“I solve problems. I’m not putting band-aids on symptoms”
I spoke this post title in conversation. As I said them, I realized I had to post them to my blog:
“I solve problems. I’m not putting band-aids on symptoms“
Most purported solution I see proposed for the environment put band-aids on symptoms. I don’t oppose helping the poor, conservation efforts for the Amazon or other nature being encroached on, avoiding straws, eating less meat, turning off lights when not in use, protests, and so on.
Nearly all these efforts achieve what I call “stepping on the gas, thinking it’s the brake, wanting congratulations.” In Sustainability Simplified I call them “pulling an Eli Whitney,” after the guy whose cotton gin designed to reduce labor helped grow American cotton into the greatest slave culture in history.
These efforts don’t stop the cause of our environmental symptoms, which is our culture. Symptoms may need band-aids. During slavery, injured slaves needed medical care, for example. But medical care couldn’t achieve what the Thirteenth Amendment did: change the behavior and culture of the slave owners. No one has to point out the job isn’t done, but the Thirteenth Amendment focused on the cause. Slaves didn’t bring slavery on themselves.
To stop our environmental symptoms we have to stop the behavior of people causing them—that is, mostly us. The Amazon didn’t bring pollution and depletion onto itself. I support restoring it, but I work on stopping us from funding the system taking over the Amazon, such as by buying airplane tickets and beef.
I hope you’ll join me.
“I solve problems. I’m not putting band-aids on symptoms”
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