Sedao's Insight

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Greening America

I have started reading a book titled Hot Flat and Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman which is a very interesting book and it got me thinking.  It made me feel sorrow for the world we all live in.  In this current era that we are in America isn’t improving in the energy sector and everywhere else in the world they are catching up to America.  Also because of how America was created and carried on it has given the rest of the world a template to follow to gain economic success however the cost of this success is a huge detriment to the environment.  The thing is it isn’t the rest of the world’s fault for spilling out CO2 and building huge skyscrapers and mcmansions because that is what is known to show off success based on how Americans show off their success.

You see this as Friedman calls it Americums popping up everywhere.  An Americum is exactly what I stated huge buildings, fast food, and excessive usage of carbon.  With America trying to rid itself of itself other countries are adopting our past ways so that they can gain the success of what they think is successful.  These Americums are America’s retarded babies because rather than making a difference and a change to thinking they followed the path of America where in America it is okay to have an automobile that gets 10mpg, where it is okay to pour a pound of grease on your food, and build a 15,000 square foot house for a family of three.  Their reasoning for this is not wrong because this is exactly what America does and America in the world is the be all to end all.  Everyone wants to be like America and since as Americans we glorify these techniques everyone wants to grasp at that success, copy it and become exactly that.  However in this current era this kind of thinking will only destroy us, us as people around the globe.

I am calling to action everyone because as people we need to save this planet because as of now we have nowhere else to go.  We have a very gloom future as a race.  We soon might become like the baiji which is not a species but a genus and it is now extinct.  Because of carelessness we might kill ourselves off.  Global warming is a fact and the earth’s surface is heating up which is due to all the gases that are being emitted into the ozone.  The blanket which is protecting us at the moment will soon become more like a comforter and eventually heat us up so much that it will kill us.  What options do we have? We can change the way we think. In America it needs to start at a greater rate because if America shows the rest of the world that alternative energy can be economically successful and be environmentally safe then the rest of the world will follow.

America can make this change too.  If the big oil companies would stop harping on the government to keep oil America could have changed years ago.  But everyone loved their hummer and co2 produced products so the government kept all the cool toys rather than inventing new ones.  America needs to place a building code nationwide so that people can’t have these extravagant style homes with a carbon footprint of a small country.  Besides nobody needs that big of a home.  If a house is built efficiently, a family of three even four can live in a 1500 sqft home.  Why would that same family need to live in a home that is ten times bigger?  Also why as Americans do we glorify fast food? It isn’t healthy what so ever, it might be cheap but so is an apple.  This is something that can be done that could change the way people live in a positive manner.  America needs to start inventing renewable energy technology.  It not only is the way of the future, but it makes a positive impact on the world.  With the resources that America has it can make the best technology known to earth.  Rather than relying on the Middle East whose ideals we don’t even believe in America can build its own energy so that now we can energy independent.

As an American it angers me that this is the era we are in.  Because of politics our planet is being ruined because big oil is ruling the government.  With government keeping taxes low on oil, and technology isn’t being improved for the automobile, the earth is suffering and the people are becoming more and more ignorant to the effect they are having on the planet.  Now America is trying to rush the automobile tech. front to catch up with the rest of the world when America in essence is at fault for causing the slowdown of automobile tech for limiting the taxes and letting the oil companies to sell cheaply and then the big car companies to build their hummers.  Now the car companies complain to the government why they aren’t succeeding, but because of their lobbying caused all the commotion of low mpg, big cars, and more power.

The earth is invaluable because it is the only one we have.  I hate being a user, I hate using people and I hate using the earth.  But that is what I am, that is what people are.  However there is something I can do and the rest of the world can do.  We can use less!  There isn’t any way the humans will stop sucking off the earth but instead of making a negative impact why not make the impact we make on the earth as positive as possible.  America needs to step up to the plate and swing instead of cowering in the shadows of the rich sorry for the baseball pun but that is America’s sport.

So if you haven’t already signed up for the LEED v2.2 test you are out of luck.

Now it is up to us that want to be better than everyone and become LEED v3 test takers.  I am starting to study and want to take the test in a month or so.  My goal is to get it before my 24th birthday.  Any ideas?

Did anybody watch Majora Carter talk about Greening the Ghetto? If not here you go http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/majora_carter_s_tale_of_urban_renewal.html.  It is so moving.  She is doing the right thing and everyone should follow her footsteps.