Here are some of my favorite questions that I have answered as part of my internship with GreenAnswers.com:
Q: Do you think we should try and make earth day more important to American people?
A: I’m not sure it would do much for the overall cause. Raising awareness is important and everything, but it shouldn’t be concentrated on one day. People will not change their lifestyles if they get the feeling that thinking about Earth on Earth Day is what environmental awareness is about. We need to make it a part of our mentality, not a special holiday.
Q: Would it be easier to tell what websites were green if they were to have a .eco domain name?
A: That is a pretty cool idea. I wonder who would be in charge of giving out the domains though, and what the requirements would be, and how those reqs would be enforced. Would they be green because they are powered by renewable energy? Would there be an underlying green philosophy? Who would stop people from abusing this?
Q: Are Americans too lazy to become sustainable?
A: I’m not sure if it is laziness, or overall resistance to change. I think people in general wouldn’t care much if they didn’t have to do anything to change their lifestyle. Americans are most protective of their lifestyle (of excessiveness). They aren’t too lazy to defend themselves about that. They are lazy in that they don’t want to go out and find out the details about things. They will believe things they see on TV or hear from their friends, but they won’t go the extra step to confirm for themselves what is the truth.
Q: What is the single most environmentally friendly thing a person can do?
A: Some might argue that refraining from reproducing is the most environmentally friendly thing to do. Though this is extreme, the point is that bringing another person into this world immediately will equal a large amount of negative environmental impact, at least this is the case at our current status. If we were to somehow all live lifestyles that could have a near zero impact on the environment, then this would not be an issue.
Other people may argue that becoming vegan is the most environmentally friendly thing to do. While eating little or not meat does considerably lessen your impact, the vegetables you eat may not be guaranteed to be environmentally friendly. Consider where they are grow, how they are grow, and whether growing them caused displacement of a natural habitat. How far do the materials travel? Etc., etc. This conscious, questioning mentality followed by responsible action may be one of the most environmentally friendly thing a person can do.
Citations: http://www.vhemt.org/
