Earth Day

I’m skipping Earthfest at the Cleveland zoo today, despite having multiple groups ask me to do various things at it. I would have loved to do the 30 mile “Bike for the Earth” and work the different exhibits, but time pressures are probably going to limit me to going for a run in the metroparks instead. Besides, I’m not sure how I can justify driving 40 miles in my car so I can bike 30 miles to save the planet…I might be better off staying home.

I suppose it goes without saying that I am a somewhat crazy environmentalist. I try to limit unnecessary driving, I unplug appliances when not in use, avoid paper napkins, recycle, rarely eat meat, and quit my job to get a pair of graduate degrees in an effort to figure out a practical way to keep us from rendering the planet unable to support human life as we know it. Of course, I also have as many environmental vices as virtues: I keep way to much junk in my car, I take long hot showers, I still drive too much and I live on my laptop.

A lot of people don’t buy into the whole “we have ourselves in a wee bit of a problem, ecologically” mindset.  I can understand that.  The world is very big, there are a lot of uncertainties, and the vast majority of environmental problems are not visible to those living reasonably well in a first world country.  I could jump on my soapbox and go on for hours about feedback mechanisms, economic externalities, abedo effects, poverty links, brain development, etc etc etc.  But I won’t.  I’m way to lazy to type all that up.

I will say this though: it amazes me the amount of flack and ridicule I get for partaking in some of the above steps to reduce my impact on the environment.  Anyone making an effort in that area is doing things that are inconvient for themselves but no one else, with the benefits from those inconviences going almost entirely to other people.  If you don’t want to partake, that’s fine.  But why mock the people that are making sacrifices* to make your life, and the lives of your children and everyone you care about, better?

*I use the word sacrifices with intent.  Every “green tip” you see attempts to make it sounds like doing better environmentally takes no effort, which is complete bull.  Its annoying to rinse out and separate recyclables, I miss eating fish, and cutting out the occasional trip to avoid driving or flying can really disappoint.

A big difference in graduate school…

is that some of the students are established professionals or life-long students.  For the most part, this is positive.  I’ve gotten to work on projects with an atmospheric scientist that did stints in Antarctica, people at the EPA, a director from the Cleveland Zoo, a couple lawyers, etc.  But there are also a few possessing the attitude that not only do they know more than the professors, but that because they are so established and smart, if they aren’t understanding something right away its the professor’s fault and they should proclaim this in a loud, interrupting fashion.

I’ve had idiots in my classes before, no-it-alls, hecklers, sleepers.  Hell, I’ve had (and on rare occasions been one of) the kids that sit in the back with 20 ounce bottles of soda and booze (the infamous “traveler”).  But none of those have made me as ready to jump over a desk and smack someone than the most problematic grad students.  Case in point would be last night, when a woman interrupted the professor at least a dozen times.  We were doing spatial network analysis, which for lack of motivation to describe it I’ll just describe as hard.  This student alternated between berating the professor for their lack of comprehension and interrupting to point out mistakes.  I’m sorry, but if you aren’t following the material, you have no place cutting off someone with a doctorate to inform everyone that the typical speed limit on residential roads in 25 mph, not 35.

As long as I’m bitching….I am in two ideologically opposite degree programs.  Environmental Studies and Economics.  Ying and Yang.  Treehuggers and greedy capitalists.  It amazes me the blind faith people have that their point of view is correct and anything opposing is ludicrous, as are the people holding that point of view.  If you ever want to get open-mouth stares, try explaining to an ecosystem science class that economic factors do protect the environment when used properly, or to an international trade class that the resource limits in combination with “Dutch Disease” can make trade bad for a developing economy.  Its quite amusing.

I feel better now.  I think I’ll eat some cereal.