So-called Tree Hugging Environmentalists are often bashed and ridiculed for their determined effort to save endangered animals and plants, what is often viewed as insignificant though exotic flora and fauna. Yet, over and over again we witness ecological disasters that are directly linked to humans.
To put it mildly, I’d say that, collectively speaking, we humans are proud, arrogant, and overly self-confident to the point of being ecologically and environmentally abusive in the use of our science and technology.
Fracking companies, energy and oil companies, chemical companies, and their allies, who include business investors and their political lackeys, tirelessly take the offensive in assuring the populace that there is little or no threat to the environment in their daily operations—especially if they are merely storing dangerous chemicals. Their message is simple: “Not to worry! Our plants are well-built. We have plenty of redundant safety measures in place, dependable machinery, a well-trained and trustworthy workforce, and a highly efficient emergency procedural protocol that we follow, to ensure public safety and environmental protection.”
Yet, always, somewhere, sometime, somehow, something bad happens. Either there are structural flaws, or machinery break downs, or safety-measures are ignored, or it is a simple case of human error—good intentions coupled with miscalculations or misjudgment, misinformation, or plain ole ignorance and stupidity. This is NOT a perfect world and there are no perfect humans. Mistakes WILL be made!
So what have we learned? What should we learn from such accidents and disasters? I’d say the following is a good start.
First we learn (or are reminded of the fact) that there are no guarantees. There never will be and never can be a 100% guarantee that nothing will go wrong.
Secondly, we can never be too careful when it comes to taking appropriate steps to assure that we are protecting and preserving irreplaceable and invaluable precious resources, such as basic clean drinking water. (Note for example: We must have available clean drinking water to survive! Period!! There is no exception to this basic human need.) Thus, it is better to error on the side of caution. Therefore, tough regulatory oversight serves the populace best, as opposed to weak and mild or impotent oversight that does little to actually assure that companies are in compliance with expected safety measures.
Thirdly, we must be willing to pay for the extra precaution. Higher standards of safety and protection may cost a little more. So be it. It is worth the cost in the long run. A little more caution and expense up-front far outweighs the cost of cleaning-up or recovering from an ecological and environmental disaster. We have to raise the value of environmental health and stability as being more important and economically beneficial to us than our mere exploitation of it.
It’s not that we should shut down these companies, for our present lifestyle depends on their production outcomes. However, these companies should not be seen as the sole heir and proprietary beneficiaries of our precious natural resources. They, us, we, all-of-us, need to be held more accountable for how we are using and exploiting our natural resources.
Lastly, perhaps it’s time we begin to mold or shape a different kind of environmental economy. The earth is OURS collectively, not them and theirs singularly. Gone should be the days when big company executives have the power and right to claim this and that natural resource for the taking, just because they have the money and power to do so. What the executives of these powerful companies may not realize is that they live here on this orbital island called earth, same as everyone else (unless, with the use of their powerful finances, they find a way to escape earth itself, to go off and live in a better place, which is highly unlikely), that being the case, they need to become better neighbors to their fellow human beings all the way around.
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