TODAY IS EARTH DAY. SAVING OUR PLANET IS METAL.
Today is Earth Day, that holiday where we’re supposed to think about the environment and celebrate our apathy for the complete destruction we are wreaking upon our planet. Really, every day should be Earth Day, but our population is too fucking lazy for that. So let me take a minute to get serious with you all.
Guys, our planet is fucked. It’s upsetting to me every day. Even more upsetting is the fact that, for the most part, despite our best efforts to be “green,” recycle, and all that other jibber jabber, we are largely ignoring the fact that we are completely and utterly fucked beyond belief. The polar ice caps are melting at an alarming rate, warming the waters around them, which melts the ice caps further, which warms the water around them… creating an infinite feedback loop of annihilation that is bound to drown our planet, quite literally, very soon. And all we get is one stinking day per year that ends up being an opportunity for companies to improve their public image by claiming environmental friendliness.
Here are some very easy steps that every metalhead — or really anyone — can take to drastically reduce your environmental impact on the earth:
Carpool to shows; driving your own cars to the venue is a terrible waste. Take public transportation when possible. Stop using plastic bags at the grocery store, or any store; clerks seem eager to foist them upon you, but they come at a terrible cost to the environment. If the pilgrims had plastic bags they’d still be sitting in landfills today. Stop buying bottled water; 90% of its cost is derived from the cost of transporting it to you, a process which wastes energy and pollutes the earth. The “tap water sucks” myth has been rammed down your throats by these companies to encourage you to buy their product; don’t believe it. Recycle — every bit of paper, every bit of plastic, metal, coat hangars, everything that you possibly can. Quit your complaining — it’s not like you have to go to the fucking recycling plant and churn it through the machinery yourself — it’s as simple as putting it in a different garbage bag. Change your light-bulbs to ones that are more energy efficient. Buy local produce and meat that hasn’t been shipped across the country or world. Keep metal utensils at work so you don’t waste a plastic fork after just one use. These are just a few things you can do that will make a difference in the agglomorate, but by no means are they the only ones.
It may seem futile and hopeless to take steps like this — after all, how much difference can one person make? While it certainly seems like one person can’t do a whole lot on their own, we can make a difference by telling our friends and getting them to change their habits as well. By the same token, we make a difference every time we go and vote in an election — one vote may not seem like much, by it’s the millions of folks casting their one vote that create change. Michael Pollan of the New York Times wrote one of the most convincing pieces I have ever read addressing this exact issue as it relates to environmentalism in this past Sunday’s Times Magazine. I encourage you all to read it.
By and large people seem to be waiting around for the figure heads of our government to enact policy that will promote environmentalism. Guys… reality check, that is not going to happen as long as there is money to be made otherwise. Change your mindset. Environmental change starts with you. Being “green” or saying that you’re green has become very trendy, but the fact of the matter is that most people do not take any extra steps to cut back their carbon footprint (especially not Tommy Lee and Ludacris). Earth Day is bullshit because every day should be earth day. Starting today. Make a difference.
</ serious rant over >
-VN
