The article that I posted was about damage to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan caused by Tsunami which had been caused by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake. Many people had to leave their homes, and this crisis is still effecting the people in Japan today.
The question I asked to my family/friends regarding this article was: How do environmental tragedies affect you on a a daily basis? Why should we care about them?
Here are some of the responses.
- It doesn't really affect me! We should care because crops might die and then we die.
- We should care because if it can happen in Japan it can happen here. Measures toward prevention everywhere, because we never know how bad things can spread quickly.
- The whole world is just a giant community. What affects one area reaches us all eventually. Caring for the environment is caring and respecting others.
- It does affect us whether we want it to or not. We need to be aware of how we cause harm on the environment, but I don't think we need to take it to extreme measures either. If that happens then all progress ceases. We need to be good stewards of all things we have been blessed with.
- We should care about them because they could happen. It might be a pain to prepare but we're happier as we remove risk. It's just like any other type of insurance.
- Environmental tragedies don't affect other than tugging at my heartstrings. We should care because although we are not being affected, other people are. Technologies that have very interesting upsides are put down as fear enters the world population. More importantly, hundreds of thousands of people have their lives completely altered as they try to recover from a devastating change.
- We should care because there is always something to be learned from natural disasters. Whether we can learn how to better equip ourselves from the devastating consequences of natural disasters or how to mitigate the impact of natural disasters, these are lessons which can be helpful. As for how natural disasters affect me on a daily basis, other than of course caring about those affected by those natural disasters, there is no real daily impact on myself.
- Everything we are and have come from the environment. It is the bread basket of materials, foods, lands, economies, nations, and civilizations as a whole. It is the foundation of everything material we depend on. Environmental tragedies shake this fundamental foundation. Is there any greater reason why we should care?
- I think the full extent of how environmental tragedies impact me on a daily basis is difficult to comprehend - I (like most humans) often down play the impact when something seems so far removed from me (like whatever happens in Japan or other parts of the world)...There seem to be so many pet projects that we can focus on, it's difficult to decide what is most important - should I be focusing on sustaining the environment, looking for alternative energy sources, minimizing my eco- footprint? Or should I be more focused on other issues that involve human rights, health/nutrition, wars, economics, daily family life, working to pay The Man my taxes? It's easy to be overwhelmed and ultimately stay ignorant and far removed from all tragedies.
We should care about them because the impact is significant on our daily lives - importing/exporting of goods, costs of "modern conveniences", international relations, basic human interactions...but while someone else in some distant office on some distant conference call is taking responsibility for me and working out all the details so I can get back to watching American Idol and drinking Diet Coke - why bother caring? When I can only eat Monsanto designed "food" because everything else is contaminated from radiation and my television programming or wireless service are interrupted ..then maybe I'll care (i.e. act rather than be acted upon) - Environmental tragedies have an indirect impact.on all of us, even if it is just a subtle economic, political or cultural impact. However, the greatest impact on me is that they are profoundly thought provoking. No two events are alike, so direct comparisons are less useful than understanding what kinds of things can cause systems, in both engendering and thought process, to fail so spectacularly.
My reactions were in response to these three questions.
- Were you aware that environmental tragedies of this magnitude still exist today?
- Yes, I was aware that they happened but I don't think I realized how they affected the people and to what extent they were affected. They are a bigger deal than I think most people realize.
- To what degree do environmental tragedies affect you/your family on a day to day basis?
- I think that we are affected by our hearts going out to those who are physically affected by these tragedies. However, I feel that things like the inversion affect us physically as well, just not as severely or intensely as something like love canal or a nuclear fallout.
- How do environmental tragedies affect you on a daily basis? Why should we care about them?
- I think the best way to mitigate these problems is by preparation rather than prevention. Yes, safety does help with controlling disasters and is a must, but disasters always happen. So I think if we prepare for when they do happen, we ourselves will be okay and we can then help those who are in need.
Someone posted an article in response to mine as to what is still happening over in Japan as a result of the Nuclear fallout.
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