Pop Quiz: Are you an Environmentalist?
One thing that always causes me to scratch my head in consternation is the need some people have to tell me that they aren’t a “treehugger” when they find out what I do. As if they are scared I will ask them for the secret handshake or spray them with patchouli. It used to really bug me- I mean, why would someone proudly announce that they hate the environment? It just doesn’t make any sense to me. If humans are anything, we are environmentalists, if only because we depend on a certain level of environmental quality for our health and well-being. So, in that vein, I have devised a pop quiz that I spring on someone whenever he/she tells me they aren’t “one of them tree hugging granola crunchers”.
1. Do you breathe air?
2. Do you drink water?
If the answer to either one of those questions is yes, then congratulations- you are a bonafide tree hugger! Wear your badge proudly!
For me, being an environmentalist isn’t a zero sum game- you can grow and proper as a community, as a country while still preserving our natural resources. People who want to force us to choose between one or the other are presenting you with a logical fallacy known as a false dilemma- giving you only 2 choices when in fact there may be many more, (ie economic growth AND environmental protection).
I see this logical fallacy played out over and over again, not only in my own conversations with people, but on the news as well. I think the discussion will only get more heated as lobbyists and other special interests begin to seriously fight any type of climate change legislation. This is America- if we have learned anything it is that we can have our cake and eat it too.
