How can lack of awareness cause environmental problems?
Answers
Answer: Since Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring brought environmental concerns to the public eye in 1962, there has been a steadily increasing awareness of humanity’s many unsustainable practices. Despite this increased awareness, though, most people still take little to no action toward having an environmentally sustainable lifestyle.
There are many diverse reasons that people are not living eco-friendly lives. Some people are simply unaware of the environmental crisis, for example, and others don’t believe that environmental issues such as climate change are actually the fault of human action. These people are merely lacking information and may convert to sustainable practices if they are shown the truth.
More worrisome are those who are fully aware of the human impact on the environment, and still take no reparative action. They largely fall into four main camps, which I have designated the Apathetic, the Despairing Individual, the Patiently Hopeful, and the Passive Activist.
The Apathetic are those who are familiar with the damage that humanity is doing to the Earth, but honestly don’t care. They may be nihilists, who think that nothing matters—why worry about the Earth when everything is meaningless? Or, they may think that they will not see significant negative consequences in their lifetime, and argue that it’s not their problem. People in this category will need a drastic change in their worldview before they support the environmental cause.
The Despairing Individual is the one who sees the enormous magnitude of the environmental crisis, and is overwhelmed by its scope. They believe that their individual efforts will make no difference, so they don’t bother putting any effort in. These people need to watch or read Cloud Atlas, for it words this so well: “My life amounts to no more than one drop in a limitless ocean. Yet what is any ocean, but a multitude of drops?” These people need to realize that they do not live in a vacuum. Though they are individuals, they are also part of a community, of a society, and of a species. Individually we can do very little, but together we can change the world.
Environmental Inactivism 2