You see, there’s this couple and a child who live in New York City and they believe we are in the midst of a climate emergency, a global warming catastrophe, prompted by the wasteful living of man and his larger than necessary “carbon footprint”. They decided they needed to do something about it, so according to Kyle Drennen of News Busters, the couple turned off their electricity, stopped eating packaged food and gave up the toilet paper. Hmmmmmm!
What doesn’t get answered, at least in this one report, is what they substituted for “giving up toilet paper”. As laughable as the subject might seem, it is important to know these things for at least two basic reasons – what do you substitute that makes a smaller carbon footprint and health reasons. There was more than one reason old timers gave up on dried corn cobs.
It seems the couple underwent some pretty significant changes in their lifestyle and for that I have no problem. Good for them. The reasons they’re doing it might be a bit silly but we shouldn’t disregard the fact that there’s an awful lot of Americans these days who are learning how to survive without the modern conveniences, a skill worth killing for in some countries.
The Beavans rode bicycles and even stopped using the elevator for one year. They were most happy, it seems, about how healthy they were. But did they really do anything to stop the “climate emergency”?
Not everyone believes we are in an emergency with our climate, but that shouldn’t stop us from not being wasteful as well as doing what we can to clean up our planet along with the air we breathe. But here’s the rub as I see it.
In this television interview on CBS with Harry Smith, Smith asks the couple about how they “felt” about what they did.
BEAVAN: We weren’t saying anyone else should do it, but we – we discovered enormous joys and benefits by redesigning our lifestyle in a way that just wasn’t wasting and harmful to the planet either.
COLIN BEAVAN: And we discovered that, you know, there is a climate emergency happening and it is possible for us as citizens to actually take care and do-
SMITH: Did you feel like it made a difference?
Is it important that we “feel” like we are making a difference? Maybe it’s actually more important to know and understand the facts about just what making the sacrifice can do. Did Smith allude to any of that? No! Who cares if someone “feels” like they are making a difference. That’s bogus. The only thing that feeling has to do with this event is whether or not they felt like doing it. To do it because it makes one “feel” good is self-serving but hey, it plays right into the “all-about-me” culture we now live in.
So, Harry! Next time do a little research and ask the Beavan’s to explain how scientifically what they accomplished that contributed to the halting of their “climate crisis” and exactly what, if anything, getting 300 million people to give up toilet paper is going to accomplish.
Hint to Harry: Make sure you know the answer before you ask the guests though.
Tom Remington
