Hello everyone, I am Jean, don’t hesitate to check my profile to know more about me.
So why come here to write about environmentalism?
My interest for ecology started long before I knew about environmentalism. Let’s say what is commonly called environmentalism. The meaning, you’ll see, is not that clear, and can be seen in a totally different way by different groups of people.
For example, I have been a “radical environmentalist”. When you read that you probably think “Rainbow warrior”, but no. I was pursuing a purity of engagement and I ended up living in the forest for 3 years trying to have zero impact on the environment. It’s a different approach but motivated by the same concern about the relationship between Human Being and Planet Earth.
Me (on the left) in 2008 during the collective work for building my straw-bale house. Looking at the clothes we wear and the objects we use I realised I cannot escape the World
I have changed my approach many times. My journey is a long one, and taught me two main things:
- The environment we live in is seriously damaged and there is no way backward
- There is no perfect solution to the situation we’re in, only compromises
The meaning of ‘perfect’ could be a topic in itself as it is a HUGE concept for human beings. Focusing on the environment we can narrow it down with the question:
“What results are we trying to achieve?”
Which is exactly what institutions do, they do statistics, they set goals in numbers, like “cars should emit 35 g of CO2/Km maximum by 2023.”
Personally I could not help asking the question in that way:
“What is the final goal?” Oh! Wait!That doesn’t narrow down, that opens up a lot! 😂
Nuclear power plant in Cruas (France) Source: Wikimedia Commons
Being radical and having absolute ideas led me to an intellectual dead end. After bumping so many times on the wall of confrontation I learned that, like in REAL science, we should approach a problem willing to create the best questions possible (hypothesis), and come out with probabilities (deductions).
Having that in mind I propose to review through a series of articles, different solutions offered by the institutional ecology to environmental issues. In the coming weeks I will be writing about:
- The all-electric
impossiblechallenging future - Hand-dryer, paper tissue or cotton towel? Ecological dilemma in the lavatories
- The bio degradable plastic bag which is not really degradable
- The pressure on individuals VS the latitude of big companies
- Renouncing the traditional way of life for a scientific technological new world.
... and more
I love interaction, so I am really looking forward to your comments. Don't hesitate to question, I am open to debate :)