Hypocrisy of Environmentalists

I think most people are hypocrites, myself included, when it comes ot the environment. The problem is that Western lifestyle is just so addictive. If we want melons at anytime of the year we can get them. If we want to drink wine made from grapes grown 3,000 miles way this is really easy.

It's just so difficult to try and give this sort of living up. I sometimes really hate myself because I want to try my best and I also see reports of people around the world who are living on food aid. This is because there are so many cash crops being produced. Cash crops can include sugar, coffee, tea, grapes, tobacco and cocoa beans. These products aren't grown so that people can eat, they are grown because people in the West pay good money for them so we can enjoy ourselves.

Then of course there is Biodiesel and bioethanol which I used to be infavour of but no it seems like the worst thing ever to have happened. Rainforests are being cleared to make way for palm plantations, rape seed, corn and sugar beet so they can be converted into "eco fuels". Of course, if you read anything indepth about this you will realize that this is not a good thing to happen. Often the forests are burnt so that the crops can be grown. In the process huge amounts of carbon is emitted into the atmosphere, way more than any of the cars that run on the fuel will ever use. In the process, countless flora and fauna will lose their home.

Sometimes I feel that I would like to live a simple life living from the land, growing my own vegetables and not needing to use a car. Unfortunately I find that this is an image I don't think will become a reality.