EPA: Pick 5 For the Environment
The Environmental Protection Agency has launched an interesting campaign aimed at increasing citizens’ active efforts to help the environment: Pick 5 for the Environment. The idea is for people to choose five broad actions out of 10 listed on the EPA’s site to commit to, thus improving one’s overall environmental footprint. Don’t choose six, though; that’s one too many.
I kid, but it does raise the ongoing question of practicality versus environmental necessity. This EPA campaign acknowledges that yes, it is often difficult to get average people to take decisive action aimed at helping the environment, but this is basically telling people, “if you pick five of these, you’re all set. Don’t worry about the environment anymore.” Still, five is better than none, so I’ll leave that complaint right there.
With that out of the way, let’s take a look at the ten choices:
- Use less water
- Commute without polluting
- Save electricity
- Reduce, reuse, recycle
- Test your home for radon
- Check your local air quality
- Use chemicals safely
- eCycle
- Enjoy the outdoors safely
- Spread the word
Interesting. We have some standard environmentally friendly actions, like “use less water” and “commute without polluting,” but radon testing and enjoying the outdoors safely are somewhat odd. These are personal environmental health recommendations, which are obviously good things to do, but I’m not sure how much they encourage environmental activism, or at least activity.
The last of the 10 choices is also interesting: Spread the word. The EPA is embracing social networking here, encouraging everyone who engages in any of these activities to tell others about them through Facebook or elsewhere. I suppose this is a small step toward recognizing and using the broad powers of social media in environmental issues, so huzzah for that. And yet, we’re now down to only seven more standard and effective environmental actions for people to take. So let’s agree that the EPA has an interesting idea, but we’ll rename it “Pick Two For the Environment, Because A Bunch of These Are Sorta Irrelevant.”
But because that was all a bit too negative, I’ll finish with this: I’m all for encouraging increased environmental awareness, and this sort of thing can undoubtedly have some positive effect. So, go to it: Pick five, or two, or eight, or however high you can count, for the environment.
Image courtesy of the EPA
In my high plains rural community, I start a one-woman campaign against malathion spraying for mosquito control about this time every year. There is very little focus on larvacide control, and there is no community-wide spray notification system in place so folks get indoors on spraying nights. Also, the town employees take no safety precautions themselves - no special attire or truck windows closed while spraying. I’ve even complained to the state health department but they claim malathion is safe. And they aren’t concerned at all that the malathion MSDS says it’s toxic to bees. Colony Collapse Disorder isn’t part of their agenda. I could go on… but clearly the EPA game you’re writing about is more than a little out-of-touch. (shaking my head)