There was an interesting article in the August issue of Frontiers in
Ecology and the Environment that suggests ecologists have a much
larger carbon footprint than the average American, largely because of
air travel to meetings, field sites, etc.
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Casey terHorst
Ecology & Evolution Program
Department of Biological Science
Florida State University
319 Stadium Drive
King Life Science Building
Tallahassee, FL 32306-4295
terho...@bio.fsu.edu
Quoting "Kevin McCluney" <kevin.mcclu...@asu.edu>:
I recently attended the 2009 annual meeting of the Ecological Society of
America (ESA). The theme of this yearÂs meeting was sustainability. There
were many great talks on this subject and a few truly pessimistic ones. One
speaker proposed that human beings are, by our very nature, destined to
consume and reproduce as much as possible, and despite our best efforts,
this will lead to our own demise. During the same talk the speaker also
asked, Âwho is responsible? He answered his question by saying that we at
this conference are just as much a part of the problem as anyone else.
Is this true? I know I myself have taken many steps to lower my footprint
and many other ecologists have as well.
For instance, at last yearÂs ESA meeting in Milwaukee there was an
interesting occurrence at local restaurants. The first night of the
conference I had a really good veggie burger at one restaurant. I went back
later in the week for another. The waitress apologizedÂ
they were all out.
She went on to explain that the manager had heard our conference was coming
to town, so bought extra ahead of time, but ran out of those quickly anyway.
The manager then went to the local grocery store and bought more. But alas,
by the time I returned, they had run out of those as well. Further, when I
dine with friends at ESA meetings, I often find that more than half the
table orders vegetarian entrees.
Why does eating vegetarian matter so much? Modern, industrialized livestock
production is one of the more environmentally destructive human endeavors.
It contributes roughly one fifth of all our greenhouse gas emissions, more
than all cars, and these gases are major contributors to the rapid climate
change weÂre experiencing. Livestock production also may, in certain cases,
be leading to deforestation and destruction of important ecosystems, as well
as to pollution of rivers, lakes, and even oceans. In addition, we all know
that basic ecological principles hold that it takes less resources to raise
plant based food sources than meat based, since energy is lost as you move
up the food chain. Thus we can feed more people and use fewer resources on
a plant-based diet. All this caused the chairman of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change recently to proclaim that the best thing a person
could do to reduce their impact on climate change was to eat a more plant-
based diet.
My wife and I havenÂt stopped at eating low on the food chain. WeÂve also
joined community supported agriculture, where we buy a share of produce from
a local farm. The farmer gets upfront economic security and we get very
affordable, local, fresh organic produce. We pay just $18 per week for a
large bag of food. At this price we can afford to supplement our diet with
additional organic items from the grocery store.
WeÂve also taken a variety of other steps, from riding my bike to work, to
offsetting car and air travel through renewable energy from an independently
certified company, to buying 100% of our electricity from renewable sources
through our local utility for as little as $15 per month.
While we may not be reaching the small ecological footprint of those in many
third world countries, weÂve done our best to come in line with our
planetÂs
limits while maintaining a decent quality of life.
So, are ecologists just as much a part of the problem as everyone else? Are
all ecologists the same? What are the variety of lifestyle choices made by
ecologists? Not only would the answers to these questions provide a
response to the ESA presenter, but I think the answer would be interesting
to a wide audience. I propose that ESA conduct a poll of members, asking
questions about lifestyle choices and demographics, comparing ours to that
of the general public. If we are not different, this would be a bit of a
wake-up call. However, if we are different, then perhaps some of our
lifestyle choices would be informative to understanding how to achieve a
more sustainable society.
If there is one thing I learned from a cultural anthropology course I once
took, it was that there isnÂt just one right way to live. Human cultures
throughout the world are very diverse. But, from the inside of one culture
it is often very hard to see other ways to live. Let us not be trapped in
our culture, but seek a better understanding of all the ways of living, so
that we might find a more sustainable path.
--
Kevin E. McCluney
Graduate Student
School of Life Sciences
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ 85287-4601
