The Environment Talk

  Earlier in my Environmental Politics course, we often talked about what stage should this "Environmental Talk" be occuring at; whether it was a conversation that should be held by large-scale governments, or whether it is something that should be addressed in local communities.
  I always found it funny that whenever posed with these questions, I would be the only student advocating for the 'All of the Above' answer choice. To me, it's the obvious answer choice. But many (not only my classmates) seem to unintentionally pick one method, not realizing that by doing that, they are only tackling a portion of the problem.
  So yes, I am a fence-rider. But what I'm telling you today is that straddling that fence is the way to go.
  Whenever this topic comes up, I always bring up two other topics to support my reasoning: safe sex and tobacco use.
  Those who really know me will roll their eyes at my initial introduction of the comparison to safe sex (because 2 times out of 5, I somehow manage to bring sex into any conversation; and although 2/5 doesn't sound like a big number, TRUST ME, it's way more often than typical person will do it). But once I explain where I'm coming from, they go, "Huh. That makes more sense than it should."
  There was once a time where sex was not something to be spoken of ever, talk less safe sex. But once STIs started making their rounds, and HIV became a familiar and understood concept, it became clear that something needed to be done. And because the probability of stopping people from having sex was almost nil, the next best route was taken: education about safe sex.
  Now, in the 21st century, safe sex culture is something that is synchronized with society here in the US. Sex Education is something taught regularly in schools across the nation, and is a conversation that takes place for many at home. The question now-a-days isn't "Do you use condoms?", but "Why aren't you using a condom?" And screenings for HIV and other STIs are readily available to individuals without much stigma attached to them anymore.
  So how did such a massive culture change manage to happen over a mere number of decades? Multilevel action, that's how. Not only did governments of all levels come together to create a method of attack, but communities also took it upon themselves to educate their members. It even managed to trickle down to the household level, where parents were encouraged to have this conversation with their teens. It took a combined approach from all of these areas to make safe sex into something that is a ubiquitous part of our society.
  This similar approach has been taken in the recent millennium towards tobacco usage. It is hard to believe that there was a time that doctors were recommending cigarettes to their patients. However, as time went on and science came to show how harmful nicotine and tobacco are for our health, a movement started towards the denouncement of tobacco use. Government began putting strict regulations on tobacco companies. Smoking turned into a prohibited practice in and around many buildings and facilities. Laws have been passed making it more difficult for individuals to obtain tobacco products, specifically minors. Today, some states have even imposed massive taxes on tobacco products, which is basically their way of saying 'So we all know that tobacco is bad for you, but since we can't make it illegal, we are going to tax the hell out of it, so when you choose to buy it anyways, you are not only shaving time off of your own life span, but you're also paying up for the adverse effects that you're carelessly exposing others to. Bitch.'
  It's interesting to think that it has penetrated down to the individual level so much, that you could readily hear, "I walked into his apartment and it reeked of cigarette smoke. Total turn-off." (Imagine! People are inadvertently cock-blocking themselves!)
  It can again be seen in this phenomenon how multi-level collaboration towards a common goal is the best approach to combating any massive issue...like environmental issues.
  So what am I calling for here today? I want us to embark on having "The Talk"--The Environmental Talk--on a global level. We need country leader to be meeting consistently talking about reducing carbon outputs. We need scientist to be more aggressive about expanding the data to all people and saying 'Global climate change is real, and it is happening!"We need governments to be buckling down on industries about their effects on Earth's ecosystems. We need the car industry to develop more hybrid cars, and make them appeal to consumers. We need schools talking about this, educating the coming generations about the state of the environment (because let's face it; those people up in Congress aren't going to be alive to be dealing with the real "heat" of global climate change--WE ARE). We need communities fostering recycling. We need the big dogs in D.C. letting us little people know what we can do to reduce our carbon footprints, and providing mechanisms and opportunities for us to do so.
  WE NEED EVERYBODY, on the same page, on the same side, and ready to fight the same fight.
  Thanks for reading.