. Although it does feel as if a single person cannot have an

impact on the ecological catastrophe at hand, in actuality we, as humans, have a responsibility to

individually take part in the greater movement to steer the Earth toward a sustainable future and

passionately pursue environmentalism because humans caused the problem, because Earth is our

home, and because even one person has a chance to affect meaningful change.

Okay, so maybe the environmentalism is a little daunting. The small, everyday

corrections that Al Gore tells us to make dont seem to add up to a clean planet. No matter how
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many lights you turn off, climate change still seems to get worse. But, no one said the task at

hand would be easy. The difficulty of altering the Earths future does not change the fact that

inaction leads to even more consequences than incremental action, so let us look at why we must

act instead of why we should maintain the detrimental status quo.

The most direct source of humankinds responsibility to mend the planet is the fact that

human intervention into natural cycles is the reason for environmental degradation. Since the

industrial revolution, copious amounts of pollution have led to climate change, ocean

acidification, disease. When NASA reports that 97% of climatologists agree that climate change

and its symptoms are human-caused, there is no question of whether it is our fault. Everyone in

the western world actively contributes to climate change; therefore, the responsible action to take

would be to actively attempt to reverse its effects. It is like making a mess in public place. You

cannot just leave your trash behind like nothing happened; you pick up after yourself. Once we

accept that we are the problem, it is our moral duty to course correct.

Taking morals into account, lets look at the issue more practically. As I said earlier, the

Earth is our home; we, as humans, need it to sustain us for a long time. It provides food and

water and land and a host of other natural resources, acting as a global Garden of Eden. In order

to keep the planet in a sustainable state, people have to actually take steps to protect its

resources. The National Climate Assessment estimates that as temperatures rise, the United

States is likely to see a steep increase in the number of consecutive dry days and a steep increase

in the number of water shortages across the country. Drier days mean fewer crops and hungrier

people. With a projected global population of nine billion people by 2050, society has to

consider practical measures for sustaining the planet. This is not a matter of choice either.

Human life requires certain resources that we have been known to carelessly disregard. Just like
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the classic American sweethearts, Elvis Presley and Emily Dickinson, would not have been the

same without their respective blue suede shoes and white gown, people would not be the same

without a healthy planet on which to live. To quote Bill Nye, there is no planet B. Looking at

the situation practically, environmentalism provides the only logical path for us to ensure our

sustainable human dependence on the Earth.

While it is easy to understand the benefits of large scale environmentalism, many of you

may be asking at this point, What can I do? This is the catch that causes many people to block

consideration for the planet out of their everyday thoughts. It is easy to feel as if a single

persons impact has no effect, but this is not the case. There is long list of lifestyle changes that

result in drastic reductions in personal footprints. The two most impactful actions being driving

an alternative-fueled vehicle or shifting to a plant-based diet. According to Springer Publishing

and Scientific American Magazine and the University of Twente in the Netherlands, a single

person on a vegan diet can save 1,100 gallons of water, 20 pounds of carbon dioxide, and 30

square feet of forested land every single day. However, the largest impact someone can have

does not come from the actions themselves but from the influence those actions have on friends

and family. For example, when I decided to become a vegetarian over a year ago, my household

quickly followed suit. When I decided to build an electric car last year, a wide array of

opportunities arose for me to help educate people about alternative, renewable energy. When any

one person decides to be intentional with environmentalism, bystanders are subconsciously

influenced in a very positive way. From a large scale eco movement to an individuals decision

to protect the planet, environmentalism has the potential to significantly alter the course on

which Earth is headed.

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I hope I have made it clear that environmentalism is about more than tree-hugging. It is

a commitment to taking care of the Earth to the best of your abilities. Rather than leaving the

environmentalism to the radical activists and liberals exclusively, we should all strive to increase

our involvement in cleaning up the Earth to ensure that the planet sustains itself and provides for

everyone for years to come. So, what will you do to help?