Ten Complicated Things You Can Do To Save The Earth

Gregory C. Wilcox

Ten years ago, a little book called "50 Simple Things You Can Do To Save The Earth" was published. It was a major success, selling millions of copies. Lots of people made minor lifestyle changes, and we all breathed a little easier for it.

Well, now it's 1999. Experts (not the spokespeople for industry front groups, but real scientists) tell us that conditions on Earth are no better than they were then. In fact, sad to say, they're much worse. All the major environmental indicators—deforestation, species extinction, habitat loss, global warming, the ozone hole—are increasingly declining. And rapid population growth is exacerbating all these problems. The U.S. Census middle series projections predict that we'll add another 125 million people in this country by 2050. That is almost half again more than our present number of 270 million. At this rate, there soon won't be enough to go around—even for rich people. Water shortages will probably affect us first, although other commodities will probably follow.

If simple solutions ever were enough, they certainly aren't now. Most people sense this. Polls show that Americans strongly favor stricter environmental laws; they want something done about the problem. A 1997 CBS poll asked whether "environmental protection is so important that requirements and standards cannot be too high, and continuing environmental improvements must be made, regardless of cost". 60% of American adults said yes. And 84% of voters say that the environment is an important issue affecting their decisions for whom to vote, according to a 1998 election-eve poll conducted for the League of Conservation Voters.

But life goes on. The average person has more immediate concerns than the fate of the last 650 mountain gorillas, or overfishing off Georges' Bank, or even the worsening haze over the Smoky Mountains. Despairing of easy answers, people shrug their shoulders and live their lives as they always have.

But hey, wait a minute! Hold the phone, Jack! The game isn't over until it's over. The fat lady may be in the building, but she hasn't yet begun to warble. There are still things that can be done, should be done, must be done.

Unfortunately, these things are not quite so basic as recycling your grocery bags or replacing your showerhead. They take some money, some time, and even some soul-searching. The upside is that even as they complicate your life in some ways, they uncomplicate it in others. In general, they tap into the quest for simplicity that has become a national movement in these busy times.

So, with apologies to the author of "50 Simple Things You Can Do To Save The Earth", here are ten complicated things. We in Western North Carolina are fortunate in that this area facilitates most of them.