More Environmentalism

The article I wrote for www.irunfar.com that was published recently has catalyzed a highly energetic response. Nearly 70 comments, from people ranging across the board on issues and ideals, have been posted that hotly debate the issue of environmentalism in the lives of ultrarunners and of regular people. From my perspective, this has been a huge success.

In Ayn Rand'sThe Fountainhead, Howard Roark is the idealistic young innovator, pushing the boundaries of what society is willing to accept. Standing in stark opposition to him is Ellsworth Toohey, who is a writer of high esteem in the world of architecture, in which the book is set. For much of the story, which spans a lifetime, Toohey refuses to mention Roark in his writing even in passing, and finally explains the lack of action by saying that anything written about Roark legitimizes Roark. Whether or not the press is good, the attention casts Toohey's enemy into the spotlight and makes him stand out as someone worth paying attention to. As a result, Toohey refuses to acknowledge Roark's existence, and is thus highly successful in hindering Roark's work.

The issue of environmentalism can stand as the Roark in our world today. It is relatively new and drastically different from the way we live. It challenges social norms by asking people to change their ways to accommodate a healthier environment, and no matter how the statement is phrased, telling people to change is essentially the same as telling people they are wrong. As we all know, nobody likes to be told they are wrong, and so many times a barrier is erected against environmentalism that is nearly impossible to dislodge. So what's the answer? Nobody knows, but one strategy is to raise awareness of issues. Articles like mine serve two major purposes: they contribute to environmental causes becoming the norm, and not the exception; and they create public dialogues that keep the issue in the forefront of people's minds. By providing publicity to these issues writers are able to legitimize them and therefore make them important and worthwhile to pay attention to.

The intense debates that were waged in the comments of my article proved that people care about the issue. Such fierce opinions are not formed overnight, and this shows that a lot of people are highly invested in the topic. Obviously everyone feels differently, but this disagreement is wonderful. I urge you to scrutinize everything that I said in the article and do your best to prove me wrong - not because I'm uberconfident I'm right but because it will keep you thinking about the issue. There's no way I could have included every good thing to do for the planet, but the ensuing dialogue pointed out so many things I would have missed even if the article was doubled in length. The power of people working together - arguing together - is what brings about change (which is one thing Ayn Rand would have disagreed with). The comments are no longer even directly connected to my article. They have morphed into a conversation of their own showcasing everyone's differing beliefs, all of which are valid. The sheer amount of facts posed by readers could be compiled into a pretty impressive catalog of environmentalism, and every one of them was amply supported by strong reasoning. The power of the conversation is in its ability to make people think hard about an issue and not merely defend themselves but prove themselves. Don't just say something is good for the planet - show us! One successful action can bring about countless others, and all change has to start somewhere.

I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said before. But the repetition is what matters. The important thing is to keep the important issues in the forefront of the public mind, and therefore keep them legitimate and worthwhile. The environment is one of those issues. I will keep writing about them if people will keep arguing about them. I know change isn't going to happen quickly in any lifetime, and especially not the kind of broad change that will be required to save the environment. But ultrarunnning is a good place to start because we all have a deep respect for the land already. We can clean up our act pretty easily when compared to most people in the world, and if some of people can do it why can't everybody? As for the conversation stemming from my article, I agreed with some of it and disagreed with others of it, but I welcome all of it. The scope of the topic was expanded exponentially by the reader's participation, which created a much more compelling story than the article itself presented. The comments became the real truth in that situation, because they showed what people think; the people who are part of a larger whole that will be required to make changes. We're all part of that larger whole, and we have the ability to make the necessary changes.