Environmentalism

We care deeply about the natural world, for both practical reasons (If we foul this planet up, where are we going to go? Mars? Yah right—Mars is Antarctica without breathable air.) and spiritual ones (It took 4 billion years to produce what we have now, with all its beauty. Do we really think we can do better?)

Kevin has a theory about the inversion of environmentalism, in that environmentalists are the least natural entities, while those who do not give the environment any consideration are actually more part of nature. Read About This Twisted Bit of Logic Here.

If you care about the environment, here are the five BIGGEST things you can do:

Join the political battle for the environment:
1. Support at least one environmental organization. Our favorite environmental organization is the League of Conservation Voters (LCV). Click on this link to Find Out Why LCV Is Our Favorite Group. Organizations that work to eliminate nuclear weapons, promote sustainable development, promote family planning, help alleviate poverty overseas, and/or promote global justice also help the environment.
2. Support political candidates with good environmental records. To learn how your representatives rate, go to the LCV scorecard page.
3. Write your congresspeople and, where applicable, your state reps and others on environemental issues. There are lots of issues, from raising the gas tax to regulating genetically engineered foods. One good way to stay abreast of what issues to write about is to join an email activist network such as that of the Sierra Club To find out who your congresspeople are, go to www.congress.org. If you live in Massachusetts and want to find out who your state senator and state representative are, Follow this Link to a search form provided by the Secretary of State.
4. A great page to visit is the Save Our Environment Action Center, a website maintained by a coalition of good environmental organizations (including our favorite, LCV). This website is a fast, easy way for you to send email on timely environemental issues to the appropriate people.
Adopt a plant-based diet. (The automobile and eating meat were listed respectively as the #1 and #2 most destructive activities done by people according to the Worldwatch Institute's State of the World Report. It is much easier to stop eating meat than to stop using a car.) Reduce your consumption of animal products, ideally to zero (it’s good for your health, too). See our Vegetarian Page for more information and great links.
If you can drive less, do so. Assuming you need to drive, particularly if you drive a good amount, make the next car you buy one good gas mileage. Hybrid cars (gas/electric motors) like the Honda Insight, the Honda Civic Hybrid, or the Toyota Prius are the best in regards to mileage, as well as being all-around cool. (Note: those are the three hybrids currently available. We are still driving our old VW Passat, which gets a somewhat respectable 30 mpg, until it wears out. We don't drive much anyhow, as Deb gets to work by subway or bicycle, while Kevin rides his bicycle April-October.) On a lighter note, you can read some of our "award winning" Anti-SUV Haiku Poetry.
On the subject of driving, did you know that AAA lobbies the government against better fuel economy, and in favor of more roads/sprawl? If you want a group that will tow your car in emergencies, but does not actively lobby against the planet, check out Better World Club and cancel your AAA membership (and ideally tell them why you are doing so). We did.
Do not simply buy the largest house you can afford. The amount of materials you will save over your life by recycling your newspapers and cans will not be as much as the extra stuff you use to get a huge house. In a similar vein, live somewhere where you won't have to drive long distances on a daily basis.
Don’t have more kids than you really want, and consider adoption.

Other groups which we support:

Council for a Livable World - An organization similar to the League of Conservation Voters in tactics, but whose focus is on the reduction and ultimate abolition of nuclear weapons. Even the worst Global Warming scenarios pale in significance to the environmental, and human, consequences of full-scale nuclear war.

Save the Children - We sponsor two children. Once or twice a year we get little notes from them, and similarly can write. Save the Children works with villages in the Third World, helping them construct schools, wells, and other necessities as well as providing medical care and helping them secure their livelihood.

COEJL The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life – A nationwide Jewish organiztion, dedicated to exploring the connection between Judaism and environmental consciousness, and putting this into practice through concrete actions. The Boston Chapter does fun, informative events and is also a great group of people.

Planned Parenthood - Fights for reproductive freedom domestically and internationally, and provides services along those lines.

Cape Wind - a company that wants to build a huge wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod. (There are some offshore wind farms in Europe; this would be the first in America.) This would supply as much electricity as a large power plant, with zero emissions and minimal environmental impact. Bizarrely enough, some people would rather breathe lousy air rather than have their view blocked by windmills, so Cape Wind asks for the public's help in writing officials to help them get the needed permits. Lots of information on their website.

Kevin keeps a diary on the popular political blog Daily Kos and has done a 5-piece series of postings based on how congresspeople were rated by the League of Conservation Voters. Feel free to take a look! The five entries are:

Also see our Vegetarian Page for more links.

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