I've never considered
myself an environmentalist, but I'm probably on the conscientious side of the
spectrum. I've always found it frustrating that recycling hasn't become the
norm. It seems like a no-brainer to me. I've also found unnecessary waste to be
stupid, clear-cut logging to be irresponsible, over-fishing to be
short-sighted, and industrial pollution criminal.
I also believe fracking for
natural gas is dangerous and should be banned until more studies have been
conducted to determine its effect on ground water and other environmental
factors.
The environmental impacts of
prisons is a lot greater than you might think. The paper-waste is astounding,
the electrical waste just plain stupid, and the water-waste frightening. With
diminishing reserves of fresh water and the hundreds of millions of people
without access to clean water around the world, it's hard to not be chagrined
when at 6AM I walk into the bathroom, when only a handful of people are up, to
see five of seven faucets turned on high (not being used) for no apparent
reason. This is not an uncommon occurrence. Faucets with automatic shut-offs
after 30 seconds would solve this problem, but that would require
forward-thinking: something the DOC is not known for.
Prison inmates have no desire
or motivation to save the DOC money, and you'd be hard pressed to find five out
of one-thousand inmates or officers that care about the environment. It's time
for government to start leading the way in environmental responsibility.
