FEBRUARY 27, 2006
Today
is Academy Award day, yet as I listen to Hollywood patting itself on the back once again, I am thinking of the kinds of questions I get at cocktail parties.
I suppose the stereotypical picture of someone asking a doctor a medical question at a social function is no different than a curious friend inquiring of someone who is a so-called expert on the environment. How about this question that came my way recently:
What is the worst environmental story or disaster you have ever heard of, Peter?"
I love getting questions like this in the middle of dinner or while sipping a glass of merlot or chardonnay prior to sitting down to a thoughtfully prepared meal at someone's home. " Well let me think," and I ponder for a minute to appear more interested in answering this question than I really am, "I suppose what is bad has to be divided up into either human induced or naturally produced, though the line seems to be blurring these days."
Here was the off the top of my head list I offered to the casually interested friend.
- I suppose the explosion and meltdown at Chernobyl in Russia for a tragedy of untold proportions that happened instantaneously has to be number one, in part because of the long term contamination issues.
- The tsunami in Indonesia ranks second. This was a natural disaster with unintended consequences that exacerbated the problem exponentially. Because of humankinds destruction of coral reefs, mangrove barriers, and the development projects built in harms way such as resorts, and fish and shrimp farms the loss of life and property was catastrophic.
- The Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, that to this day has had dramatic consequences for the eco-system in which it occurred, remains a symbol of how widespread an environmental disaster can be, even from one single ship.
- Probably the most tragic in terms of long term disruption of whole ecosystems, and not on the radar screen of most people, is the draining of the Aral Sea to irrigate the heavily chemically fertilized cotton fields downstream. Not only has the loss of village fishing life disrupted generations of Russia families who depended on the Sea for their livelihood, but the contamination of the rivers, lands, and ultimately health of the people in the agricultural belt of Russia is almost without parallel.
A couple of others to consider that are strictly man made.
The explosion at the Union Carbide Plant in Bhopal India that left approximately 2500 people dead and thousands of others sick for life is an incident that should never be forgotten.
This last one I offer, probably will have the biggest impact on human life because of the magnitude of the structure itself - the 3 Gorges Dam in China has already disrupted the lives of millions and millions more will be affected forever. This dam has already been described as a nightmare.
I suppose this group of environmental tragedies provides each of us a teachable moment. Listing disasters is not my favorite thing to do, but the environment is most often degraded by apathy, greed, human error, and a host of other human failings. I am guilty of a few of these, and in microcosm I have caused my own little environmental disasters. As billions watch the Academy Awards, only a few people will be talking about the reality of our world today. Thus, where to begin the process of healing, is the question?
Maybe someone in the public spotlight will lead the way.
--Peter