Stop! Don’t throw your bottle in the trash. Find a recycling bin.
A monologue of this sort has probably occurred inside your head at least once. You’ve read the little blue and green Sustainable Duke slogans plastered on walls and doors throughout campus – “Join the Dark Side,” “Don’t get caught turned on,” and other phrases that can be perceived with a subtle innuendo. This campaign encourages students to “Bleed Blue, Live Green,” to create a more sustainable campus. But this begs the question, how do we perceive sustainability? And are we truly “living green” by turning off the faucet while brushing our teeth and recycling plastic water bottles?
While I commend any “green” projects for their efforts to reduce humans’ impact on Nature, I challenge Duke’s student body to think about being “green” from different perspectives. This semester I completed an undergraduate course taught by Catherine Walsh, visiting professor from Ecuador. The course was titled Spanish 131: Buen Vivir and the Rights of Nature. Little did I know upon entering the class class that it would focus so in-depth on environmental issues pertinent not only to South America but the world. I entered the class with common Western preconceptions of humans’ place in Nature and how to live the “good life.” Upon completion of the course, it destabilized many of these Western paradigms and my very conception of the “good life.”
Rather than living well on Earth, the indigenous people of the Andean region promote living well with Earth (part of buen vivir, or “living well”). And yes, the preposition makes all the difference. Think about it. Living on Nature implies human superiority and priority before all other life on Earth (including Mother Nature herself). But this very conception of superiority, working for humanistic needs without full consideration for the consequences of our actions, has led to devastating manmade dilemmas. Among others, these include climatic changes, abuse of world resources, issues of water and food production, and an energy crisis.
As part of the college demographic, resources and opportunities abound for us Duke students to make a difference in North Carolina. As part of living with Nature rather than on it, we should consider not only our impact on the environment but the environment’s impact on us – it’s a two-way street. We depend on Nature for survival, so it’s important for us to understand the tensions and harmonies between us and Mother Earth, of which we are a part. In a poll of 61 students, nearly half (46%) said they did not know what hydraulic fracturing (commonly referred to as “fracking”) was. And, assuming the majority of respondents are Duke students living in Durham during the academic year, they should.
Fracking has caused a roaring debate in North Carolina just this past year. A process involving high-pressure injection of water and chemicals underground to crack the underlying rocks, it is used to release and obtain natural gas from the Earth. Fracking is currently being considered for legalization in North Carolina. The process has already been implemented in several states, including Pennsylvania and Texas. Some proponents of this gas extraction method believe natural gas is cleaner-burning than coal and will reduce foreign oil dependency. But at what cost? Environmental concerns (as yet unconfirmed) include potential contamination of ground water and air and health effects due to leaked chemicals.
Given this same definition and information about fracking, almost one-third (30%) of students reported they “would be opposed to its implementation” in North Carolina. Of those who said they didn’t previously know about the process, about 18% would “definitely” be opposed and another 79% said they may be opposed but would need further information. Clearly, knowledge of what is going on that may affect Nature and, in turn, affect us is a prerequisite before we can make any change.
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If fracking interests you, there are many ways you can get involved in North Carolina to have a say in the debate. Visit the North Carolina Conservation Network’s website where you can learn about future public hearings and petitions to the governor.
As the survey results showed, nearly half of students polled were not even aware there was such an issue raging in North Carolina that may have consequences for their own health and affect such basic amenities as air and water. Even though environmental concerns have not been conclusively linked to fracking, studies in states where fracking is already underway have shown disturbingly high methane concentrations in water wells near fracking sites.
Before we label something “clean,” “organic,” “sustainable,” or any other “green” term, we should analyze it from all perspectives – and not just the human perspective. Some fracking supporters argue for its “sustainability” and “clean” use of natural gas. Yet, if you begin to think with Nature rather than assume humans can just live on it without any repercussions, some troubling questions arise. This is true in regards to many projects underway today. We’ve always been encouraged by our teachers to ask questions. But we sometimes forget this seriously applies outside the classroom, too. So, Dukies, I hope you always rigorously question anything and everything, especially things that promise to facilitate the “good life.”
Source: Southernenvironment.org (http://www.southernenvironment.org/cases/fracking_in_north_carolina)
Photo Sources: Tumblr.com (http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvleytrTOb1r2km61.gif), Free-stockphotos.com (http://www.free-stockphotos.com/images/earth-cash-money-signs.jpg), Yubanet.com (http://yubanet.com/uploads/4/Fracking-Tower.jpg), Bluesummitwealth.com (http://www.bluesummitwealth.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/stop-fra…)