[nek]

I'm a bit of an environmentalist, not because I think dogs are cute and trees smell good, but I think there's some harsh realities to how we've impacted the environment and the impact it's going to have on us via pollution and resource depletion. To be honest, if there was one issue where I see both sides burying their head in the sand the most, it is probably this one. The conservatives flat-out deny impacts of the various pollutants in the environment, whereas the liberals think there will be some miracle technologies that will save us; the idea of consuming our way to sustainability is laughable. People don't realize the difficulty and thought that goes into bringing clean, pressure adjustable, temperature-adjustable water their faucets. We produce and use new chemicals all time that we have no idea what the long-term impacts will be on the environment we rely on, not much different then pharmaceuticals that come out promising to heal restless leg syndrome and end up giving you the bubonic plague. Clean-up of pollution is far more difficult, expensive, and time consuming then people realize. It's much easier and less strain on resources to simply not pollute in the first place. Disinfectant by-products in drinking water are an example of the difficulty of trying to clean water for instance. The removal of pharmaceuticals is another. Not only do you have to constantly worry about new chemicals we're introducing, but how those chemicals interact with other chemicals and equipment, as well as the chemicals those interactions may produce. There are no quick and easy answers to these problems.

People get distracted from the environmental issue because in world affairs there's always more immediate and pressing matters. However, quickly occuring problems also have quickly occurring solutions. The environment is one of those areas where it will take time before it's impacts are more immediate in people's lives, but by the time these impacts are recognized, the solution will be far more difficult if even possible at all.