Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Environmental purity hard to find

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The debate that's heating up over whether Hailey should ban plastic shopping bags illustrates how difficult it is to find environmental purity in today's complex and confounding world.

Carloads of contradictions characterize debates over clean air and water and vanishing wildlife.

The soccer moms who transport kids from one field to another in gas-guzzling SUVs are likely the same people who demand cleaner air standards from the Environmental Protection Agency.

The soccer moms aren't the only ones who're conflicted.

Some readers of e-books and online newspapers smugly proclaim they've reduced their carbon footprint. Yet, server farms—massive air-conditioned buildings full of computers—suck up wattage 24/7 to generate documents.

Even with the addition of solar- and wind-generated power, the vast majority of the electric power the nation uses still comes from fish-killing dams, coal-belching power plants and waste-producing nuclear reactors.

Electric cars, anyone?

Or, how about the much-touted "clean" and abundant natural gas proclaimed as the go-to source of energy for the U.S. for the rest of the century? Just when Americans thought they might have dodged the pollutant bullet, news of health problems that may result from fracking, the injection of water and chemicals into gas deposits, is giving us second thoughts.

Then, there's the problem with pitting a clean environment (reusable bags) against jobs (plastic bags) when jobs are scarce.

Manufacturers meet the demands of individuals. The question is not plastic vs. reusable bags. The question is whether we humans will ever be able to align our material desires with the need to restore the health of the planet that sustains us.

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