So I was driving around the other day, listening to my country music, and I heard these gasp-inducing lyrics in Toby Keith’s latest hit,
Both ends of the ozone burning
Funny how the world keeps turning.
“Well, Toby,” I said to the radio. “It’s not like the hole in the ozone layer is disappearing all by itself!”
It took armies of scientists to identify CFC-based aerosols as the main culprit. Then, it took world leaders signing the Montreal Protocol in 1987 to begin phasing out CFC production. Finally, it took a couple of billion dollars of taxpayer money (spread over several countries) to fund the transition. Depletion is now slowing down significantly and recovery is expected.
But Toby Keith is right about one thing -- we (regular people and country singers) didn’t have to do anything, except get used to new deodorant delivery systems.
It’s different this time around. Global warming is caused by many aspects of our lifestyles, not just aerosols. World leaders are not playing nice. And there is no money.
So at this point, it’s up to us to ignite a cultural revolution toward sustainability.
Which brings me to the Live Green – Live Great convention taking place Friday and Saturday at the Don Haskins Center. This event, organized by the Center for Environmental Resource Management at UTEP, could have been a series of academic panels explaining how emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases warm the planet, leading to more extreme weather (flooding and drought); and eventually to disasters such as the spread of diseases and famine, and projected mass migration. And I’m not even talking about the polar bears.
But that’s just depressing.
The organizers of Live Green – Live Great decided on a more proactive and consumer-friendly approach. Their event will showcase green products and services available in El Paso; visitors can watch demonstrations and ask businesses and government agencies how-to questions.
The best part: it’s free.
I wager that everyone will learn at least one revelatory thing about green living, be it the health benefits of organic products or the lowering costs of solar energy.
Changing habits is not easy but we’ve done it before. For instance, we now buckle up and buy car seats for our children. We decided that the inconvenience and the extra expense were worth the safety we gained.
So, you can do it the Toby Keith way and be satisfied that “the world keeps turnin’” or you act to ensure that the world of our children’s children will be a place fit to live in.
A final note to Mr. Keith: Judging by your tour schedule, you’re not doing anything this weekend, so what do you say you come on over to El Paso for our Live Green – Live Great convention?
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Louie Gilot is a border reporter.
