In his talk to a full house at Trinity University earlier this month, Jared Diamond opened with an anecdote about his first visit to Texas. Then part of a Harvard-led debate team, he and his partner were evidently bested by the Texas team, led by none other than Barbara Jordan.
Dr. Diamond went on to share with us a message of concern and hope. Informed by the study of advanced societies through history that have collapsed, he posits, for failing to see and solve key environmental problems, he warns of the risk of modern-day “ecocide.”
Diamond takes hope, however, in groups across the globe that have learned by example to collectively take up the challenges that face them, and adopt bold solutions. Such solutions aren’t engendered by politicians that pit environment against economy, but rather in recognizing the wisdom that sound environmental policy is sound economic policy.
Taking a page from Dr. Diamond’s book, if we invest in good solutions today for managing waste; securing clean energy; and protecting forests, wetlands, and other habitats, we too have a much better shot at a healthy future.
It’s a point worth raising the next time someone asks why we’d want to cut down on the waste of one-shot materials that go from grocery store shelf to landfill; why we’d want to reduce over-use or build, produce, travel and live in ways that don’t eviscerate the living world around us.
Together, Diamond suggests, we can make smarter choices; and together, we can make a difference.
Next up at Trinity: New York Times Foreign Affairs Columnist Thomas Friedman, author of Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution – and How It Can Renew America. The lecture will take place at Trinity University at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday Feb. 16, 2010, in Laurie Auditorium. Like so many good things, it is free and open to the public.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
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