The Green Machine: selfishness and the environment

I believe people are basically selfish, and efficiency-maximizers. I don't mean this in a negative way, I think it makes sense for survival. I don't mean survival in 20th century Western society; but we should remember that it takes (so the mainstream thinking goes) thousands of years for humans to select out traits that are no longer beneficial (when oh when will our cells stop hoarding fat!); so much of who we are today, I believe, is who we were *yesterday.*

The benefits of being efficient--conserving your own time and energy--are I think self-evident. In our society the granolas are all about "slow down" "take time" "get back to basics," but that's kind of a luxury stance, a bit against the grain. I think it's normal that if we can invent a quicker, easier way of doing something, we'll take it. This has other negative consequences, but the instinct to go that route is probably hardwired in us. That we've turned into a throw-away consumer society (when I say *we* you know I mean, um, people around moi) should be no surprise, and I don't think we should look at it as so immoral. There's so much Righteous Indignation About Materialism and Consumerism. Shhh shhhhhh. Du calme, du calme.

As for selfishness, I'm not talking about that guy at the party who talks about himself all night. In fact, that's potentially self-harming, if he's socially alienating himself. It just makes sense to me that we've been bred for thousands of years to care more about our own survival and reproduction, than that of others--and it moves outward away from us, accordingly. This doesn't mean you'll never act altruistically, first towards those who share your gene pool, and outwards according to how close you are to people; we can't live together in communities without also thinking of the greater good. But even that is for our own good; we derive benefits from living socially, from tackling certain problems as a group, by dividing labour, and so on. At some level, we often think--what's in this for me? Is this efficient for me? Can I see the benefit to my life, or the lives of those I care about? Again, I don't see this as morally bad--I think it's morally neutral. If we can forgive people for being born with a predisposition to anger, or alcoholism, or diabetes, then surely we can collectively forgive ourselves for our predisposition to Thinking About #1.

And all this is to say--I think this is where government comes in. We need laws and regulations and a third party to help us through those collective action problems (which most environmental problems are), because it's really, really, really hard to get individuals to look past their own present, their own efficiency needs. We have trouble picturing this future apocalypse of environmental devastation... which may or may not occur; if something doesn't seem immediately threatening, if we don't see the effects, then it's hard for us to get motivated.

Some do. This is the small percentage of the population who, when sitting down to prioritize their morals, have stuck Planet up there at the top. Some of them look down on those lowly and sinful mortals who only care about their materialistic and selfish lives! I think, if you don't understand human beings, you're going to have trouble changing them. Accept the materialism and selfishness as NATURAL (that's a word we granolas like), and act accordingly.

All of which is to say... I hope the Quebec government does pass legislation to tax plastic bags. I use plastic grocery bags because I don't have a car, and then I reuse them at home. Efficiency Maximizer. And yet I'm someone who tries to be green when I can. Efficiency and Morality war within me! I've never stocked up on some non-plastics, because I do groceries on the way home from school, and will probably forget them all the time! (This is what I thinks to myself.) But as soon as I heard about the tax I thought... well alright... I know... it's time for me to smarten up.

I think about this in the shower too. If I had to pay for each drop of water coming out of my faucet, I'd care more about conserving it. (I'm not saying this should happen, at the very least because of the impact on poor people--but you get my drift.) Or how about--I don't like to donate blood because I start to faint (not pleasant for ME selfish ME), but when told that I'll die unless I lose some red stuff, suddenly I'm lining up at the donor clinic, ready to brave my faintiness. As Nice as I try to be in life, I'm as selfish as they come.

So... bring on the tax! I've got my backpack, and my little green bags! And if it doesn't come, well, I've had my ass kicked into doing something I knew I should do. But heavens-to-bitsies I hope I don't have to hear too much whining by people who make it sound like this is a violation of their rights and freedoms--and without too much self-righteousness from The Moral Highground.

"...kumbaya, my lord, kumbaya..." Awww, can't we all just get along?