Am I a Tree Hugger?

Yes, I grew up in Eugene, known for its very liberal, “hippie” culture. And I went to college in Seattle, yet another liberal, environmentally-conscious town. But I do not consider myself a big “environmental activist.” Sure, I think that we need to respect the earth. I think that this is God’s creation, and we are to do everything in our power to protect and nourish the earth.

But I don’t eat organic. I drive a car (when I’m at home, at least). And I probably have a carbon footprint larger than I know. When confronted with this reality, I usually ponder it for a bit, but it has never really affected me enough to really become passionate about this whole “climate change” ordeal that has now become a huge global issue.

I guess I wasn’t looking at the issue through the right lens. When I would hear about climate change, I would hear about melting ice caps, or diminishing rainforests, or certain species of animals becoming extinct. And all these things, to be sure, are negative consequences of the way “man has ruled the earth.” But after attending this microfinance conference in Nairobi last week, I am looking at climate change through a different lens.

75% of the world’s poorest people are subsistence farmers, which means their livelihood depends on their crops producing a yield. So when extreme temperatures, droughts, and monsoons occur, and the poorest people cannot eat to survive, then “climate change” takes on a whole new meaning. When the world’s dwindling oil reserves are causing war, corruption, death, and oppression, then “climate change” takes on a whole new meaning. And because our natural resources are diminishing, our “wants and needs” in life are going to become much more expensive, thus making it even harder for the poorest to climb out of poverty, “climate change” takes on a whole new meaning.

So when I hear about fuel-efficient stoves that use a fraction of the charcoal required for common stoves, which means fewer trees are cut down to make charcoal (deforestation is one of the biggest problems in Uganda), which means the air is cleaner, I get excited.

When I hear about new irrigation technologies, such as manual-powered pumps that can irrigate up to 3 acres of land, so farmers are protected during droughts, I get excited.

And when I hear about affordable solar-powered lights that can be charged during the day and give light to a family for 4-6 hours at night, preventing the need for further energy usage or providing light to those unable to afford power, I get excited.

So no, I’m not a tree-hugging liberal hippie that thinks that plants have souls and that’s why they deserve to live (these people are out there … YouTube it). And I don’t think I’m going to change my career path to suddenly advocate for environmental purity. But I do think this is a HUGE issue that maybe is not always framed properly to help people understand how grave an issue it truly is. That’s all. I’ll get off my pedestal now. Thanks for reading.

(But maybe try riding your bike or taking the bus to work today, or simply donate a little money, or inform yourself by going online and find out what’s really happening to our world.)