The Suze

I was reading an article by David Suzuki today. In the article it seems like he is struggling with the problem of how his enviromentalism makes todays world seem so much worse than the world that he grew up in. Here's his conclusion:

"Have I become a grumpy old man who sees only the past as wonderful and decries the modern? I don’t think so, but I mourn the time when nature was still rich. I know we can’t change the past, but together we can create a brighter future for our children and grandchildren. We know where the problems lie, and science offers many solutions. Now it’s time for action. If I’ve learned one lesson in my 73 years, it’s that everyone, including those in government and business, must pitch in if we want to change things for the better."

Suze puts together a noble article. What he is most worried about is that the future world will be unlivable for his grandchildren, and his grandchildren's-grandchildren. He looks back at the world when he was a child and his ability to drink water right out of the stream, and he romantacizes this world as being better than today's world. Today's world has traded the ability to drink fresh stream water, for the ability to have seasonal chemical grown fruits and buy cell phones every year. For Suzuki, the 21st century is only about petty capitalistic treasures, while the 20th century was about cherishing the beauty of earth.

I am surprised by Suze's vision for the future. He still thinks that it is possible to achieve the change that will make this world a healthier place to live. He plans to achieve this by science and the government. This is where I think Suze goes wrong. He is still caught in the trap of the 20th century thinking that has got us trapped in enviromental devastation and has brought us the luxuries of plasma tv's and blu rays. This trap starts when one thinks that science holds the answer to saving the earth's problems. Many companies are investing in green technology. For example, all the major oil companies have branches of their company devoted to wind energy and other alternative energy sources. This is not done for a love of the earth, but is done instead because there is money to be made off of the growing sentiment of people who love the earth. So instead of drilling oil from the ground, we construct a million dollar wind turbine to use wind to power our homes. Hundreds of thousands of wind turbines would certainly cost a lot of money, and newer green technology could end up being the cornerstone of many failing economies around the world. And just like how many people think that they can buy their way to happinesss with blu rays and plasma screens, many people think that we can buy our way out of this enviromental crisis with green technology. Suzuki provides enviromental optism by suggesting that green science and green technology has a saving power.

In the end, there is nothing left but pessimism. The movie Wall-e becomes not a story of fear about our dismall future, but hope that human beings can still live in this universe even once they destroy earth.