Am I a Hippie or a Hypocrite?

You can never win as an environmentalist.

Let me rephrase that. As an environmentalist you will constantly have to explain to others what you do and why you do it and even after that conversation some people just won't understand anything you just told them.

Allow me to explain.  I was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska with two parents who had grown up on Nebraskan farms.  In elementary school we were encouraged to play outside and plant trees.  In fact, Earth Day was this adorable celebration where kids professed their love of nature by drawing smiling earths.

But since those early years, I've lost whatever it was that made my love of nature so "cute."  Especially in college, I'm seen as a radical liberal idealist who hates capitalism and wants to destroy the economy.  (I'm speaking for myself, but I'm sure a few of you can relate to this)  Crazy as this sounds, I don't want to destroy America.  If anything, I want to preserve it so my kids can experience the same Rocky Mountains and Nebraskan prairies.  

Another issue you face as an environmentalist is the constant criticism of being a "hypocrite."  Here are a few examples of what I mean by this:

• "You drove to this rally on climate change?"
• "You eat meat?"
• "You know it's impossible to completely eradicate fossil fuels?"
• "Did you know the clothes you're wearing are made out of petrochemicals?" 

Okay I've never gotten that last one before, but it's comments like this that others use to make us feel bad about ourselves.  Literally, these people see you doing something altruistic and instead of minding their own business they MUST say something.  I compare these people to anyone who watches football and criticizes a play while they down a 6-pack of beer.  They aren't contributing anything to this football team by pointing out flaws, in fact most of them are not even close to the athleticism that these players have worked for.

I promise that will forever be my last football analogy.

But to answer these questions, the best thing you can do as a beginning environmentalist is to not allow these words to have weight.  So let's answer some of them together:

• "Yes I drove to this rally, but it was across town and I wanted to make sure I could represent my ideas by being in attendance.  I also carpooled, with some friends in order to have less cars on the road.  We currently live in a society (especially in Nebraska) where cars are the main form of transportation.  It is events like these that are pushing for more alternative choices to transportation.  If our city planners listen to us, who knows?  Maybe in the future I'll take the light rail here."

And that's the point of my blog.  Solidarity.  Solidarity for us activist who get discouraged, whether it's because our parents don't understand us or we can't find those individuals like us in Nebraska.  "Intro to Tree-Hugging in NE" will show you where and when events are happening, along with some commentary by yours truly on my experiences here in Nebraska.

As an environmentalist you can't win.  But you can at least play a part in changing the world.



Upcoming Events:

10/2/2014       7pm in Centennial Room in UNL Union     Rock Bottom Resource Extraction Art