desertangel
10-16-2005, 08:09 PM
This is the latest A in the Jana Q&A over at The Nicksfix:
(I'm not exactly a "bleeding heart liberal" but I do have two grandkids who have caused me to share almost identical views as Jana with regard to ecology and politics.)
Hi Bridget. Thank you for your comments and recommendations. I’m not asking to be political or religious in any of these answers, for those of you concerned. I’m answering questions honestly and with great care and it is surprising to me that I have ANY political answers. Being a singer, I’m not the first person people have ever come to and asked such heavy political questions about Africa, the music business, or about Christianity. ;) I’ve thought about these issues often all along, but this is the first forum where I’ve ACCIDENTALLY written on these subjects. When I agreed to answer these questions, I sincerely believed people would only ask about Stevie and the tour. But I’ll keep answering until it seems like I shouldn’t.
As far as our consumption of resources and our carelessness with pollution, it all comes down to money and discipline. If someone, a company, or the government is benefiting monetarily from something that is negative to our health, it will continue. MONEY CONTROLS MOST DECISIONS. I give cigarettes as my biggest example. Being in a smokey bar if you are a non-smoker is equivalent to smoking 4 cigarettes in a two hour time frame. If the cigarette companies have gotten by with this and their profit for so long with it’s proven health crisis, even for nonsmokers, what’s to stop the world from wasting and polluting in other areas that don’t have surgeon general warnings posted on them? Even the warning of death, by law, will not stop it if it is profiting greatly. I worked with a woman who has never even tried a cigarette, and the health insurance companies wouldn’t give her insurance because she had the lungs of a smoker. She worked in a bar.
If it was proven that we would all get cancer and die within a week from the pollution created by consumption, the government would shut these places down immediately the way they were able to shut down all air travel during the week of 9-11. It seems as though there are so many issues, that the people in charge of making the decisions only have enough time, care, finances, or help to handle the emergency issues, much like a heart attack victim in the emergency room moving to the front of the line over someone who needs stitches or has bronchitis. I have no idea how to handle it except that it starts with our individual lives.
As horrible and frustrating as the gas prices are, what would happen to the air quality if we all drove hybrid cars? What if SUV’s, buses, semi’s and every vehicle and airplane had some sort of healthier fuel option? I’m way out of my realm, but these are the things I think about. Maybe the financial responsibility will move us into another healthier world with less pollution. The profits the oil tycoons are gaining are beyond unethical. And there is nothing we can do about it because most of us need vehicles to get to work. Is there someone, some leader with enough power to put a ceiling on the cost of fuel? These high gas prices are putting airlines and many businesses that rely on fuel to go into so much debt, that it’s seriously adding to their need to file for bankruptcy. And what will your food cost at the grocery store, your clothes, and everything else that is moved to your cities with these high gas prices?
I think we all need to recycle whenever possible. I also think we need to waste less. Shortsightedness is dangerous to our air quality, our safety, and our health. If you believe IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU, your families, and your children’s children, then maybe making it personal will make it real. And if it becomes real in your heart, change will begin at home, and the domino effect will change the world for the better for all generations to come.
(I'm not exactly a "bleeding heart liberal" but I do have two grandkids who have caused me to share almost identical views as Jana with regard to ecology and politics.)
Hi Bridget. Thank you for your comments and recommendations. I’m not asking to be political or religious in any of these answers, for those of you concerned. I’m answering questions honestly and with great care and it is surprising to me that I have ANY political answers. Being a singer, I’m not the first person people have ever come to and asked such heavy political questions about Africa, the music business, or about Christianity. ;) I’ve thought about these issues often all along, but this is the first forum where I’ve ACCIDENTALLY written on these subjects. When I agreed to answer these questions, I sincerely believed people would only ask about Stevie and the tour. But I’ll keep answering until it seems like I shouldn’t.
As far as our consumption of resources and our carelessness with pollution, it all comes down to money and discipline. If someone, a company, or the government is benefiting monetarily from something that is negative to our health, it will continue. MONEY CONTROLS MOST DECISIONS. I give cigarettes as my biggest example. Being in a smokey bar if you are a non-smoker is equivalent to smoking 4 cigarettes in a two hour time frame. If the cigarette companies have gotten by with this and their profit for so long with it’s proven health crisis, even for nonsmokers, what’s to stop the world from wasting and polluting in other areas that don’t have surgeon general warnings posted on them? Even the warning of death, by law, will not stop it if it is profiting greatly. I worked with a woman who has never even tried a cigarette, and the health insurance companies wouldn’t give her insurance because she had the lungs of a smoker. She worked in a bar.
If it was proven that we would all get cancer and die within a week from the pollution created by consumption, the government would shut these places down immediately the way they were able to shut down all air travel during the week of 9-11. It seems as though there are so many issues, that the people in charge of making the decisions only have enough time, care, finances, or help to handle the emergency issues, much like a heart attack victim in the emergency room moving to the front of the line over someone who needs stitches or has bronchitis. I have no idea how to handle it except that it starts with our individual lives.
As horrible and frustrating as the gas prices are, what would happen to the air quality if we all drove hybrid cars? What if SUV’s, buses, semi’s and every vehicle and airplane had some sort of healthier fuel option? I’m way out of my realm, but these are the things I think about. Maybe the financial responsibility will move us into another healthier world with less pollution. The profits the oil tycoons are gaining are beyond unethical. And there is nothing we can do about it because most of us need vehicles to get to work. Is there someone, some leader with enough power to put a ceiling on the cost of fuel? These high gas prices are putting airlines and many businesses that rely on fuel to go into so much debt, that it’s seriously adding to their need to file for bankruptcy. And what will your food cost at the grocery store, your clothes, and everything else that is moved to your cities with these high gas prices?
I think we all need to recycle whenever possible. I also think we need to waste less. Shortsightedness is dangerous to our air quality, our safety, and our health. If you believe IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU, your families, and your children’s children, then maybe making it personal will make it real. And if it becomes real in your heart, change will begin at home, and the domino effect will change the world for the better for all generations to come.