As laughter fills the classroom and the daily chatter of adolescence begins, junior Carissa Chavarria can’t take her mind off of what she considers a more important matter at hand.
In the midst of a consumerized world preoccupied with the happenings of celebrity figures, junior Carissa Chavarria finds herself worrying over the fate of the environment more often than the average teenager. While she does her best to spread awareness for something she cares deeply about, the world around her seems to pay little notice.
“It’s very important to me since my uncle works for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and that family connection got me interested,” Chavarria said. “I think it’s one of the most important issues we all face.”
The direness that Chavarria paints does not base itself on emotion, but rather coincides with scientific research. Nonetheless, while we pump out a record-breaking amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, environmentally friendly action remains low.
“They don’t think it’s going to affect them,” Chavarria said. “People are too self-centered.”
Indeed, a collective sense of selfishness represents just one motive for why we don’t care enough about the environment. On the other hand, research suggests that the way we talk about the environment in itself contributes to our apathetic attitude. We often give a voice to sides of the debate that have no real scientific backing, like the idea that the current global warming trends coincide with a natural cycle. We also tend to explore worst-case scenarios, like the outright extinction of humans, more than we explore the positive, best-case scenario of a zero-carbon emissions society. Ms. Michelle Fagan, Legacy’s Environmental Club sponsor, agrees that the nature of discourse surrounding this topic causes some problems.
“That negative type of discussion polarizes people,” Ms. Fagan said. “Instead of focusing on solutions, they focus on the argument.”
While discussion distracts us from taking action, other barriers also stop us from doing what we can to protect our environment. The simple lack of awareness of environmental issues makes it difficult for any type of response to take root.
“People are just too ignorant,” Chavarria said. “And I don’t think they’ll be interested until something bad happens.”
Waiting around until catastrophe strikes not only further discourages an already shaky ground for consideration, but also creates a disconnect between people and the issue of nature’s survival altogether.
“Kids need to be educated and aware,” Ms. Fagan said. “People think that we are independent from nature when we’re not.”
This relationship between man and nature will prove essential if we are to truly take actions to protect our planet’s sustainability. Experts agree that pinning all of our hopes on things like technology to come and save us — as proponents of technological-utopianism suggest — does not represent a reliable solution to our environmental woes. Such human problems must be solved by human hands, Ms. Fagan suggests.
“Technology has solved a lot of our problems,” Ms. Fagan said. “But human individuals need to realize they can make a change.”
Before any action can take place, Ms. Fagan believes that the coiled excuse of ignorance must be shed from the minds of the masses.
“Awareness is the first step,” Ms. Fagan said. “Every young American needs to be aware of how interconnected we are with the environment.”
