Lifestyle and Leisure
Going green
Gone are the times when scientists remained divided on the subject of global warming: we now know that it is one of the biggest issues that confronts us today.
Even here in the UK we're facing the floods and the erratic weather that are the direct consequences of climate change, reports Hanna Lindon – and if you're emigrating to the USA you could find yourself even more directly affected.
America is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world – but the country hasn't escaped the effects of global warming. The early warning signs of global warming in the US have included heat waves in Florida, record temperatures in New York City, melting glaciers in Montana, rising sea levels and disappearing beaches in Hawaii, early river thawing in Alaska, lack of rainfall in Texas, forest fires across America and disappearing insects and wildlife in California. If gas emissions are not cut over the next few years, these symptoms could increase in severity. As far as the environment is concerned, emigration is a costly business. From the carbon costs of a research trip to the packaging used in removal, you could find yourself arriving in the USA with a considerable carbon footprint. However, at every stage of the process there are things that you can do to ease your green conscience – and that is where this column comes in. During the next twelve months, I will be using this column to inform you on all things green; from news on cutting edge developments to advice on how to make your life abroad ecologically friendly. But before I start on the 'how' of making your lifestyle greener, there's an even more important issue to deal with: why bother?
Let's play devils advocate for a moment. It's true, of course, that you can limit your carbon footprint by becoming a 'green' emigrant. It's even true that if every emigrant decided to go green it would have a positive impact on the phenomenon of global warming. But can one individual really make a difference to the future of our planet by altering their emigration plans? Unlikely. This view point could be characterised as a sort of environmental nihilism. Adherents point out that one individual can't make a difference, that it's probably pointless to inconvenience yourself for an empty cause, and that it is governments and companies rather than single people who should be addressing environmental issues. What's more, the traditional argument against this position – that if everybody thought like that climate warming would accelerate – is simply unsatisfying. There is another way of seeing the question, however, that brings it into sharp relief – and to explain it I'm going to take the example of vegetarianism.
Personally, I don't eat meat. It's a moral choice – I believe that killing animals is simply wrong, and that's all there is to it. But the fact that I have chosen to be vegetarian doesn't mean that there are less animals dying. In the UK alone, thousands of cows, pigs and sheep go under the butchers knife every day to feed a hungry populace. One individual's forgoing meat isn't going to make a modicum of difference. I know this, and still I choose to be vegetarian – why? The answer is obvious. I believe that eating meat is wrong therefore I won't do it – just as I believe murder is wrong and therefore don't routinely go around killing people. What effect my small acts have in the general scheme of things doesn't make any difference to that ethical position. And exactly the same arguments apply to a 'green lifestyle'. To live unthinkingly, without considering the ecological and social implications of your actions, simply isn't right. It doesn't matter what other people are doing – living a green lifestyle is a personal moral choice, and that's all there is to it.
Emigration is one of the biggest things you will ever do in your life, and if you can use the experience to transform your lifestyle in other ways then it will undoubtedly be even more positive. So, if you're the kind of person who throws plastic in the bin and always takes the car rather than walking, perhaps now is the time to reconsider your habits.
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