Maslow’s Higherarchy in Modern America

Great little piece in the WSJ today on Representative Dingell’s change in view on Global Warming. While I am happy to see that our leadership is gradually converting to see the light of An Inconvenient Truth, I was equally interested in the graphic that accompanied the article. In it, it showed the growth of emissions over the past decade and a half as well as the relative priorities of Americans. In it, we rank Iraq, Health Care, Terrorism, The Economy, and Immigration all above the environment.

Now this makes me wonder; Do we view the environment as a nice to have? Or, do we have so many issues that it will take some time to get to the environment? While I am certain there are any number of environmentalists that can give us detailed insights into why we should be more concerned about it, I have a simple view. With the exception of immigration, all of the other concerns are completely linked to a healthy environment. The eco-system is mutually dependent. If the environment is dying, so is the economy, our mis-guided acts of foreign policy and so on.

So, while I am happy that the our leadership is waking up to the responsibilities that come with the job, we still have to take responsibility for our own actions. Change a light bulb, take public transportation, buy carbon credits to offset your actions.

Do something!