I went for an early morning walk along a favourite Atlantic coast beach in Florida the other week. The lapping waves, cool breeze and pristine sand always have such a calming effect on me. Not this time….I was overwhelmed with sadness…The day before we were informed that oil tar balls were washing up on the Florida’s Gulf coast. Depending on winds and current, it could also eventually make its way here as well.
Like so many of us I feel helpless and angry. I can’t watch the news feeds. My imagination is creating enough pictures in my mind…
He shares a compelling and hopeful perspective as he reflects upon the events that led up to the creation of Earth Day 40 years ago.
Krugman reminds us that Earth Day and Environmentalism began as a response to pollution that everyone could see. The spill in the Gulf is reminiscent of the 1969 oil spill that coated the beaches of Santa Barbara. It was also the year the Cuyahoga River, which flows through Cleveland, caught fire. Lake Erie was widely declared “dead,” its waters contaminated by algal blooms. And major U.S. cities — including Los Angeles — were often layered in thick unhealthy smog.
Yet there was a downside to this success story writes Krugman, “As visible pollution diminished, so did public concern over environmental issues“.
Now let’s fast forward to the present. Suddenly, environmental destruction is in the public view again. Will this spur people and legislation to action?
The catastrophe in the Gulf offers an opportunity for change. And if that happens, some Upsides may yet come of this ecological nightmare.
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Yes there is an upside to this oil gush catastrophe; and we will rally. But why do we have to wait until disaster is at our doorsteps before we we rally?